Socio-spatial network analysis of Village development mechanisms and spatial micro-renewal strategies: a case study of Daxiaobu Village, China

This study analyzes Daxiaobu Village, Shanxi, China, using integrated Social Network Analysis (SNA) and GIS-based kernel density estimation to examine three networks: Republican-era spatial, current spatial, and behavioral networks. Metrics, such as network density and lambda set for evaluating network hierarchy are applied to analyze network stability, small-world value and concor block reflecting network partitioning are applied to analyze subgroups correlation, cut-point, relative degree centrality reflecting the degree of node hub and core-edge are applied to analyze nodes hierarchy. Results indicate that: First, the diachronic spatial network maintains stable structural integrity. Second, spatial nodes in the current period show higher centrality, marking the development of new activity centres. Third, synchronous behavioral networks show structural fragility. Forth, there is an asymmetric relationship between spatial clustering and nodal correlation. Based on these findings, the village development mechanism is explored, and spatial Micro-renewal strategies are proposed, focusing on pattern protection, street optimization, and node renewal. This not only provides empirical evidence for understanding the dynamic evolution of rural social space, but its methodological framework and updating strategies also have reference value for the sustainable development of similar villages.