Evolution Characteristics and Development Mechanism of Rural Settlement Spatial Form Under the Guidance of Chinese Policies—A Case Study of Central Village in Huotong Town, Fujian Province

Against the backdrop of global rural decline and China’s Rural Revitalization Strategy (2017–2050), this study examines the spatial form evolution and development mechanism of Central Village in Huotong Town, Ningde. To achieve this, it employs field surveys, spatial mapping, and hierarchical element analysis to analyze the village’s scale, architectural texture, street interfaces, and landscape nodes. Results show three evolutionary stages: pre-2017 traffic-guided disorderly expansion, 2017–2020 policy-driven orderly planning, and post-2020 stock optimization, forming an “oval radial” structure constrained by the southern hills and Huotong River. The spatial structure shifted from a “kinship-based agglomeration” to a multi-center model, yet contradictions like historical texture damage and excessive street commercialization emerged. Its development is driven by four linked factors: policy, the market, socio-culture issues, and nature. This study offers references for similar rural settlements’ spatial planning and sustainability.