ANALYSIS OF HOUSING SPATIAL LAYOUT AND USING CONDITION BEFORE VILLAGES REORGANIZATION: A study on the improvement of the residential environment after the New rural policies in Henan province, China

Following China's Reform and Opening up from 1978, the number of agricultural labors decreased drastically after a steady rise in the number of laborers who moved into the cities. According to China's rapid urbanization and modernization, compared with the traditional farming life, the former life has changed a lot. Traditional residences have not fit to the modern life before villages' reorganization by the New rural polices that was declared by Chinese government since 2005. Accordingly, this paper aims to understand the current living situation before reorganization based on various conditions and spatial aspects, and tries to adress the key issues focusing on the uses. From the fieldwork on the targeted villages, this study shows that some of spatial features of the traditional houses, as well as residents' living habits have been preserved, however, according to the new way of living demands, the transformation of spaces functions and their uses have been evolving.