Exploring Solutions to Improve the Evaluation of Development

sustainability

Article Exploring Solutions to Improve the Evaluation of Development of Rural Villages: A Case Study of the Application of the Evaluation for the Construction of Beautiful Villages (ECBV) in a Village in South China

Chenxi Liu 1 , Fan Wang 1,2,* , Xihong Gao 2 and Harry Smith 1

1 School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK; [email protected] (C.L.); [email protected] (H.S.) 2 School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: Eco-village development has been considered by the Chinese central government as part of its rural revitalisation campaign and it is seen as a crucial/main solution to the increasingly serious rural issues caused by urban–rural inequality. A signiﬁcant number of eco-villages are being or will be developed with government leadership and support under the guidance of a corresponding assessment. However, the latest Chinese eco-village assessment, the Evaluation for the Construction of Beautiful Villages (ECBV), has been found to have limitations related to the assessment process, method, and indicators, meaning that it cannot be used to perform a balanced evaluation of the social, economic, and environmental aspects of an eco-village. As assessing an eco-village is as essential

as building it, it has become necessary to balance the criteria and improve the ECBV assessment so that it can review existing achievements, guide further development, and ensure better outcomes.

Citation: Liu, C.; Wang, F.; Gao, X.; Thus, this paper aims to: (1) identify the limitations of ECBV through a case study of a carefully Smith, H. Exploring Solutions to selected Chinese eco-village, Zhenghu Village, by repeating the assessment process and analysing the Improve the Evaluation of assessment results, and (2) propose three possible solutions to improve the assessment by applying a Development of Rural Villages: A revised ECBV assessment, the components of which are adopted and revised from an internationally Case Study of the Application of the recognised sustainability assessment, the Sustainable Development Indicators (SDIs). The results Evaluation for the Construction of of the case study conﬁrm the limitations of the ECBV assessment. Besides, the research outcomes Beautiful Villages (ECBV) in a Village of these three possible solutions can improve ECBV assessment and also provide ideas for the in South China. Sustainability 2021, 13, improvement of other existing assessment methods. Moreover, other developing countries may 685. https://doi.org/10.3390/ apply the research process and method introduced in this paper to formulate or improve their own su13020685 eco-village assessments.

Received: 6 November 2020 Keywords: eco-village; assessment method; ECBV; socio-economic impacts; rural issues; China; rural Accepted: 28 December 2020 Published: 12 January 2021 revitalisation; sustainable development

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neu- tral with regard to jurisdictional clai- ms in published maps and institutio- 1. Introduction nal afﬁliations. Recent studies have revealed that worldwide urbanisation has caused some adverse effects on the social, economic, and environmental aspects of rural development, including “rural hollowing” as the workforce leave rural areas in order to achieve a better standard of living in urban areas [1,2], the skewing of the population towards the elderly and Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Li- censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. children [3,4], and farmland abandonment [5,6]. Many developed countries have started the This article is an open access article transition in rural areas to cope with these negative facets of rapid urbanisation processes distributed under the terms and con- for decades [7–9]. These issues have also been recognised in China and in other developing ditions of the Creative Commons At- Asian countries, which have led to extra economic and social pressures such as housing tribution (CC BY) license (https:// affordability in urban areas [10–12]. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ To solve these rural issues as a matter of urgency in China, the central government 4.0/). learned from other Asian countries, including Japan and Korea, which had experienced

Sustainability 2021, 13, 685. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020685 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 2 of 23

urbanisation earlier than China [13]. One of the adopted solutions is to develop the rural area in a sustainable way that can regenerate social and natural environments and integrate cultural and economic dimensions in a long-term process [14,15]. The ultimate goal of rural development is considered to be achieving social, economic, and environmental sustainability [16–18]. Therefore, the Chinese government has launched a series of campaigns, from issuing policies and legislation to providing incentives and funding, to support sustainable development in rural areas [19]. As a result of this initiative, a series of nationwide eco-development schemes have been introduced since 2005 [20]. In 2008, the Chinese government identified the eco-village development proposed in the ‘Beautiful Village’ scheme as one of the most effective and efficient schemes to solve rural issues due to its positive effect on retaining young villagers [21]. Therefore, developing eco-villages became one of the leading measures for solving rural issues. After recognising eco-village development as a holistic approach to integrating the cultural and economic dimensions, and regenerating the social and natural environments [14,22], the Chinese government began massively facilitating eco-village development in rural areas. According to the official Chinese rural revitalisation strategies, there are various measures to develop rural areas, including the development of eco-villages, acceleration of the agricultural modernisation, promotion of the rural industries, and improvement of the urban-rural integration [23]. In addition to the rural development policies, recent studies have also indicated that the principles of eco-village development are consistent with the strategies of the rural revitalisation campaign in China, which was formulated to develop rural areas equally in their economic, social, and environmental aspects, and to reduce urban bias [19,24,25]. To ensure that rural issues are resolved by developing eco-villages practically, the Chinese government has established a range of corresponding assessments: the National Eco-village Construction Standard (Trial) [26], the National Demonstration Eco-village Construction Indicators [27], and the Guide for the Construction of Beautiful Villages [28]. These assessments were the trial versions, and they constituted the early efforts to regulate and assess eco-village development in China. However, these early versions of Chinese eco- village assessments had some limitations, such as unbalanced criteria, limited indicators, and a complicated assessment process [19,29]. Thus, Chinese researchers have highlighted that assessing an eco-village is as essential as building it, and they have suggested formu- lating a specific assessment to comprehensively assess sustainability performance [30,31]. In this context, the latest Chinese eco-village assessment, the Evaluation for the Construction of Beautiful Villages (ECBV), was formulated at the end of 2018 [32]. This assessment is an extension of the relevant national guide published in 2015. When compared to the first two eco-village assessments published in 2006 and 2014, it is clear that ECBV covers multiple assessment aspects and is the most comprehensive of the four (Figure1). However, it still has some limitations in terms of the assessment method, criteria, and indicators, especially their applicability when evaluating various eco-village cases in China [33]. Thus, the ECBV assessment needs to be revised by introducing new features. This paper aims to identify the limitations of the current Chinese eco-village assessment, ECBV, and to propose solutions. The solutions were developed by applying a revised assessment approach developed in a previous study [29] to a carefully selected development case and analysing each of the assessment aspects. The case study results from Zhenghu Village will be presented in Section4. By analysing the collected data and information, the limitations of the current Chinese eco-village ECBV will be revealed, and the corresponding solutions will be presented. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 3 of 23

Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 24

Figure 1. Figure 1. IntegrationIntegration diagram diagram of of rural rural development, development, eco-village eco-village development, development, and theand corresponding the corresponding assessments assessments in China. in China. 2. Eco-Village Assessments in China 2.2.1. Eco-Village ECBV Assessment Assessments and Its in Limitations China 2.1. ECBVIn China, Assessment to support and the its rapidLimitations eco-village development and solve rural issues, many Chi- neseIn researchers China, to aresupport reviewing the rapid ongoing eco-villag eco-villagee development developments and insolve other ruralcountries issues, [ 34many,35], Chinesesince an eco-villageresearchers isare a continuousreviewing projectongoing rather eco-village than a particulardevelopments outcome in other [36,37 countries]. There- [34,35],fore, the since application an eco-village of a long-term is a continuous tracking project method rather should than be a encouraged particular outcome when assessing [36,37]. an eco-village [38,39]. This measure would turn such an assessment into a diagnostic tool Therefore, the application of a long-term tracking method should be encouraged when to support eco-village development and solve rural issues in China. On the contrary, as can assessing an eco-village [38,39]. This measure would turn such an assessment into a diag- be seen from Table1, an eco-village is currently only certified at the post-construction stage nostic tool to support eco-village development and solve rural issues in China. On the during the ECBV assessment process, with 101 indicators falling into seven categories. For contrary, as can be seen from Table 1, an eco-village is currently only certified at the post- an official ECBV assessment, the assessment panel formed by the local government will go construction stage during the ECBV assessment process, with 101 indicators falling into through all seven categories and 101 assessment indicators to evaluate an eco-village and seven categories. For an official ECBV assessment, the assessment panel formed by the decide whether or not the eco-village achieves the assessment criteria. The classification of local government will go through all seven categories and 101 assessment indicators to the categories references internationally recognised assessments such as Building Research evaluate an eco-village and decide whether or not the eco-village achieves the assessment Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) Communities, which take criteria. The classification of the categories references internationally recognised assess- the planning, construction, and operation stages of an eco-village into consideration. In ments such as Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method addition, the sixth and seventh categories are developed from the previous assessment, the (BREEAM)Guide for the Communities, Construction which of Beautiful take the Villages planning, (2015), construction, based on theand national operation conditions. stages of an eco-village into consideration. In addition, the sixth and seventh categories are developed from the previous assessment, the Guide for the Construction of Beautiful Villages (2015), based on the national conditions. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 4 of 23

Table 1. The proﬁle of the Evaluation for the Construction of Beautiful Villages (ECBV) assessment.

