Rural type classification based on resource characteristics and its relationship with local villagers’ concerns: a case study of the beautiful villages initiative in Zhejiang, China

China faces the challenge of revitalizing rural areas and aligning development with local resource characteristics. Empirical evidence highlights the interplay between rural policy frameworks and the evolving needs of rural populations. This study develops a village classification method based on natural resource endowments. Using principal component analysis (PCA), we identify five components: natural environment, industrial landscape, arable land availability, population dynamics, and cultural-social factors. A weighted principal component distance clustering method categorizes villages into five typologies. Building on this classification, 8,649 questionnaires were distributed across 50 villages, and regression analysis was conducted to examine correlations between resource endowments and villagers’ development concerns. Results show that concern for environmental improvement is significantly associated with industrial development (β = 0.865, p < 0.001), while housing concerns correlate with ecological (β = 0.416, p < 0.001) and historical-cultural dimensions (β = 0.705, p < 0.001). In contrast, agricultural endowments show weaker explanatory power for villagers’ interest in agricultural development, indicating a preference for economically tangible outcomes. The study underscores the role of scientific rural classification, based on villagers’ perspectives, in guiding policy formulation and promoting people-centric rural development. It contributes to understanding the alignment and divergence between villagers’ needs and typology-based development pathways.