Navigating the Nexus between Rural Revitalization and Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Analyses of Current Status, Progress, and Prospects

Abstract

Achieving sustainable rural development is challenging. However, revitalizing the rural economy is one of the most suitable strategies to overcome sustainable development problems. The rural revitalization strategy aims to create an idealized sustainable development model for rural areas which can avoid the current crisis and utilize institutional advantages to overcome the survival challenges of mostly small-scale peasant economies. The logic of the rural revitalization strategy lies in its essential value implication and practical orientation for consolidating the foundation in rural areas, including its characteristics and its ability to realize long-term sustainable development. There is growing interest in research on rural revitalization and sustainable development, but the current status, trends, and progress are unknown. This study examines the most recent advancements in research patterns for rural revitalization and the promotion of sustainable development from 1995 to 2023. It accomplishes this by thoroughly evaluating and analyzing published scholarly material. We performed a bibliometric analysis of the literature obtained from the Scopus database using VOS Viewer software version 1.6.15. We examined a total of 403 articles and evaluated them, focusing on the precise terms “Rural Revitalization” and “Sustainable Development”. We found that post-2018, there has been a notable surge in the popularity and acceptance of research related to these topics. China ranks first in terms of publishing the greatest number of research articles. The journal Sustainability has published the most articles on sustainable development and rural revitalization, followed by Land and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The Journal of Rural Studies published the most cited document. Exciting research areas include the conservation of natural resources, ecosystem cities, and rural revitalization strategies. The research findings thoroughly evaluate academic output and propose thematic areas for further investigation.