Rural planning evaluation and sustainable development potential in rural communes of Rehamna province (Morocco)

Abstract

The evolution of rural settlement planning has the potential to improve regional sustainability through aligning components of human settlement ecosystems. In this study, we promoted the integration of sustainability in 23 rural communes of Rehamna province (central Morocco). We assessed rural development in four areas: location and infrastructure, resource availability, economic activity, and development constraints. The communes were divided into three categories based on their occupancy levels and planning directions: Vital Planning Area (VPA), Common Planning Area (PPA), and Initial Planning Area (IPA). The rural comprehensive development potential has maximum, minimum, and average values of 0.694, 0.176 and 0.429. The proportion of rural communes in low, medium, and high levels is 13.04%, 60.86%, 26.08%, and correspondingly. Due to their obvious location advantages, high level of integration between urban and rural development, and greater economic development vitality, communes that cross the mobility axe and have proximity to water resources more than make up for the drawback of the scarcity of background resources. As a result, these communes have good development potential. The second main hub of the province of Rehamna's urban development is in the north. The spatial distribution demonstrates the tendency to progressively increase around the center, adopting it as the core. This paper proposes a framework for rural communes to facilitate strategic spatial planning, providing a novel way to maximize rural development potential. Based on these findings, the paper suggests a new spatial framework for rural development that aims to enhance the development status of rural regions by addressing their planning needs. This study presents an analytical framework for government, institutions, stakeholders, and planners to construct effective rural development strategies, focusing on the essential indicators required for rural sustainability.