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| THE SPATIAL FEATURES AND LEADING MEASURES OF VILLAGE SYSTEM IN SMALL WATERSHED IN LOESS PLATEAU GULLY REGION——A Case Study on Chunhua County, Shaanxi Province |
| CAO Xiang-ming, ZHOU Ruo-qi |
| Department of Architecture, Xi'an JiaoTong University, Xi'an 710049 |
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Abstract The Loess Plateau is a very special geographic unit in China, and one of the most seriously ecology-degraded regions as well. The loess plateau gully region is one of the typical geographic subareas on Loess Plateau. The distribution of village system has distinct regional features. In the light of natural geographical features of loess plateau gully region, the paper, taking Chunhua County for instance, analyzes the characteristics of the spatial distribution of village system in small watershed in loess plateau gully region, and offers that the unit of "one loess tableland between two gullies" is the basic natural and social-economic organization system. In loess plateau gully region, the human settlements mainly occupy the center and edge of loess tableland, and the settlements at township level always occupy the center of loess tableland or distribute in the medium-sized river valleys. The distribution of the settlements of the village with obvious regional characteristics can be divided into three types: the village in the face or edge of loess tableland, the village on the slope of valley and the village at the bottom of valley. The location of small villages and water systems are mostly separated in the space. The existing problems about the spatial arrangement of village system in small watershed in loess plateau gully region are as follows: first, in the spatial organization of village system, the whole spatial structure hardly meets the demand of the economic and social development because of the face of loess tableland gradually falling to pieces. Second, under the influence of the geographic condition, the spatial relationship of the villages in the different small watersheds is relatively weak. Finally, it's hard for the villages of the different altitudes to contact with one another in the same small river valley. In conclusion, the thesis clearly puts forward the leading measures of spatial development of village system in loess plateau gully region. Firstly, the "branch-shaped" spatial arrangement of village system should be set up suitably for the regional environment; secondly, dispersive villages and towns will be properly moved and combined by economic development for pursuing economies of scale and improving the living environment of the local people; eventually, for the ecological environment construction, the special control of non-urbanization should be strengthen. The paper will play a typical role in exploring the reasonable path to the substantial development of the human settlement environment of the Loess Plateau, and it is of great practical significance to implement the strategy for the development of the western region.
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Received: 25 April 2007
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2008, Vol. 23 
