5.2.2. Period of "Unified Planning" of Homesteads

In 1979, the first national work conference on rural housing construction was held, which reiterated that rural housing involved the means of living and that the property rights of housing should be owned by the members of the community. Since then, China has eased its long-standing controls on rural housing construction. In the 1980s, in order to activate the rural economy and strengthen rural construction, the government formulated some rural policies to relax the application targets for homesteads, resulting in problematic phenomena, such as the random occupation of cultivated land and disorderly expansion of rural housing construction [72]. During this period, the area of rural settlements in Dingzhou City changed drastically and the area of rural settlements increased by 2743.92 ha. Some settlements in Zhuanlu Town, Qingfeng Town, Gaopeng Town expanded and merged, and there were also new settlements near the cultivated land. Due to the lack of village and town planning, the idea of renovating old houses was relatively weak, and the construction of new houses resulted in the disorderly expansion of most rural housing sites and a general increase in the scale of villages, a relatively scattered layout, and the problematic occupation of cultivated land. After the housing boom in rural areas, the state and local governments intervened in the management of homesteads in a timely manner, and the homestead system was gradually standardised.

#### 5.2.3. Period of "Paid Use" of Homesteads

In the past, the lack of regulations meant that the phenomenon of multiple dwellings per household was common in rural areas. Behaviours such as over-occupancy and random construction seriously affected the appearance of the villages. One family owning multiple houses meant that a large amount of rural land was concentrated in the hands of a few people, which damaged the interests of other farmers. In order to solve these problems, the state and local governments implemented the "one household, one house" policy. The state also issued documents such as the Request for Instructions on Strengthening the Management of Rural Homesteads and Several Regulations on Determining Land Ownership and Use Rights to intensify the control of rural homesteads. In 1992, the Hebei Provincial People's Government promulgated the Regulations on the Administration of Rural Homesteads in Hebei Province [73]. If rural residential areas in Hebei Province exceeded the land use limit, the land was retreated within a time limit and planned index management was implemented. During this period, some rural settlements in Kaiyuan Town were converted into cultivated land, some rural settlements in Chang'an Lu Street and Beicheng Qu were vacated into cultivated land, and some were converted into urban land. The growth rates of rural settlements in Zhoucun Town, Yangjia Zhuang Town, Xingyi Town, and Xizhong Town slowed compared to the previous period. Rural homesteads were allocated by households, and redundant homesteads were recovered. This measure strengthened the organisation of rural residential sites in Dingzhou. The government also indicated the direction of action for farmers through positive advocacy and incentives and gave rewards or subsidies to villagers who voluntarily vacated their homesteads. These policies directly aroused the enthusiasm of farmers and effectively controlled the number of rural settlements.

#### 5.2.4. Period of "Connecting Increase and Decrease" of Homesteads

In 2002, the People's Government of Hebei Province issued the Measures for the Administration of Rural Homesteads in Hebei Province [74], which pointed out that, upon review by the county (city) land administration department, the county (city) people's government could take back one household from a rural villager after approval. Since then, Dingzhou has implemented the relevant regulations of the State Council on strict land management and encouraged the consolidation of rural construction land. The increase in urban construction land is linked to the reduction of rural construction land. The growth rate slowed down during this period, although the total area of rural settlements in Dingzhou increased. The average annual growth rate of rural settlements from 2000 to 2010 decreased from 1.81% in the previous period to 1.26%. Rural settlements have also retreated in most areas of Dingzhou, such as Kaiyuan Town, Dalu Zhuang Town, Dongwang Town, Zhuanlu Town, and Ziwei Town. The effective implementation of measures such as "one house for one household" and "connecting increase and decrease" has curbed the expansion of rural settlements and has prompted the spatial pattern of rural settlements in Dingzhou to change from disorder to order.

#### 5.2.5. Period of "Separation of Three Rights" of Homesteads

With the orderly launch of the pilot work connecting the increase and decrease of urban and rural construction land, China's homestead system has gradually improved. The General Office of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and the General Office of the Provincial Government jointly issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Promotion of Rural Reform to explore the "separation of three rights" system for rural homesteads [75]. In response to higher-level policies, Dingzhou also formulated institutional documents, such as the Dingzhou Homestead Management Method [76], and started preparing the city's village land use planning. In the Measures for the Use of Surplus Indicators for Homestead Retirement in Dingzhou City [77], the government proposed using the increase or decrease in bonus funds to support the pilot reform. The average annual growth rate of rural settlements in Dingzhou was only 0.05% during this period, which shows that the

towns and villages in Dingzhou actively responded to national policies. In March 2015, Dingzhou City was identified as one of the 33 pilot projects for the reform of the rural land system in the country and has successively carried out three pilot reforms, including the rural land expropriation system, the entry of collectively owned construction land into the market, and the homestead system. Dingzhou actively explored ways to exit during this period, and due to the long-term policy regulation and effective implementation of rural settlements, the scale and pattern of rural settlements has been optimised to a certain extent. The scale of rural settlements has not currently changed much. As a result, the average annual change in the area of rural settlements in 2020 was low.

The orderly launch of the pilot work connecting the increase and decrease in urban and rural construction land means that China's homestead system has gradually improved. During the period of the "separation of three rights" housing estates, the average annual growth rate of rural settlements in Dingzhou was only 0.05%, which shows that all towns and villages in Dingzhou actively responded to national policies. In September 2020, 104 counties (cities, districts) and three prefecture-level cities launched a new round of pilot reforms for the rural homestead system. The core of this new round is exploring the form of separate ownership, contracts, and the management of homesteads. Dingzhou city is a pilot city in the new round of rural homestead system reform determined by the central government. In 2021, Dingzhou City promulgated the Dingzhou City Rural Homestead System Reform Pilot Implementation Plan, Guiding Opinions on the Revitalisation and Utilisation of Rural Idle Homesteads and Idle Houses in Dingzhou City (Trial) and Dingzhou Rural Homestead Circulation Management Interim Measures [77], focusing on exploring the "separation of three rights" of homesteads and promoting the management of rural settlements in Dingzhou.
