Spatial Morphology Evolution of Rural Settlements in the Lower Yellow River Plain: The Case of Menggang Town in Changyuan City, China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The paper expands the dimensions of the research on the spatial morphology of rural settlements. The authors studies the spatial distribution characteristics of rural settlements in the lower reaches of the Yellow River plain.
The methods used are correct. The data to be tested are also appropriate. The article is correctly structured. The literature review is sufficient. The conclusions are logical and support the stated aim of the research.
On page 15 the authors have included a description of Figure 7. The description is very interesting, but it is difficult to identify the phenomena described in this figure. It might be worth showing example photographs to document the description more.
Author Response
We have used the "Track Changes" function in the revised manuscript, so that they are easily visible to the editors and reviewers.
Responses to the editor and reviewer’s comments
The responses and major revised are highlighted in red in the text.
The paper expands the dimensions of the research on the spatial morphology of rural settlements. The authors studies the spatial distribution characteristics of rural settlements in the lower reaches of the Yellow River plain.
The methods used are correct. The data to be tested are also appropriate. The article is correctly structured. The literature review is sufficient. The conclusions are logical and support the stated aim of the research.
1.- On page 15 the authors have included a description of Figure 7. The description is very interesting, but it is difficult to identify the phenomena described in this figure. It might be worth showing example photographs to document the description more.
Response: Thanks for your advice. According to the reviewer's suggestion, in Figure 7, we draw the orientation of the building and the north-south axis, and measure the angle between the two lines, which can explain the tilt angle of the building direction. The revised results are shown in Figure 7 in this paper. Please see pages 15-16 in the revised manuscript.
Finally, the authors appreciate the insightful and constructive comments of anonymous reviewers.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
With the rapid development of urbanization "delete either development of or of urbanization"
giving rise to research such as sustainable livelihood,.... replace such as with into or on....
it has become the consensus of scholars to strengthen the research on the evolution theory
consider" there is consensus among researchers on the need to strengthen research on the evolution theory....
"First, economic development is an important factor affecting the expansion of rural settlements. Economic development provides external economic support for rural settlement expansion, making expansion possible."
largely perception rather than based on facts and findings of the study. How does economic development influence the spatial evolution of rural settlements? Economic development gives people jobs and income so they can reinvest this in settlement improvement and expansions. Economic development also increases demand for residential settlements. There is no data to support which of these two scenarios influences spatial evolution. In simple terms "the hypothesis of how economic development influences rural transformation has not been tested.
m ¥7127 in 2001 to ¥24081 in 2018, while the rural settlement patch area increased from 529.49 hm2 in 2000 to 869.93 hm2 in 2018, an increase of 340.44 hm2....
simple regression or correlation analysis would have allowed for the testing of the strength of the economic drivers.
Conclusion
reads like a summary. Conclusions are statements of facts you make or deductions based on the findings of the study. For example, based on the results of the study, we conclude that economic development increases demand for more modern housing hence, economic development would always be accompanied by spatial and morphological transformation...
But for a few typographical issues and some inconclusive sentences, the English language is generally acceptable.
Author Response
We have used the "Track Changes" function in the revised manuscript, so that they are easily visible to the editors and reviewers.
Responses to the editor and reviewer’s comments
The responses and major revised are highlighted in red in the text.
With the rapid development of urbanization "delete either development of or of urbanization"
giving rise to research such as sustainable livelihood,.... replace such as with into or on....
it has become the consensus of scholars to strengthen the research on the evolution theory
consider" there is consensus among researchers on the need to strengthen research on the evolution theory....
Response: Thanks for your advice. According to the reviewer's suggestion, we have deleted "urbanization" and changed "With the rapid development of urbanization,…" to "With the regional development,….” , and have revised “giving rise to research such as sustainable livelihood,....” to “giving rise to research on sustainable livelihood,....”, and have revised “it has become the consensus of scholars to strengthen the research on the evolution theory” to “there is consensus among researchers on the need to strengthen research on the evolution theory....”. Please see pages 1-2 in the revised manuscript.
"First, economic development is an important factor affecting the expansion of rural settlements. Economic development provides external economic support for rural settlement expansion, making expansion possible."
largely perception rather than based on facts and findings of the study. How does economic development influence the spatial evolution of rural settlements? Economic development gives people jobs and income so they can reinvest this in settlement improvement and expansions. Economic development also increases demand for residential settlements. There is no data to support which of these two scenarios influences spatial evolution. In simple terms "the hypothesis of how economic development influences rural transformation has not been tested.
m ¥7127 in 2001 to ¥24081 in 2018, while the rural settlement patch area increased from 529.49 hm2 in 2000 to 869.93 hm2 in 2018, an increase of 340.44 hm2....
simple regression or correlation analysis would have allowed for the testing of the strength of the economic drivers.
Response: Thanks for your advice. And this is a good suggestion. But for the lack of Long time series of township data with consistent statistical caliber, as well as the fact that rural settlement data is also time node data, our validation results, even for very simple regression analysis, are unreliable. Therefore, we have to abandon quantitative measurement methods and use relevant literature to support our viewpoint. The added supporting viewpoints are highlighted in red font in the manucript (4.1.2).
According to the Changyuan Yearbook, the per capita gross domestic product of Menggang increased rapidly from ¥7127 in 2001 to ¥24081 in 2018，indicating the rapid development of rural economy. With the development of rural economy and the improvement of farmers' income level, there had been a "house building fever" in rural settlement. The expansion and new construction of housing have led to an increase in rural settlement scale. And at the same time, the phenomenon of rural "hollowing out" caused by abandoned houses and idle land in the rural settlement indicates that a large amount of abandoned homesteads have not been optimized for use[51].Of course, the scale expansion in rural settlement may also be due to social welfare issues, traffic congestion, housing shortages, environmental pollution, and other issues arising from urban development, making many rural residents more willing to use the money earned in the city to build housing in their rural hometown[52]. Please see pages 7-8 in the revised manuscript.
New reference:
- Long H.L, Li Y.R, Liu Y.S. Analysis of Evolutive Characteristics and Their Driving Mechanism of Hollowing Villages in China. Acta Geogr. Sin.. 2009,64(10): 1203-1213.
- Wang S.T. , Bai X. M.., Zhang X.M.., et al. Urbanization can benefit agricultural production with large-scale farming in China. Nature Food,2021,2(3):183-191.
Conclusion
reads like a summary. Conclusions are statements of facts you make or deductions based on the findings of the study. For example, based on the results of the study, we conclude that economic development increases demand for more modern housing hence, economic development would always be accompanied by spatial and morphological transformation...
Response: Thanks for your advice. And this is a very good suggestion. As reviewer suggest that we have striven to distinguish between summary and conclusion. The specific modifications are highlighted in red font “6. Conclusion” in the paper, and corresponding adjustments have also been made to other content. Please see page 18 in the revised manuscript.
Finally, the authors appreciate the insightful and constructive comments of anonymous reviewers.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
