Spatial transformations, placemaking strategies, and challenges of home-based rural E-commerce in Dinglou Village, China

Abstract

Despite the transformative potential of digital economies in rural areas, household participation in rural E-commerce in China remains largely invisible and marginalized in development and spatial planning discourse, primarily due to an insufficient understanding of its socio-spatial implications. This research conceptualizes the spatial adaptations driven by rural E-commerce as an active placemaking process and investigates how rural households in Dinglou Village (a pioneer in E-commerce) strategically transform their homes to accommodate E-commerce operations. Through behavioral mapping of 32 households and interviews with 40 families engaged in E-commerce, we identified four progressive home transformation patterns: layout adaptation, expansion and partial reconstruction, complete reconstruction, and strategic relocation. These transformations represent deliberate negotiations between spatial opportunities/constraints, financial resources, business requirements, and family aspirations rather than mere informal transitional arrangements. Households optimize operations through strategic activity clustering, temporal scheduling, micro-spatial optimization strategies, and community-based support networks that extend operations beyond individual homes. These household-level adaptations catalyze broader infrastructural changes while challenging top-down, formal industrial-oriented development approaches. Our findings reveal three persistent challenges: spatial inefficiencies hampering operations, eroded work-life boundaries affecting family well-being, and compromised renovation autonomy due to restrictive policies. These challenges require nuanced planning responses beyond binary choices between informal home-based operations and formal industrialization. By conceptualizing these spatial negotiations as a placemaking process, this study serves as an exploratory application and contextual enrichment of placemaking theory, shifting its traditional focus from urban public spaces to rural domestic environments. We advocate for incorporating home-based practices into holistic rural development frameworks through graduated formalization pathways, flexible zoning approaches, architectural design assistance, and robust social infrastructure. This study offers valuable insights for rural planners, policymakers, and scholars supporting sustainable rural development in the digital age.