Relationship between multifunctionality and rural sustainable development: Insights from 129 counties of the Sichuan Province, China

Rural areas are multifunctional and often have production, living, and ecological functions. The high-quality and balanced development of these three functions is key to sustainable rural development (SRD). Thus, the evaluation of SRD based on rural multifunctionality is of immense significance. This study clarifies the relationship between multifunctionality and sustainable rural development. An evaluation index system with six sub-components was established for calculating the SRD. In addition, we included 129 counties from the Sichuan Province in our case study, and used this index system to analyze the characteristics of rural multifunctionality for evaluating the SRD. The results showed indisputable evidence of multifunctional development. At the county level, rural multifunctionality faces the challenge of insufficient and uneven development, particularly in production functions. Significant spatial differences existed in rural multifunctional development, and the suburban counties generally performed better. Moreover, a mutually reinforcing relationship between production, living, and ecological functions was established; however, there was still a significant gap in realizing SRD. Our results emphasize the necessity of a differentiated SRD strategy that should be formulated and implemented based on rural multifunctionality differentiation rules. Our study offers useful guidance for realizing rural multifunctional and sustainable development.