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Countryside planning has become popular due to the improvement in the economic level of China. A rural construction planning permission system is an important means to guide and standardize village construction. Therefore, this study investigates the current condition of rural planning in Guangdong and the general condition of Guangdong Province. Village planning problems, such as the village theory, lack of characteristics, and lack of coordination, are also presented. The bottleneck of the construction village planning permission system is presented. A “three-step” strategy and mode transformation (i.e., legal, personalized, and independent steps) is established based on the analysis of the Guangdong rural planning problems. Finally, the general requirements for village construction under the permission system are proposed along with the study of the village planning in Guangdong, which is the representative case. Therefore, this study provides a reference for the effective linkage between village planning and the rural construction planning permission system.

Selecting the development and renewal of residential areas has caused significant confusion in the construction of a new countryside with the rapid development of information and computer technology. The application of digital assistive technology in traditional settlement planning has received increasing attention in recent years. Thus, this study combined the folk culture of traditional settlement, local unique landform, and climate environment. Digital technology was used as the starting point. Traditional settlement planning and green update design were studied with the help of a digital building software. The planning of Shuanglong Village and the residential green renewal design were taken as examples. Shuanglong Village's overall planning and design was presented and showed that its road traffic was clearly planned. The rational use of local land was attained. The landscape of Shuanglong Village was then designed. Practice has proven that the research on traditional settlement planning and green renewal design based on digital assistive technology can provide the basis for such activities.

This paper aims to explore the role of participatory governance to actors’ participation in land use planning for tenure security in rural Tanzania. Three case studies where land use planning project implemented were selected to make assessment on how local actors were involved in the process.

This paper uses qualitative research methods, whereby semi-structured interviews with village landholders and key informants were conducted to get their perspectives on land use decisions and land tenure (in)security. Besides, focus group discussions with the village landholders were also used.

The research findings indicate low participation of local actors in land use planning process. Decisions on land use by the local actors were very minimal. Further, communication between the involved actors was also difficult.

The study offers insights on participatory governance into land use planning for tenure security. The study develops a framework to improve land use planning process toward tenure security outcome. A tri-partite strategy consisting of enabling mechanisms of governance capacity, institutional capacity and converging discourses articulates a framework for the evolution in the degree of local actors’ participation to improve security of land rights through land use planning process in rural Tanzania.

The purpose of this paper is to provide systematic empirical evidence on the health planning through Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) in India.

A micro-level study was carried out using qualitative study design. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 105 respondents selected from 42 VHSNC sites. A thematic analytical framework approach was used to analyse the data.

The research results indicate that VHSNCs are playing a significant role in health planning. However, the committee meetings are not organised by the committee members on the regular basis. Most of the VHSNC members do not make village health plans. There are some challenges associated with the functioning of VHSNCs like insufficient resources, lack of people’s interest, insignificant attention and the unfair behaviour of the Panchayati Raj leaders.

The implications of the findings suggest that VHSNCs play a significant role in health planning. However, the leadership is ineffective due to their partial capabilities and approach that generate non-conducive environment. Studies of such nature will be helpful for policy makers in understanding the current situation and micro-level picture of VHSNC and also in analysing it in the existing health system.

VHSNC functions with a broader concern and cover range of social determinants at the village level. This study provides empirical evidence on the VHSNCs as lowest part of the health system.

This paper aims to address the issue of the conservation and management of rural cultural heritage, with the aim being to gain an understanding of current problems and needs through a participatory approach, in recognition of the uniqueness of the relationship between nature, humankind and the built environment as an area of study. To this end, a comprehensive case study – Kemer Village in Turkey – focusing on the social sustainability and participatory approaches for the sustainable development of rural settlements is given. Accordingly, possible conservation, management and sustainability strategies are put forward considering the priorities and perspectives of different stakeholders.

