Rebuilding the resilience of mountainous rural communities by enhancing community capital through industrial transformation: A case study from rural Fujian, China

Abstract

In recent years, the study of rural community resilience has become the focus of rural researchers in response to the decline of villages in the process of urbanization. However, current research on village resilience has mainly focused on the analysis and assessment of village resilience, while there is a lack of research on the resilience reconstruction of mountainous villages severely affected by urbanization. Taking Longtan village in Fujian Province, China, as an example, this paper describes how industrial transformation promotes community capital development and their impact on community resilience. It shows that the diversified participants in the industrial transformation process have fostered constructive dialogue, collective discussion, and self-governance. The widespread use of digital technology has helped communities to have the ability to learn and innovate, and has played an important role in promoting rural industrial transformation and community resilience. It argues that the improvement of human capital in the process of industrial transformation drives the “spiral” of community capital, and that the diversity and coupling among community capital promote the synergistic development of community capital and help communities rebuild resilience.