Exploring solutions to improve the evaluation of development of rural villages: A case study of the application of the evaluation for the construction of beautiful villages (ecbv) in a village in South China

Eco-village development has been considered by the Chinese central government as part of its rural revitalisation campaign and it is seen as a crucial/main solution to the increasingly serious rural issues caused by urban–rural inequality. A significant number of eco-villages are being or will be developed with government leadership and support under the guidance of a corresponding assessment. However, the latest Chinese eco-village assessment, the Evaluation for the Construction of Beautiful Villages (ECBV), has been found to have limitations related to the assessment process, method, and indicators, meaning that it cannot be used to perform a balanced evaluation of the social, economic, and environmental aspects of an eco-village. As assessing an eco-village is as essential as building it, it has become necessary to balance the criteria and improve the ECBV assessment so that it can review existing achievements, guide further development, and ensure better outcomes. Thus, this paper aims to: (1) identify the limitations of ECBV through a case study of a carefully selected Chinese eco-village, Zhenghu Village, by repeating the assessment process and analysing the assessment results, and (2) propose three possible solutions to improve the assessment by applying a revised ECBV assessment, the components of which are adopted and revised from an internationally recognised sustainability assessment, the Sustainable Development Indicators (SDIs). The results of the case study confirm the limitations of the ECBV assessment. Besides, the research outcomes of these three possible solutions can improve ECBV assessment and also provide ideas for the improvement of other existing assessment methods. Moreover, other developing countries may apply the research process and method introduced in this paper to formulate or improve their own eco-village assessments.