Planning and Implementing Smart Shrinkage of Rural China: The Case of Chengdu’s Rural Settlement Consolidation with SGME Model

Accompanying China’s fast urbanization, a paradox arises as rural China is decreasing in population but rural settlements are still expanding in the form of rural housing renovation and increased construction land, especially in migrant-sending areas. The urban-rural dual system in China is blamed as the main cause of this abnormal phenomenon, but as the dual system is fundamental to China’s socio-economic development and China’s central government adopts institutional reform in a step-by-step fashion, local governments have to work around this dual system. Many municipalities are planning and implementing smart shrinkage of rural settlements and Chengdu is among the best practices in the Chinese context. This research describes the latest SGME (small-scale settlement, group arrangement, micro pastoral scenery and ecological construction) model, which was initiated in 2013 to implement planned consolidation of rural settlements that fits the local development culture. In order to better allocate public service facilities and improve the efficiency of resource supply, six modes of spatial agglomeration are planned to consolidate villages scattered all over Chengdu. The SGME model achieved sound results, but with some problems still awaiting solution, including unsustainable funding and obscure rural characteristics. The findings of this study shed light on the planning of similar areas in other developing economies, especially those with a distinct urban-rural dual system.