1. Village planning (5) 2. Village construction (15) 3. Ecological environment (30) 4. Economic development (11) Categories (Number of Indicators) 5. Public service (30) 6. Rural civilisation (3) 7. Primary organisation (6) 8. Innovation (1) Update Date 28 December 2018 Certiﬁcate Process Certiﬁcate at the post-construction stage

Although the local government reassesses the certified eco-villages once a year, they just repeat the procedures, involving only the data collected from the current year [40]. Therefore, historical data cannot be applied to the eco-village development assessment as the development trend is not considered in each new ECBV assessment of eco-villages. Furthermore, an eco-village needs to balance its social, economic, and environmental development. Therefore, the assessment result should reflect the considerations of all relevant factors when assessing a single indicator as all the development aspects interact with each other. In other words, the eco-village assessment needs to provide a comprehensive result for sustainability in order to provide a better understanding of the current development situation. However, the very detailed indicators illustrated in Table1 are not balanced according to the three pillars of sustainability: the social, economic, and environmental aspects in ECBV. This is discussed in Section 4.3 in more detail. Apart from this, the pass-or-fail result has limited use for addressing potential problems or decision making in an eco-village development. A qualitative analysis result could offer more constructive suggestions. Beyond the assessment result, a further limitation of ECBV is that the criteria for assessment are not designed to assess all types of eco-village developments, such as government-led and grassroots cases, because of their large quantity [41]. Due to their small scale or remote location, many of the grassroots eco-villages initiated by non-government organisations cannot be assessed to determine their development orientation. In this case, the assessment should be designed with sufficient flexibility to cater responsibly for various local situations at different development stages with different development patterns. Therefore, the eco-village assessment needs to be designed in such a way that it is adaptable to specific circumstances. More detail on the limitations in practical applications will be provided and discussed in Section4.

2.2. Internationally Recognised Assessments and Their Limitations While there are increasing measures to support the rural revitalisation campaign and eco-village developments in China, the problem is obvious: there are no assessment methods available that can be applied to comprehensively evaluate the sustainability of an eco-village and to produce results that can guide further development and ensure better outcomes. As pointed out by many researchers [14,42], an eco-village can be designed and developed in various ways, at different levels, and with diverse environments, therefore one of the solutions could be to employ internationally recognised assessments, like BREEAM Communities and the Sustainable Development Indicators (SDIs), to assess the sustainability of an eco-village [43–45]. BREEAM Communities was formulated in 2012 as a commercial assessment that can be adapted to fit various development conditions of a community-scale project [46]. With 40 indicators falling into five categories, it can help developers to not only design but also assess projects according to their social, economic, and environmental benefits. The first-ever BREEAM Communities certificate was issued to a new developed sustainable community in Nanjing, the Qinglong Mountain International Eco-city, in 2016 [47,48]. How- Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 5 of 23

Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEWever, the BREEAM Communities method has its restrictions and limitations for5 of 24 assessing Chinese eco-villages [29]. As it is designed for a different purpose, BREEAM Communities cannotmunity addressin Nanjing, the the social Qinglong issues Mountain related to International demographic Eco-city, changes, in 2016 and [47,48]. it is also How- not applica- bleever, for the the BREEAM assessment Communities of agricultural method problemshas its restrictions such as and farmland limitations reclamation, for assessing which are Chinese eco-villages [29]. As it is designed for a different purpose, BREEAM Communities both mandatory assessments in ECBV. cannot address the social issues related to demographic changes, and it is also not appli- cableFormulated for the assessment by the of agricultural Ofﬁce for Nationalproblems such Statistics as farmland in 2007, reclamation, SDIs have which been are used to provideboth mandatory an overview assessments of sustainable in ECBV. development progress in the UK with 35 indicators [49]. This assessmentFormulated by concept, the Office including for National its process, Statistics criteria, in 2007, and SDIs indicators, have been used is appropriate to pro- for a long-termvide an overview development of sustaina sinceble itdevelopment can be applied progress to a projectin the UK at thewith initial 35 indicators stage to [49]. extensively trackThis assessment the development concept, progress. including However, its process, the criteria, SDIs areand designed indicators, to is assess appropriate the development for ina long-term a country, development in which the since assessment it can be applied scale is to signiﬁcantly a project at the larger initial than stage in to anexten- eco-village. Therefore,sively track thethe assessmentdevelopment cannot progress. be However, applied tothe eco-village SDIs are designed assessment to assess in China,the de- but the conceptvelopment can in be a adoptedcountry, in to which improve the theassessmen ECBVt assessment.scale is significantly larger than in an eco-village.By contrast, Therefore, the ECBVthe assessment assessment cannot is designed be applied according to eco-village to the assessment local conditions, in but thereChina, has but been the concept a lack of can subsequent be adopted studies to improve to reveal the ECBV its potential assessment. limitations and to improve By contrast, the ECBV assessment is designed according to the local conditions, but it. In this case, by considering the current Chinese national conditions, the most feasible there has been a lack of subsequent studies to reveal its potential limitations and to im- solution to the lack of adequate assessment is to revise the ECBV according to the limitations prove it. In this case, by considering the current Chinese national conditions, the most addressedfeasible solution in this topaper. the lack This of adequate can be doneassessment by applying is to revise the the methodology ECBV according introduced to the in the nextlimitations section. addressed in this paper. This can be done by applying the methodology introduced in the next section. 3. Methodology 3. MethodologyIn this paper, a case study was conducted to address the limitations of the ECBV in practice.In this This paper, research a case study method was can conducted reveal to the address limitations the limitations practically of the by ECBV presenting in the inadequatepractice. This assessment research method process can and reveal results. the limitations Hence, Zhenghu practically Village, by presenting a typical the eco-villagein- developmentadequate assessment located process in Fujian, and China,results. was Hence, selected Zhenghu as the Village, eco-village a typical development eco-village case to bedevelopment studied. In located the case in Fujian, study, China, the ECBV was selected assessment as the method eco-village was development applied to evaluatecase the datato be collectedstudied. In from the case the study, previous the ECBV ethnographic assessment study. method After was addressingapplied to evaluate the limitations the of thedata ECBV, collected the from corresponding the previous solutions ethnographic to improve study. After the assessment addressing werethe limitations found by of adopting the ECBV, the corresponding solutions to improve the assessment were found by adopt- revised assessment methods from SDIs. The framework of the study methodology is shown ing revised assessment methods from SDIs. The framework of the study methodology is in Figure2. shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Structure of the study approach developed from previous eco-village assessment research [29]. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 6 of 23

