Cognition, evolution mechanism, and governance implications of "production-living-ecological" spaces in rural tourism destination: A case study of Gaochun district in Nanjing

While promoting rural economic development, rural tourism also results in ecological imbalance. How to define the connotation of the "production-living-ecological" (PLE) spaces in rural tourism destinations, and clarify their evolution process and mechanism have become key issues that need to be urgently addressed. Based on methods such as in-depth interviews and ArcGIS spatial analysis, this study takes Gaochun district of Nanjing as an example, identifies the PLE spatial patterns across multiple periods, and summarizes their spatial connotations and typical spatial types. The research findings are as follows: (1) In terms of connotation cognition: The functions of land use have changed. It is mainly manifested in the landscaping and leisure-oriented development of production spaces, the sharing and multi-functional development of living spaces, and the commercialization and valuation of ecological spaces, and the trend of land space compounding has become increasingly prominent. (2) In terms of the evolution process: The evolution of PLE spaces generally shows a trend of optimized expansion and strong compounding, with obvious spatial optimization and agglomeration trends. (3) In terms of the evolution mechanism: Based on the schematic diagram of areas with drastic functional changes, land use analysis, and coding results, we analyzed the evolution mechanism. The study found that tourism disturbance, combined with factors like government policy, external capital, market demand, natural resources, resident behavior, and resident preference and attitude, drives the original PLE spaces toward composite and synergistic development. This study, from the micro-perspective of rural tourism destinations, explores the connotation and evolution mechanism of PLE spaces, constructs a theoretical framework suitable for the micro-scale, and enriches the research content related to PLE spaces. It also helps the government clarify spatial forms and type combinations, thereby providing scientific guidance for spatial planning and industrial restructuring in rural tourism destinations, thus contributing to their sustainable development and enhanced spatial governance.