Title: Environmental justice analysis of the spatial evolution in island rural tourism destinations: A case study from Pingtan Island, China
Abstract: Exploring the characteristics of spatial evolution and alienation in island rural tourism destinations is a significant research topic in human geography. Based on the widely recognized “production-living-ecological” concept in the international community, this paper explores the spatial evolution process of island rural tourism destinations, conceptualizes the threefold dimensions of environmental justice in the spatial evolution of island rural tourism destinations and develops a corresponding indexes system. The results indicated that between 2006 and 2024, the production, living, and ecological spaces in Beigang underwent continuous transformation and integration. The number of single-function spaces gradually decreased, while the number of multifunctional productive spaces gradually increased. Due to the intervention of tourism development activities, various single-function spaces transformed into each other or evolved in an orderly manner into composite-function spaces. The spatial function integration was mainly characterized by the superposition of production-production spaces, the integration and expansion of living-production spaces, and the orderly evolution of ecological-production spaces. The spatial alienation in Beigang represents an ideological manifestation of unfair distribution of environmental benefits and environmental burden among different groups. It is a material manifestation of the gradual occupation and deprivation of resources, discourse, and rights essential for the survival and development needs of residents after the intervention of tourism. Therefore, the authorities have taken measures such as recognizing the status of vulnerable groups and renovating the settlement environment to mitigate environmental injustice.
Keywords: Production-living-ecological spaces Environmental justice Island regions Rural tourism destinations
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2025.103695