3.1. Case Study: Zhenghu Village Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW Zhenghu Village was one of the6 of traditional24 villages that suffered from the rural issues Figure 2. Structure of the study approach developed frommentioned previous earliereco-village in assessment terms of economic,re- environmental, and social aspects. It was a search [29]. mountainous village located in South China with very limited area for growing crops (Figure3). Stricken by poverty, the village was losing its labour force, as the young and 3.1. Case Study: Zhenghu Village capable villagers were leaving for job opportunities in cities and other regions. This resulted Zhenghu Village was one of the traditional villagesin rural that hollowing suffered andfrom farmland the rural issues degradation in Zhenghu Village. In the 2000s, through mentioned earlier in terms of economic, environmental,an initial and nationwide social aspects. eco-development It was a moun- campaign, an eco-village development scheme tainous village located in South China with verywas limited conducted area for in growing Zhenghu crops Village. (Figure In 2012, the village was certiﬁed by an assessment 3). Stricken by poverty, the village was losing itspanel labour using force, an asearly the young version and of capable the Chinese eco-village assessment, the National Eco- villagers were leaving for job opportunities in citiesvillage and Construction other regions. Standard This resulted (Trial) in [ 26]. However, the trial version with only ﬁfteen rural hollowing and farmland degradation in Zhenghuindicators Village. proved In the to be2000s, too through general an and inadequate to assess Chinese eco-villages [50]. initial nationwide eco-development campaign, anTwo eco-village years later, development Zhenghu Village scheme was was recognised as a demonstration project of eco-village conducted in Zhenghu Village. In 2012, the villagedevelopment was certified in by China. an assessment It became panel a typical case in the eco-village development scheme, using an early version of the Chinese eco-villageaccording assessment, not onlythe National to its size Eco-village and population, but also to its development history, as the Construction Standard (Trial) [26]. However, thevillagers trial version pulled with themselves only fifteen out indicators of poverty and successfully transformed their village into a proved to be too general and inadequate to assessgovernment-recognised Chinese eco-villages [50]. eco-village. Two years Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 24 later, Zhenghu Village was recognised as a demonstration project of eco-village development in China. It became a typical case in the eco-village development scheme, according not only to its size and population, but also to its development history, as the villagers pulled themselves out of poverty and successfully transformed their village into a government-recognised eco-village.

(a) (b)

Figure 3. (a) LocationFigure of Zhenghu 3. (a) Location Village. of Zhenghu (b) Masterplan Village. of (b Zhenghu) Masterplan Village. of Zhenghu Village.

In 2009, afterIn 2009, three-year after three-year continuous continuous investment investment in infrastructure in infrastructure and agricultural and agricultural in- industries, thedustries, rural planthe rural was implementedplan was implemented (Figure3b) (Fig [ 51ure]. The3b) [51]. local The government local government believed believed that the eco-villagethat the eco-village development development scheme helped scheme to helped solve to rural solve issues rural as issues the villagers’as the villagers’ standard ofstandard living improved of living signiﬁcantly,improved significantly, a phenomenon a phenomenon echoed in echoed studies in in studies developed in developed countries [7countries,52]. The [7,52]. regular The inspections regular inspections of eco-village of eco-village development development also conﬁrmed also confirmed the the achievementsachievements made in Zhenghu made in VillageZhenghu throughout Village throughout the last decade. the last Itde cancade. be It seen can be from seen from the government’s annual reports that the data on the social, economic, and environmental aspects of the village, including permanent residents, individual income, and medical insurance coverage, met the requirements in the ECBV. However, even if all the requirements were met during the assessment, this does not mean that the development in Zhenghu Village will continue moving in the right direction with effective and efficient strategies. For example, over 90% of the villagers were covered by basic medical insurance from 2014 to 2018, which exceeded the baseline required in the ECBV indicator of basic medical insurance coverage. However, the relevant assessment criteria in ECBV were eased according to the general rural development level in China. It was a requirement that basic medical insurance should cover all the villagers in Zhenghu, but in 2018, the percentage covered still only reached 92.35%. Besides, the local government considered that developing agriculture was essential for alleviating poverty, so they continuously invested in agricultural industries to boost economic development. This measure benefited the local economy at first, but it brought other negative consequences, including misleading income data and a lack of diversification in the local economy. These two problems will be analysed in detail in Section 4, along with other ECBV assessment limitations. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 7 of 23

the government’s annual reports that the data on the social, economic, and environmental aspects of the village, including permanent residents, individual income, and medical insurance coverage, met the requirements in the ECBV. However, even if all the requirements were met during the assessment, this does not mean that the development in Zhenghu Village will continue moving in the right direction with effective and efficient strategies. For example, over 90% of the villagers were covered by basic medical insurance from 2014 to 2018, which exceeded the baseline required in the ECBV indicator of basic medical insurance coverage. However, the relevant assessment criteria in ECBV were eased according to the general rural development level in China. It was a requirement that basic medical insurance should cover all the villagers in Zhenghu, but in 2018, the percentage covered still only reached 92.35%. Besides, the local government considered that developing agriculture was essential for alleviating poverty, so they continuously invested in agricultural industries to boost economic development. This measure benefited the local economy at first, but it brought other negative consequences, including misleading income data and a lack of diversification in the local economy. These two problems will be analysed in detail in Section4, along with other ECBV assessment limitations.

3.2. Mixed Methods The primary purpose of developing eco-villages in China is to solve the increasingly serious rural issues. Under the circumstances of rapid urbanisation in China, the rural issues mentioned above can be solved with continuous eco-village development in rural areas. To investigate rural development in China, both qualitative and quantitative methods should be used, and this type of mixed-method approach is increasingly popular in rural studies. In recent research, Strijker et al. [53] concluded that the rural study context provides considerable scope for an extensive application of mixed methods, which exactly corresponds with this study context. Thus, for the data collection and the analysis, both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted in this study to address the limitations of Chinese eco-village assessment and to propose solutions to improve it. In order to address the limitations of the ECBV in practice, a case study of a typical Chinese eco-village development, Zhenghu Village, was conducted. The data required to repeat the assessment process were collected from interviews, documents, and observations, which will be explained in Section 3.3 in more detail. With the exploratory sequential research method, the study starts with qualitative research and then analyses the subsequent quantitative components [54]. Therefore, the data will be rearranged to show the development trends and notable changes during the eco-village transition in Zhenghu Village. As an ongoing process, eco-village development cannot be achieved all at once; therefore, this type of development needs to be assessed in the long term. However, even if an eco-village’s status is inspected regularly in China, the ECBV assessment applied during the inspection can only assess sustainability through the data collected that year. Moreover, the unbalanced assessment criteria and missing indicators in the ECBV have been highlighted in recent research [55]. The ECBV therefore needs to be revised in order to improve the assessment method. The assessment method proposed here to improve the ECBV is drawn from the SDIs [49], which use a long-term tracking assessment method and employ qualitative analysis. Furthermore, the SDIs implement headline and supplementary indicators to measure the primary and particular sustainability performances for the whole country. In a word, SDIs provides an overview of the long-term progress made on the aspects of social, economic, and environmental development nationwide. However, the SDIs assessment method cannot be adopted directly for eco-villages due to its assessment scope and scale—the volume and complexity of an eco-village development in China are signiﬁcantly smaller than those of a country. Furthermore, the ECBV assessment is designed according to the national conditions in China, and it focuses on solving rural Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 8 of 23

issues by assessing 101 indicators. Therefore, the SDIs assessment concepts, including quantitative analysis of the development trends, qualitative analysis of the reason and impact of the trends and changes, and indicators of supplementary evidence, will be applied to the case study results.

3.3. Data Collection and Analysis Methods In order to address the ECBV assessment limitations in practice, the data analysed in this study were collected from government annual reports, two open-ended surveys among villagers, interviews of government officials, local media, and direct observations. The government reports, including government work reports, demographic data, and the development schemes for the local economy, provide comprehensive and authentic annual data for the eco-village development in Zhenghu Village. All these documents show the social, economic, and environmental development from 2000 to 2019 through reliable and accurate statistics. Apart from the governmental primary data, other sets of data on the development history of Zhenghu Village, including the masterplan of public facilities, were used. These sets of data are proven to be reliable because they have been used in previous research, and they can confirm the materials collected from the government reports and local media. In the case study, all these collected data and information are rearranged and visualised in a series of figures to explicitly address the limitations of the ECBV assessment.

