Promoting sustainable development in both urban and rural areas has become a globally shared concern. Urban–rural interactions can contribute to wealth creation, poverty alleviation, employment growth, and improved social equity. It has been widely recognized as a key strategy for addressing sustainability challenges, although it may also bring some negative impacts, such as labor outmigration and imbalanced capital allocation. However, the impacts of urban–rural interactions on rural development and how these impacts contribute to sustainable rural transformation require further in-depth investigation.
Against this backdrop, Professor He Yanhua’s research team at Hunan Normal University took the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan urban agglomeration as a case study. Employing a mediating effect model, they analyzed the mediating roles of factors such as capital, technology, labor, and land in the process through which urban–rural interaction promotes sustainable rural development. This research reveals the mechanism by which urban–rural interaction influences sustainable rural development, providing a theoretical foundation and practical guidance for advancing sustainable development in urban–rural regions.
Highlights:
Urban–rural interactions enhance the rural social-economic sustainability.
Urban–rural social and spatial interactions harm rural environmental sustainability.
Capital, technology, and labor mediate urban–rural interactions’ rural sustainability impact.
Core content:
Urban–rural interactions have profound impacts on rural development, including population mobility, industrial growth, and public service provision. Currently, they serve as a key driving force in rural transformation in China, especially in densely populated and economically dynamic areas such as urban agglomerations. Based on the case study of an urban agglomeration in central China, this research deeply explores the impact mechanism of urban–rural interaction on sustainable rural development using an urban–rural interaction and rural sustainability assessment framework. Key findings of the study include:
- Positive urban–rural interactions play a crucial role in addressing rural decline and advancing regional sustainable development.
- Urban–rural industrial convergence, spatial connectivity, and social integration all contribute positively to rural social and economic sustainability.
- Urban–rural interactions facilitate the flows of capital, technology, and labor to rural areas, and these flows drive the sustainable development of rural society and the economy.
- During the process of urban–rural interaction, the expansion of small towns, changes in consumption patterns, and transformations in agricultural production practices have exerted adverse effects on the rural environment.
To effectively leverage the positive effects of urban–rural interaction while mitigating its potential adverse impacts, the study proposes the following recommendations: construct a more compact urban–rural spatial structure to enhance physical connectivity; attract more investment in rural industries to promote industrial transformation, innovation and integration; ensure equitable access to public services; and implement strict environmental protection and land-use management policies.
Outlook: Based on empirical analysis, this study confirms the mechanisms through which urban–rural interaction influences sustainable rural development via the flow of factors such as population, capital, and technology. However, urban–rural interactions and rural development pathways vary across countries and regions, which may limit the applicability of the results. For example, in remote villages that do not benefit from urban spillover effects, these measures may be less effective. Consequently, future research could be undertaken in diverse national and regional contexts to further investigate the intrinsic relationships between urban–rural interaction and sustainable rural development.
DOI：
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2025.100338