This paper approaches the subject of rural heritage conservation and management from a social sustainability standpoint, involving an on-site investigation to understand the physical and social context of Kemer Village in Turkey, which has links to different periods in history, and contains significant examples of vernacular architecture and that has maintained its cultural characteristics. Tools and criteria for participatory planning approach were applied ensuring the involvement of the local community and stakeholders.

The findings of the present study reveal rural settlements to be important factors in the cultural heritage conservation and indicate the importance of prescient management and the adoption of a sustainable development model. Achieving the desired level of sustainability in historical villages through conservation of the built environment with the involvement of the local community is possible, as can be seen in the case of Kemer Village in Turkey, where the villagers and the local authorities worked in cooperation to ensure the preservation of the village's integrity.

This study will describe possible long-term strategies and actions aimed at involving the local community in the sustainable conservation of the rural cultural heritage while also embracing change. It is important that the concept of sustainability is realized with participatory planning methods. In addition to that, rural heritage and social sustainability together incorporate a widespread but rarely considered set of issues addressing local needs in conservation.

A remarkable number of Iran's villages, in addition to the general earthquake hazard, are faced with other natural hazards including floods, landslides, and landslips. The village of Badleh Kuh is one example faced with a great danger of land thrust and flood. A wide range of field studies show that this village is greatly in danger of natural hazards and is located in a completely unstable area. The main aim of this paper is to define and assess the optimum approach and intervening method for this village.

The data of this paper are based on the main goals and project operations and are in line with securing and stabilizing life in the village of Badleh Kuh. The necessary data have been provided using two methods of attributive and field research, although the groundwork is put on field notations and experimental studies. The main map of this project was based on a scale of 1:50,000 which after conforming to aerial photos, the results were a scale of 1:20,000 and Landset satellite photos with separation power of 30 m and field withdrawal in the ArcGIS 9 program, resulting maps were processed and yielded at a scale of 1:25,000.

The paper finds that implementing the transfer plan of Badleh Kuh village to the new location necessitates joint and necessary cooperation between governmental and non‐governmental institutions and people; appointing local leaders to justify villagers for acceptance and better cooperation with the re‐occupancy plan; holding promotion, educational, and justification classes in order to improve knowledge and recognition of aims and components of the re‐occupancy plan; implementing the re‐occupancy plan in a stage‐by‐stage and systematic manner; providing a pilot and elaborative plan of the suggested location and predicting future developments of the village; carrying out land preparation operations and infrastructure projects; visiting the new location for approval may have a positive effect for villagers who might be opposed to the plan; inviting villagers' cooperation which are financially capable and abide seasonally in the village; regarding the fact that the village economy is greatly dependent on ranching, this issue must be kept in mind when separating housing units and levels of housing units; before implementing the plan, it is better to hold a seminar or conference with the presence of benefactors, executive authorities, and experts in the province in order to discuss the issue of transferring the village in danger; giving heed to the economic worries and assistance for increasing production and income rates and also giving variety to the villager's life quality will contribute to stable development; the aim of implementing the plan should not be just transfer of the village to another location, but must also comprise various cultural, social, and economic aims; securing the necessary credibility and acting upon commitments by the governmental and non‐governmental institutions may decrease consequences and have a significant effect on the plan's success; the plan must be contiguous and carried out in a specific time span and the incomplete implementation of the plan may decrease public cooperation.

This paper assesses and analyzes the optimum rehabilitation approaches for Badleh Kuh which will be relevant to other villages in Iran.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the issues relating to sustainable development (SD) in the context of indigenous village development in Hong Kong.

A case study approach is used in this research. In addition to literature review, qualitative data, primarily collected through personal interviews with various stakeholders were the main source of input.

The Small House Policy (SHP) case illustrates an unsustainable policy. It underscores the interrelatedness among the relevant systems – social/cultural, economic, political and environmental – in the context of SD. In the short term, the government can at least expedite the construction of sewage facilities for the villages. Furthermore, the government can consider elevating the penalty and tightening policing/patrolling in village environs to discourage the illegal sale of “ding” rights and small houses. In the longer term, the government needs to put the rural area in order. Identifying means to zone planning would be a possible direction on this front.