4. Case Study Results and Analyses As mentioned above, the data for eco-village development in Zhenghu Village were collected during previous ﬁeldwork from various resources. In this section, considering accessibility and conﬁdentiality, the most relevant and typical data, according to the Chinese eco-village development assessment, are rearranged and analysed here.

4.1. Limitations of the Static Assessment Process The demographic statistics (Figure4a) reveal that the rural population in Zhenghu Village generally remained at the same level (average decline 1.2% each year). Against the overall rural population decrease in China during the same period (Figure4b), eco- village development exerted a tremendous influence by solving the rural hollowing issue. However, efforts to maintain the rural population during times of rapid urbanisation cannot be assessed through the ECBV as it only assesses the current number of permanent residents each year, rather than over a longer period of time. Thus, the ECBV assessment cannot reveal the fundamental relationship between eco-village development during the rural revitalisation campaign and population shifts. In the social welfare aspect of the ECBV, the percentage of villagers covered by medical insurance is a mandatory indicator that has to be greater than or equal to 90% to pass the assessment. Figure5 shows that the rate was always over 90% from 2014 to 2018, which secured eco-village recognition for Zhenghu Village. On the other hand, while the total number of insured people increased steadily, the percentage covered by medical insurance fluctuated, due to population shifts, rural medical insurance system reform, and government support. However, according to the official statistics, national medical insurance covered over 95% of the total population [57]. Thus, the coverage in Zhenghu Village was still far below the nationwide average. Moreover, even though Zhenghu Village passed the assessment of medical insurance-related indicators each year, and the number of insured people was increasing, the annual change in the percentage of people not covered by medical insurance cannot be reflected through the ECBV assessment. This defect in the assessment prompts eco-village developments to pursue a good score during the assessment process instead of focusing more on development progress, which makes the ECBV assessment a formality. Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 24

4. Case Study Results and Analyses As mentioned above, the data for eco-village development in Zhenghu Village were collected during previous fieldwork from various resources. In this section, considering accessibility and confidentiality, the most relevant and typical data, according to the Chi- nese eco-village development assessment, are rearranged and analysed here.

14,000 12,763 12,907 12,324 12,422 12,548 12,000

10,000

8000 6748 6785 6667 6692 6000

Population 4020 4038 4044 4056 4000

2000

0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Population of permanent resident Population of household registered Population in primary sector

(a) 46% 45.23% 45% 43.9% Sustainability 44%2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 10 of 24

42.65% 43% In the social welfare aspect of the ECBV, the percentage of villagers covered by medical insurance is a mandatory indicator that has to be greater than or equal to 90% to pass 42% 41.48% the assessment. Figure 5 shows that the rate was always over 90% from 2014 to 2018, Percentage 41% which secured eco-village recognition for Zhenghu Village. On the other40.42% hand, while the total number of insured people increased steadily, the percentage covered by medical in- 40% surance fluctuated, due to population shifts, rural medical insurance system reform, and 39% government support. However, according to the official statistics, national medical insurance covered over 95% of the total population [57]. Thus, the coverage in Zhenghu Village 38% was still far below the nationwide average. Moreover, even though Zhenghu Village 2014 passed the assessment2015 of medical2016 insurance-related2017 indicators each year,2018 and the number of insured people was increasing,(b) the annual change in the percentage of people not covered by medical insurance cannot be reflected through the ECBV assessment. This defect Figure 4.Figure(a) General 4. (a) General population population conditions conditions in in Zhenghu Zhenghu VillageVillage (data (data for for 2014 2014 and and 2018 2018 are partially are partially available). available). (b) Rural (b) Rural population ratio (%) in Chinain the (2014–2018) assessment [56]. prompts eco-village developments to pursue a good score during the population ratio (%) in China (2014–2018)assessment [process56]. instead of focusing more on development progress, which makes the ECBV assessment a formality.

12,000 11,920 99% 11,896 11,900 98%

11,800 97% 11,700 11,635 11,613 96% 11,600 95% 11,500 94% 11,400 11,356

Number of people of Number 93% 11,300 92% 11,200 93.49% 93.21% 92.72% 92.35% 11,100 92.15% 91%

11,000 90% 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Percentage of population insured Number of population insured

FigureFigure 5. Percentage 5. Percentage and and number number of of peoplepeople insu insuredred by by national national medical medical insurance. insurance. A similar situation also happened with the education-related assessment. The ECBV indicators mainly focus on compulsory education coverage in each year. However, the student–teacher ratio and the number of students and teachers were not assessed individ- ually during the period 2014–2018, despite the fact that they could indicate the allocation of educational resources in Zhenghu Village. Compared to the standard, the unaddressed student–teacher ratio was much better than in many traditional villages [58]. More unaddressed indicators will be discussed in Section 4.3. Despite satisfying the education-related assessment in ECBV, the series of data presented in Figure 6, showing large changes, could not be assessed or further analysed by the evaluation process at that time. In this case, the ECBV assessment results cannot evaluate in detail a section that needs to be strengthened as many of the potential improvements are hidden behind recognition. Moreover, the same problem of ignoring sustainability development trends on a year-on-year basis also exists in the economic and environmental assessments. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 10 of 23

A similar situation also happened with the education-related assessment. The ECBV indicators mainly focus on compulsory education coverage in each year. However, the student–teacher ratio and the number of students and teachers were not assessed individu- ally during the period 2014–2018, despite the fact that they could indicate the allocation of educational resources in Zhenghu Village. Compared to the standard, the unaddressed student–teacher ratio was much better than in many traditional villages [58]. More unaddressed indicators will be discussed in Section 4.3. Despite satisfying the education-related assessment in ECBV, the series of data presented in Figure6, showing large changes, could not be assessed or further analysed by the evaluation process at that time. In this case, the ECBV assessment results cannot evaluate in detail a section that needs to be strengthened as many of the potential improvements are hidden behind recognition. Moreover, the same problem of ignoring sustainability development trends on a year-on-year basis also exists in the economic and environmental Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEWassessments. 11 of 24

90.0 652 700

80.0 600 70.0 492 468 500 445 60.0 438

50.0 56 400 50 49 40.0 42 300 30.0 Student-teacher ratio Student-teacher 34 200 20.0 Number of students/teachers 100 10.0 14.5 8.8 9.6 11.6 10.6 0.0 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Student-teacher ratio Number of primary school teachers Number of primary school students

Figure 6. Education conditions in Zhenghu Village.

4.2. Limitations of the Absolute Grading 4.2. Limitations of the Absolute Grading Apart from considering an eco-village’s development trend, the ECBV assessment also Apartneeds fromto have considering more comprehensive an eco-village’s qualitative development assessment trend, criteria. the ECBV The assessment electricity alsoconsumption needs to haveduring more 2015–2017 comprehensive is a typical qualitative example assessmentof assessment criteria. data Thethat electricitycan cause consumptionmisunderstanding during of the 2015–2017 degree of is eco-village a typical example development. of assessment data that can cause misunderstandingAlthough Zhenghu of the Village degree ofpassed eco-village the en development.ergy consumption assessment for eco-village Althoughdevelopment, Zhenghu this does Village not passed mean thethat energy the energy consumption strategy assessment was appropriate for eco-village at that development,time. As for electricity this does consumption not mean that from the 2015 energy to 2017, strategy the total was and appropriate average consumption at that time. As for electricity consumption from 2015 to 2017, the total and average consumption in in Zhenghu Village were increasing significantly. However, the average electricity con- Zhenghu Village were increasing signiﬁcantly. However, the average electricity consump- sumption (presented in Figure 7) was still much lower than the national per capita con- tion (presented in Figure7) was still much lower than the national per capita consumption sumption of 4616 kWh in 2017 [59]. The increase in energy consumption mainly resulted of 4616 kWh in 2017 [59]. The increase in energy consumption mainly resulted from from the mechanisation of agricultural production and the promotion of home appliances the mechanisation of agricultural production and the promotion of home appliances in in Zhenghu Village, both of which were sponsored by the local government. In this case, Zhenghu Village, both of which were sponsored by the local government. In this case, the the year-on-year growth in electricity consumption marked an improvement in living standards instead of a low energy efficiency scenario represented by the absolute grading results. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 11 of 23

year-on-year growth in electricity consumption marked an improvement in living standards

Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEWinstead of a low energy efﬁciency scenario represented by the absolute grading results.12 of 24

3.4 3.5 600 3.1

3 500

2.5 2.3 400

2 300 1.5 511.06 464.98 200 1 338.98

100 0.5 Electricity consumption per capita (kWh) capita per consumption Electricity Total electricity consumption (million kWh) (million consumption Total electricity

0 0 2015 2016 2017

Electricity consumption per capita (kWh) Total electricity consumption (million kWh)

Figure 7. EleElectricityctricity consumption in Zhenghu Village.

GovernmentGovernment support support is is helpful for improving rural living standards. However, it is notnot always beneficialbeneficial forfor eco-villageeco-village developmentdevelopment in in China. China. One One of of the the typical typical examples examples is isthat that financial financial support support is is counted counted as as annual annual income income in in Zhenghu Zhenghu Village. Village. InIn Zhenghu Zhenghu Village, Village, the collective economy has has grown to be one of the crucial parts ofof eco-village development. The The annual collective economy income consists of earnings fromfrom government government subsidies, subsidies, operations, operations, subcon subcontracts,tracts, investments, investments, and and others. others. As Asthe thelo- callocal government government usually usually designs designs and and develops develops eco-villages eco-villages in traditional in traditional villages, villages, the gov- the ernmentgovernment financial financial support, support, which which is classified is classified as asone one of of the the collective collective economy economy incomes, incomes, was provided at the development’sdevelopment’s initialinitial stagestage [ 60[60].]. However,However, it it can can be be seen seen from from Figure Figure8 8that that the the annual annual government government subsidy subsidy still accountedstill accounted for over for 80% over of income80% of afterincome Zhenghu after ZhenghuVillage was Village certified was as certified an eco-village as an eco-village in 2012. In in this 2012. case, In withthis case, such with a large such portion a large of portiongovernment of government funding, the funding, “favourable” the “favoura assessmentble” assessment results can results neither can prove neither economic prove economicgrowth nor growth drive furthernor drive development further developm throughent the through current the grading current system grading in the system ECBV. in the ECBV. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 12 of 23

Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 13 of 24

5.98 6 100% 5.4

5 4.62 95% 3.98 4.74 4.57 4 3.11 90% 3.64 3 3.29 85% 2 2.45 85%

Income (million CNY) (million Income 83% 80% 1 79% 79% 79%

0 75% 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Proportion of the government subsidy Collective economy income (million CNY)

Government subsidy (million CNY)

Figure 8. ColleCollectivective economy income proﬁleprofile in Zhenghu Village.

Moreover, this this misleading misleading assessment assessment result result could could lead lead to toa poor a poor industrial industrial structure struc- throughture through misunderstandings misunderstandings of the of trends the trends in income in income growth growth in the in annual the annual collective collective economy.economy. Zhenghu Zhenghu Village Village is confronted is confronted with withthis problem this problem due dueto a tolack a lackof motivation of motivation and necessityand necessity to diversify to diversify its industries. its industries. In this In thiscase, case, more more qualitative qualitative analyses analyses should should be in- be troducedintroduced into into the the ECBV ECBV so so that that it itcan can assess assess eco-village eco-village sustainability sustainability more more thoroughly. thoroughly.

4.3. Limitations of the Unaddressed Indicators Government support, especially financialfinancial support,support, was not only concentrated on the collective economy economy but but it it was was also also continuously continuously allocated allocated to to agricultural agricultural development development in Zhenghuin Zhenghu Village. Village. The The local local government government contin continuouslyuously supported supported several several agricultural agricultural in- dustriesindustries to tokickstart kickstart the the economy economy since since developi developingng this this sector sector was was considered considered essential essential to escapeto escape poverty poverty in the in the early early 2000s. 2000s. The The large large amount amount of government of government financial financial support support not onlynot only causes causes a lack a lack of motivation of motivation and and necessity necessity to diversify to diversify industries, industries, but but it also it also results results in unbalancedin unbalanced assessment assessment criteria. criteria. According According to the to local the localgovernment’s government’s annual annual report, report, agri- cultureagriculture is the is leading the leading source source of income, of income, while while tourism, tourism, education, education, and other and othersmall smallbusi- nessesbusinesses have have contributed contributed little littleto the to gross the gross production production in Zhenghu in Zhenghu Village Village since since its eco- its villageeco-village certification certification in 2012. in 2012.This situation This situation is getting is getting worse worsedue to duethe recent to the rural recent revital- rural isationrevitalisation plan, which plan, whichfurther further regards regards the development the development of the agricultural of the agricultural industry industry as one asof one of the most critical factors [33,61]. the most critical factors [33,61]. In addition, as mentioned before, government support can be provided to help eco- In addition, as mentioned before, government support can be provided to help eco- village development during the initial stage [60] but it will go against the eco-village village development during the initial stage [60] but it will go against the eco-village de- development principles if it continues. In this case, there will never be any financial prob- velopment principles if it continues. In this case, there will never be any financial problem lem in such a development, and the economic assessment is likely to be overlooked. This in such a development, and the economic assessment is likely to be overlooked. This issue issue is reflected in the proportion of the ECBV assessment indicators. The indicators that is reflected in the proportion of the ECBV assessment indicators. The indicators that con- concern a mix of social, economic, and environmental aspects are allocated to the most cern a mix of social, economic, and environmental aspects are allocated to the most rele- relevant portion according to the credit weight or assessment criteria in Figure9, in which vant portion according to the credit weight or assessment criteria in Figure 9, in which the the assessment of the economic aspect accounts for only 10.8% of the entire evaluation pro- assessment of the economic aspect accounts for only 10.8% of the entire evaluation process. Meanwhile, in BREEAM Communities, the corresponding proportions are relatively cess. Meanwhile, in BREEAM Communities, the corresponding proportions are relatively even [62,63]. In the ECBV, the economic assessment indicators mainly focus on agricultural Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 13 of 23 Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 24

even [62,63]. In the ECBV, the economic assessment indicators mainly focus on agricul- productiontural production and processing. and processing. Thus, industrialThus, industrial diversity diversity in Zhenghu in Zhenghu Village, Village, or in any or otherin any government-ledother government-led eco-village eco-village development, development, is restricted is restricted by the by assessment the assessment indicators. indicators.