Through examining the case of SHP relating to the indigenous villages in Hong Kong, the complexity of SD is thoroughly revealed.

This study discusses the protection of traditional villages and understand the role, policy environment and characteristics of traditional village protection. This study also constructs an analytical framework of “historical timing - policy orientation” to study the development process and policy evolution of traditional village protection in China.

This study selects the policy documents related to traditional village protection since 1980 as the research samples to explore the origin and evolution of traditional village protection in China. Then, the paper systematically combs the temporal evolution of the policy theme and orientation at each stage, which would provide a reference direction for the protection and development of traditional villages.

The interpretation of traditional village protection and its institutional background can be divided into three stages: relying on the protection system of historical and cultural towns and villages (1982–2012) and the stage of construction and improvement of traditional villages protection system (2012–2017). After 2017, traditional village protection entered a new rural revitalization journey.

This study is limited to: documents issued from 1982 to the end of 2022; Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council, and central ministries and administrations directly governing the protection of traditional villages; policies that can directly reflect the central government’s attitude towards protecting traditional villages; and excluding the documents for some particular regions and particular problems.

This study fulfills as the guidance of traditional village protection and development in different periods.

The protection of traditional grassroots place-making knowledge and skills that comprise valuable intangible heritage has not been attracting enough attention in the field of post-disaster reconstruction and recovery. Based on the Guchengping Village’s reconstruction that followed the Lushan earthquake (Sichuan, China), the purpose of this paper is to identify the benefits of a co-design approach for post-disaster reconstruction and recovery, in order to ascertain various stakeholders’ contributions toward the protection of community-based intangible place-making heritage.

A qualitative method was employed to assist the professional designers in facilitating the co-design approach by bridging governments closer together with local communities. At the governmental level, focus groups and personal interviews were conducted to discover the government’s role in preserving the communities’ intangible heritage. At the community level, community-based workshops and family-based design partnerships engaged various community stakeholders to decipher their roles and contributions toward advancing the heritage age.

As the advocates of intangible heritage, all levels of government guaranteed that intangible heritage would be safeguarded in the government strategic plans. At the community level, local residents played a fundamental role as the grassroots protectors. Professional designers utilized cutting edge technologies to improve weaknesses found in the traditional knowledge and skills, by performing the protection in practice. Community-based service agencies promoted the value of heritage to address societal issues.

The co-design approach offered a new method of intangible heritage protection in post-disaster reconstruction and recovery by engaging different stakeholders, in order to effectively transfer the governmental strategic plans into community-based action plans, and in turn, enabled the grassroots voice to inform the government policies.

As a viable housing option for older people, retirement villages need to provide a sustainable living environment that satisfies their residents’ needs in terms of affordability, lifestyle and environmental friendliness. This is, however, a significant challenge for not-for-profit developers because of the high upfront costs involved in using sustainable practices. The purpose of this paper is to identify the sustainable features and practices adopted in not-for-profit retirement villages.

Because of the lack of quantitative historical data, a case study approach was adopted to identify the sustainable features and practices used in a not-for-profit retirement village in Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Data were collected based on interviews, direct observation and documentation, and collected data were analysed by using content analysis.

The research findings indicate that similar to private developers, not-for-profit developers also have the capability to make their village environment sustainable. In this case, the sustainable practices cover various aspects including the selection of village location, site planning, provision of facilities and services, social life and living costs. Although the associated costs of adopting sustainable features is a concern for both developers and residents, some of the identified sustainable practices in this case do not result in significant cost increase but can improve the residents’ quality of life substantially.

The research findings provide a number of practical implications on how to deliver sustainable retirement villages in a not-for-profit village setting.

This paper provides a first look at sustainable features and practices adopted in both the development and operation stages of a not-for-profit retirement village.