39.6% 49.6% Environmental Social

10.8% Economic

FigureFigure 9. 9.Assessment Assessment weights weights of of social-, social-, economic-, economic-, and and environmental-related environmental-related indicators indicators in the in ECBV. the ECBV. Aside from missing indicators for economic assessment, some commonly applied indicatorsAside proposed from missing in BREEAM indicators Communities for economic and assessment, SDIs, including some green commonly building applied design, in- sustainabledicators proposed building in material, BREEAM climate Communities change adaption,and SDIs, vernacular including green architecture, building housing, design, andsustainable local customs, building were material, not considered climate change in the ECBV.adaption, For vernacular example, Chinese architecture, people housing, dearly honourand local their customs, ancestors were and not deceased considered senior in th relativese ECBV. andFor example, highly value Chinese the traditionpeople dearly of a funeral.honour Thistheir isancestors more common and deceased in rural senior areas [relatives64]. Therefore, and highly a comprehensive value the tradition survey of of a thefuneral. cemetery This construction is more common and organisation in rural areas in Zhenghu[64]. Therefore, Village a wascomprehensive also collected survey as part of ofthe the cemetery ethnographic construction research. and The organisation data include in aZhenghu detailed Village masterplan, was also existing collected issues, as and part correspondingof the ethnographic solutions. research. According The data to theinclude measures a detailed of land masterplan, use in Zhenghu existing Village, issues, theand localcorresponding government solutions. took responsibility According to for the the measures planning of and land construction use in Zhenghu of the Village, cemetery the andlocal it introducedgovernment the took use responsibility of low-environmental-impact for the planning materialsand construction in funeral of activities the cemetery and tomband it building. introduced However, the use of no low-environmenta indicator was includedl-impact in materials the ECBV in to funeral reflect activities this type and of localtomb tradition building. and However, history. no Moreover, indicator the was ECBV included assessment in the cannotECBV to evaluate reflect vernacularthis type of architecture,local tradition green and buildinghistory. Moreover, design, or the the EC useBV of assessment low-environmental-impact cannot evaluate vernacular building materialsarchitecture, during green the building eco-village design, transformation or the use of in low-environmental-impact Zhenghu Village. In China, building the current ma- vigorousterials during eco-village the eco-village development transformation in different in regions Zhenghu at different Village. levelsIn China, aggravates the current the issuesvigorous of unbalanced eco-village criteria,development overlooked in different local traditions, regions at and different unaddressed levels aggravates indicators. the issuesConsequently, of unbalanced the criteria, ECBVassessment overlooked requires local traditions, amending and to unaddressed provide prompt indicators. solutions to theConsequently, three limitations, the ECBV which assessment are the static requires assessment amending process, to provide the absolute prompt gradingsolutions result,to the andthree unaddressed limitations, indicators. which are Suchthe static a revision assessment will not process, only help the to absolute correct thegrading current re- eco-villagesult, and unaddressed transformations, indicators. but it willSuch also a revision guide furtherwill not developments only help to correct more effectivelythe current andeco-village efficiently. transformations, The corresponding but it solutions will also areguide introduced further developments in the next section. more effectively and efficiently. The corresponding solutions are introduced in the next section. 5. Possible Solutions 5. PossiIn orderble Solutions to improve the ECBV, the assessment method needs to be revised according to the three limitations addressed in the previous section. In this section, the solutions In order to improve the ECBV, the assessment method needs to be revised according for these three limitations are presented and explained with compelling justifications for to the three limitations addressed in the previous section. In this section, the solutions for their use. these three limitations are presented and explained with compelling justifications for their use. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 14 of 23

5.1. Applying Long-Term Tracking Assessment Although Chinese eco-villages are inspected on a regular basis, the inspection for the ECBV assessment was designed to assess the eco-village’s sustainability with the data collected that year only. Therefore, the ECBV assessment can only give a result of a pass or fail. It does not provide information about development trend or the rate of change, both of which are very useful for further analyses to guide future development in the right direction. In order to solve this problem, the ECBV assessment should be revised to assess eco-village sustainability chronologically against primary indicators with all the data that are always available in the local government’s annual reports. In this case, all long-term tracking assessment should be applied to major indicators in the ECBV. For example, to solve rural hollowing during the rural revitalisation campaign, the population in a Chinese eco-village needs to be recorded as it is one of the crucial indicators used to monitor local demographics. Both the tendency and the rate of change in the number of residents are essential elements for quantitative and qualitative research to analyse the causes of population shifts. According to the demographic statistics, the dynamic population shifts in Zhenghu Village are caused by the births, deaths, immigrations, and emigrations that occur. As can be seen from Figure 10, the net increase in population during the last decade was based on the number of newborns. The annual net migration into Zhenghu Village decreased in 6 out of 10 years. In 2012, the number of emigrations reached a peak, which should be further investigated to take preventive measures in the future. Furthermore, the number of immigrations slid to a ten-year low last year, which should also be analysed. As part of the long-term tracking assessment result, we can see that the population in Zhenghu Village was growing gradually due to the favourable birth rate. Therefore, by considering the collected materials and development planning in China, it is suggested that eco-village assessment should track at least ﬁve years’ data for an indicator in order to obtain a development trend in the past. Apart from the trend, notable changes are also valuable for the assessment. More importantly, by assessing the data in the long term, the assessment can clearly present the variation tendency to help with decision making at each development stage, supported by recent research [65]. In this case, an assessment like a predetermined checklist that focuses on the within-year data can be avoided, and a ﬁve-year tracking assessment can be established. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 15 of 23

Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 24

250

200

150

100 Number of people of Number 50

0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Birth Death Immigration Emigration

200

150

100 179 155 151 150 153 151 125 124 141 50 111 99 114 113 96 115 83 72 87 14 55 36 0 –25 –27 –1 –17 –12 –50 Number of people of Number –124 –100

–150 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Natural increase Net migration Population change

Figure 10. Demographic statistics in Zhenghu Village from 2010 to 2018. Figure 10. Demographic statistics in Zhenghu Village from 2010 to 2018. Sustainability 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 17 of 24

Therefore, by considering the collected materials and development planning in China, it is suggested that eco-village assessment should track at least five years’ data for an indicator in order to obtain a development trend in the past. Apart from the trend, notable changes are also valuable for the assessment. More importantly, by assessing the data in the long term, the assessment can clearly present the variation tendency to help with decision making at each development stage, supported by recent research [65]. In Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 this case, an assessment like a predetermined checklist that focuses on the within-year16 of 23 data can be avoided, and a five-year tracking assessment can be established.

5.2.5.2. ImplementingImplementing QualitativeQualitative AnalysisAnalysis ResultsResults IncorporatingIncorporating thethe quantitative analyses analyses in intoto the the above-mentioned above-mentioned long-term long-term tracking track- ingis only is only one onepart partof an of eco-village an eco-village assessme assessment.nt. Additional Additional comments comments based on based the onquanti- the quantitativetative analysis analysis results results should should be provided be provided to make to an make assessment an assessment more comprehensive. more comprehensive.Rather than Rather giving than absolute giving grades absolute in gradeseach indicator in each only, indicator an assessment only, an assessment with qualitative with qualitativeanalysis can analysis reveal can the reveal deep therelationships deep relationships between between the current the current assessment assessment indicators, indicators,which whichcan be canseen be in seen the following in the following example example extended extended from the from above-mentioned the above-mentioned popula- populationtion assessment. assessment. DeterminedDetermined fromfrom recentrecent bigbig datadata analytics,analytics,it ithas hasbeen beenconﬁrmed confirmed that that the the movement movement ofof thethe ruralrural populationpopulation toto urbanurban areasareas isis aa generalgeneral trendtrend inin China China due due to to the the urbanisation urbanisation processprocess [[66].66]. However,However, thethe numbernumber ofof netnet migrationsmigrations increasedincreased inin ZhenghuZhenghu VillageVillage be-be- tweentween 20152015 andand 2018,2018, whichwhich maymay bebe caused caused by by economic economic growth growth during during the the eco-village eco-village developmentdevelopment asas populationpopulation shiftshift isis thethe resultresult of of economic economic development development [ 67[67].]. The The average average individualindividual incomeincome andand totaltotal villagevillage revenuerevenue inin ZhenghuZhenghu VillageVillage signiﬁcantly significantly increased increased duringduring thisthis period,period, asas cancan bebe seenseen fromfrom Figure Figure 11 11..

30,000 300 266 241 25,000 250 222 195 193 20,000 17,566 200 14,638 15,000 13,198 150 11,775 11,794

Income (CNY) Income 10,000 100 Production (million CNY) (million Production 5000 50

0 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Per capita income (CNY) Village gross production (million CNY)

FigureFigure 11.11.Average Average individual individual income income and and total total village village revenue revenue in in Zhenghu Zhenghu Village. Village.

Furthermore,Furthermore, oneone of the primar primaryy causes causes of of this this trend trend in in the the population population shift shift could could be bethe the successful successful development development of fa ofmily family based based agricultural agricultural activities activities in Zhenghu in Zhenghu Village. Village. The Thenumber number of registered of registered and andgovernment-certified government-certiﬁed family family farms farms increased increased significantly, signiﬁcantly, and andthe total the total area areaof family of family farmland farmland expanded expanded accordingly accordingly (see Figure (see Figure12). Farmland 12). Farmland restora- restorationtion is one isof one theof crucial the crucial tasks tasksin the in Chines the Chinesee rural rural revitalisation revitalisation campaign, campaign, therefore therefore the thelocal local government government of Zhenghu of Zhenghu Village Village strived strived to torecover recover the the abandoned abandoned farmland farmland and and to topromote promote family family farms farms to toprovide provide more more working working opportunities. opportunities. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 17 of 23 Sustainability 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 18 of 24

40 37.45 37.45 35 34 35 30 29 30 24 25 20.77 20 15 10.05 10 7.57 77 3 5 2 1 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Registered family farms Goverment certified family farms Total farmland areas of family farm (ha)

FigureFigure 12.12.General General situationssituations ofof familyfamily farmsfarms inin ZhenghuZhenghu Village.Village.

PopulationPopulation andand populationpopulation growthgrowth areare vitalvital factorsfactors inin eco-villageeco-village development,development, theythey solvesolve thethe ruralrural hollowinghollowing issueissue asas populationpopulation growthgrowth increasesincreases thethe vitalityvitality inin ruralrural revi-revi- talisationtalisation campaigns.campaigns. Implementing Implementing qualitative qualitative analysis analysis and and its its results results can can help help us to us un- to understandderstand the the long-term long-term variation variation trends trends in in an an eco-village eco-village development, asas demonstrateddemonstrated above.above. InIn orderorder toto guideguide futurefuture development,development, itit wouldwould bebe usefuluseful toto presentpresentqualitative qualitative resultsresults byby analysinganalysing thethe relevantrelevant datadata forfor thethe primaryprimary indicatorsindicators inin ECBV.ECBV. Therefore, Therefore, the the assessmentassessment resultresult shouldshould notnot onlyonly presentpresent ﬁguresfigures andand gradesgrades butbut alsoalso analyseanalyse thethe devel-devel- opmentopment trendtrend overover thethe pastpast ﬁvefive years,years, asas wellwell asas anyany notablenotable changes,changes, inin orderorder toto guideguide furtherfurther development.development.

5.3.5.3. AdoptingAdopting SupplementarySupplementary IndicatorsIndicators ApartApart fromfrom thethe socialsocial andand economiceconomic indicators,indicators,more more assessment assessment dimensions dimensions should should bebe introducedintroduced to to thoroughly thoroughly evaluate evaluate the the sustainability sustainability of of an an eco-village. eco-village. However, However, due due to theto the workload workload and and overall overall scope scope of ECBV, of ECBV, the extra the evaluationextra evaluation process process has to behas customised to be cus- accordingtomised according to the local to the situation local situation when necessary. when necessary. In other In words,other wo therds, ECBV the ECBV assessment assess- shouldment should be adaptable be adaptable through through the inclusion the inclusio of selectedn of selected supplementary supplementary indicators indicators that are notthat inare the not assessment in the assessment framework framework but would but help would to enhance help theto enhance understanding the understanding of various local of conditionsvarious local and conditions recognise and the uniquenessrecognise the in uniqueness the village, suchin the as village, local history such as and local customs, history natural resources, and species. Therefore, supplementary indicators will be proposed by and customs, natural resources, and species. Therefore, supplementary indicators will be experts who have good knowledge and appreciation of the local circumstances to be part proposed by experts who have good knowledge and appreciation of the local circum- of the assessment. To further understand the demographic statistics and corresponding stances to be part of the assessment. To further understand the demographic statistics and factors mentioned above, the relevant local characteristics are addressed from the local corresponding factors mentioned above, the relevant local characteristics are addressed government’s annual report and discussed as follows. from the local government’s annual report and discussed as follows. The number of households managing a small unit of farmland increased between The number of households managing a small unit of farmland increased between 2015 and 2018 (see Figure 13). The reason was that more and more families participated in 2015 and 2018 (see Figure 13). The reason was that more and more families participated farmland restoration and started farming from a small ﬁeld in Zhenghu Village. Meanwhile, in farmland restoration and started farming from a small field in Zhenghu Village. Mean- the steady growth of the labour force shown in Figure 14 shows how job opportunities in while, the steady growth of the labour force shown in Figure 14 shows how job opportu- Zhenghu Village were increasing. As can be seen from these variation trends, population growthnities in and Zhenghu agricultural Village development were increasing. are dependent As can be on seen each from other. these variation trends, population growth and agricultural development are dependent on each other. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 18 of 23 Sustainability 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 19 of 24 Sustainability 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 19 of 24

1460 50% 1460 1447 50% 1447 50% 1440 50% 1440 1422 49% 1422 49% 1420 1420 1405 48.25% 49% 1405 48.25% 49% 1400 1391 47.83% 48% 1400 1391 47.51% 47.83% 48% 47.39% 47.51% 47.39% 48% 1380 48% 1380 47%

Number of households Number 47% 1360 Number of households Number 1360 47% 47% 1340 46% 1340 2015 2016 2017 2018 46% 2015 2016 2017 2018

Proportion of households with small farmland in Zhenghu Village Proportion of households with small farmland in Zhenghu Village Number of households with small farmland (0.67 ha) Number of households with small farmland (0.67 ha)

Figure 13. Number and proportion of house householdsholds with the smallest unit (0.67 ha) of farmland areas. Figure 13. Number and proportion of households with the smallest unit (0.67 ha) of farmland areas.

5200 5000 5173 5200 5000 5173 5180 5152 5180 5142 5152 5160 4000 5160 4000 5142 5120 5140 5120 5140 3000 5120 5120 3000 5100 5100 2000 5080 2000 5080 5060 2785 2794 2799 2810 5060

Number of labour force labour of Number 2335 2348 2353 2363 1000 2785 2794 2799 2810 5040

Number of labour force labour of Number 2335 2348 2353 2363 1000 5040 of labour force Total number

5020 of labour force Total number 5020 0 5000 0 2015 2016 2017 2018 5000 2015 2016 2017 2018 Number of male labour force Number of female labour force Number of male labour force Number of female labour force Total number of labour force Total number of labour force Figure 14. Overview of the labour force in Zhenghu Village. Figure 14. Overview of the labour force in Zhenghu Village. Furthermore, in order to continue the virtuous circle mentioned above, the local gov- ernmentFurthermore, also increased in order investment to continue in public the the virtuous virtuous facilities, circle circle which mentioned mentioned can be seen above, above, in Figure the the local local 15. gov- gov-The dataernment therefore also increased confirm thatinvestment the development in public facilities, of the social, which economic, can be seen and in environmental Figure 1515.. The aspectsdata therefore in Zhenghu confirm conﬁrm Village that thewas development moving in the of right the social,direction. economic, All the andindicators environmental listed in thisaspects section in Zhenghu were not Village originally was included moving inin thethe rightECBV direction. or any other All theinternationally indicators listed recog- in nisedthisthis section section assessment were were not notas they originally are too included included localised in in and the the detailedECBV ECBV or or to any any be otherfocused other internationally internationally broadly. Neverthe- recog- recog- less,nised adopting assessment these asas theysupplementarythey areare too too localised localised indicators and and detailed can detailed not toonly to be be provide focused focused broadly.supplementary broadly. Nevertheless, Neverthe- infor- adopting these supplementary indicators can not only provide supplementary information mationless, adopting to help these understand supplementary the current indicators situation can and not provide only provide suggestions supplementary for future infor- eco- to help understand the current situation and provide suggestions for future eco-village villagemation development,to help understand but it canthe alsocurrent balance situ ationthe unbalanced and provide assessment suggestions criteria for future during eco- the development, but it can also balance the unbalanced assessment criteria during the evalua- villageevaluation development, process. Relevant but it can supplementary also balance th ine dicatorsunbalanced should assessment be proposed criteria by duringthe assess- the tion process. Relevant supplementary indicators should be proposed by the assessment mentevaluation panel, process. therefore Relevant further supplementarystudy on the pr ocessindicators of proposing should be supplementary proposed by theindicators assess- willment be panel, conducted therefore in the further future. study on the process of proposing supplementary indicators will be conducted in the future. Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 19 of 23

Sustainability 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEWpanel, therefore further study on the process of proposing supplementary indicators20 willof 24 be conducted in the future.

5 4.62 100.00%

90.00% 4 80.00%

2.84 70.00% 3

2.08 60.00% 2 50.00% 1.38 65.89% 67.05% 40.00% 1 51.87% 30.00% Government investment (million CNY) investment Government 31.01% 0 20.00% 2015 2016 2017 2018

Proportion of the government's investment in total expenditure Government investment in public facilities (million CNY)

Figure 15. GGovernmentovernment investment in local public facilities (million CNY).

6. Discussion and Conclusions 6. Discussion and Conclusions Consequently, applying the long-term tracking assessment method can help to reveal Consequently, applying the long-term tracking assessment method can help to redevelopment trends in the past, implementing qualitative analysis with the current abso- veal development trends in the past, implementing qualitative analysis with the current luteabsolute grading grading can help can to help generate to generate development development plans for plans the forfuture, the and future, adopting and adopting supplementarysupplementary indicators indicators will solve will the solve unbalanced the unbalanced criteria criteriain the ECBV in the while ECBV providing while providing evalu- ationsevaluations that are that appropriate are appropriate for the forlocal the conditions. local conditions. However, However, attention attention should shouldbe paid beto certainpaid to aspects certain aspectswhen applying when applying these ne thesew features new features to the ECBV to the assessment. ECBV assessment. FirstFirst of all, thethe long-termlong-term tracking tracking assessment assessment can can be be divided divided into into two two sections, sections, lifetime life- timetracking tracking and recent and recent five-year five-year tracking, tracking, to understand to understand an eco-village’s an eco-village’s development development history historyover different over different time scales. time scales. Nevertheless, Nevertheless, this assessment this assessment method method cannot cannot be applied be applied to all tothe all indicators the indicators due to due data to availabilitydata availability and workload. and workload. Therefore, Therefore, this method this method should should only onlybe applied be applied to the to primary the primary indicators indicators rather ra thanther to than the supplementaryto the supplementary ones, which ones, willwhich be willdetermined be determined in a future in a study. future Second, study. the Seco samend, limitationthe same applieslimitation to theapplies implementation to the imple- of mentationthe qualitative of the analysis qualitative results analysis due to results the same due issues to the with same data issues availability with data and availability workload. andThe workload. scope of an The eco-village scope of assessmentan eco-village is to assessment assess sustainability is to assess as sustainability a guide after as all, a ratherguide afterthan makingall, rather a detailedthan making plan fora detailed further development.plan for further Lastly, development. any supplementary Lastly, any indicators supple- mentaryshould be indicators proposed should by an assessmentbe proposed panel by an that assessment is familiar panel with localthat is conditions, familiar with and local they conditions,should be added and they to the should assessment be added process to the only assessment if necessary. process only if necessary. InIn addition, addition, based based on on the the results results stated stated in in Section Section 4.3,4.3, we we can can confirm confirm that that the the eco- eco- nomicnomic assessment assessment in ECBV is disproportionall disproportionallyy small, which could be one of the negative outcomesoutcomes of of the the excessive excessive financial financial supports supports from from the the local local government. government. As top-down As top-down developments,developments, like like Zhenghu Zhenghu Village, Village, seldom seldom suffer suffer financial financial hardship hardship during during their their eco-vil- eco- lagevillage transition, transition, the the relevant relevant assessment assessment seem seemss on on the the margins. margins. However, However, according according to to the commonlycommonly accepted accepted concepts, concepts, achieving achieving self-suffi self-sufficiencyciency is crucial to an eco-village. Thus, Thus, thethe government’s supportsupport should should be be reduced reduced gradually gradually and and accordingly accordingly to its to development its develop- mentprogress, progress, especially especially on the on financial the financial side. Suchside. aSuch limitation a limitation caused caused by the by formulation the formula- of tionthe assessmentof the assessment is difficult is difficult to be addressed to be addressed or even oftenor even unnoticed often unnoticed in practical in practical applications. applications. In this case, implementing the solutions proposed in this paper could solve this issue as all these measures can provide a better understanding of the current development situation, including the economic, social, and environmental aspects. Besides, the research Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 20 of 23

In this case, implementing the solutions proposed in this paper could solve this issue as all these measures can provide a better understanding of the current development situation, including the economic, social, and environmental aspects. Besides, the research outcomes can also help improve the Chinese eco-village assessments and support the further development of the Chinese eco-villages. Eco-village assessment is not a predetermined checklist to be used in an acceptance inspection but rather a tool that can both evaluate the past and guide the future. In conclusion, this paper has analysed the process of the ECBV assessment as applied to a Chinese eco-village, and it has discussed the limitations of the assessment process, criteria, and indicators. Hence, it can confirm the need for an adequate assessment to gauge the sustainable development process in a rural area. It has also identified the limitations of the current Chinese eco-village assessment, ECBV, and provided practical solutions to improve the assessment method. The limitations of the current assessment were revealed by applying it to a typical eco-village project, and the suggested improvements were tested by incorporating them into the assessment and assessing the village again. Both exercises were conducted by analysing the various data collected from the local government’s annual reports during the past decade. The limitations in the Chinese eco-village assessment result, criteria, and indicators that were identified in a previous study [29] have now been further confirmed with qualitative and quantitative methods on a representative case, and the corresponding solutions were given in this paper. First, a static assessment should be avoided as the eco-village development tendency must be considered and used in decision making for future development. Hence, applying a long-term tracking assessment is essential for understanding the development trends of an eco-village. Second, the current absolute grading system is too one-sided to reflect the assessment results in practice, which can even lead to a misun- derstanding of the actual sustainability. Thus, implementing qualitative analysis results along with the current absolute grading system can help to comprehensively evaluate an assessment indicator. Third, since an eco-village can be designed and developed in many different ways and at different levels, the ECBV assessment cannot completely include all the crucial assessment indicators. Therefore, the assessment should be adaptable and capable of incorporating supplementary indicators according to the local conditions. For Chinese eco-village development, these three features can provide a better understanding of the current development situation and support the formulation of further development in the rural revitalisation campaign. Furthermore, other researchers could intensively study these identified limitations to develop more comprehensive solutions, and extensively study other cases with a similar methodology to find more potential limitations of an eco-village assessment. However, this study also has several limitations. Despite the fact that the government- led eco-village, Zhenghu Village, is a typical case, more Chinese eco-village developments should be investigated in the future to conduct a more thorough study of Chinese eco- village development and assessment. In this case, both government-led and grassroots eco-villages should be considered in order to challenge the current assessment method from a broad perspective. The application of the ECBV would then not be geographically limited because it will be widely applicable. With the proposed solutions, the improved ECBV assessment will have the potential to assess all internationally recognised eco-village developments. In addition, we can further explore whether an eco-village development would damage the social value of an existing village by applying the revised eco-village assessment method. However, as improving this assessment with the above-mentioned new features requires a great deal more research, other developing countries can also participate to the formulation of an assessment by applying the research process and method introduced in this paper. Most of the existing community-scale assessments, such as BREEAM Community, do not take into account the long-term tracking assessment method. This study may also provide those authorities and companies with ideas on how to update their assessment methods, including the supplementary indicators mentioned Sustainability 2021, 13, 685 21 of 23

above. The assessment panel should be responsible for proposing the indicators, but the corresponding process and standards for proposing them are not covered in this study. Further study on this matter will be conducted in the future.

Author Contributions: Conceptualisation, C.L. and F.W.; methodology, C.L.; software, C.L.; val- idation, C.L.; formal analysis, C.L.; investigation, C.L.; resources, X.G.; writing—original draft preparation, C.L.; writing—review and editing, F.W. and H.S.; visualisation, C.L.; supervision, F.W. and H.S.; project administration, F.W.; funding acquisition, F.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Funding: This research received no external funding. Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable. Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy agreement. Acknowledgments: This work is a part of three-year PhD study, partially supported by Heriot-Watt Scholarship. Conﬂicts of Interest: The authors declare no conﬂict of interest.

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