Abstract:

Tourism, an emerging and important driver of development, is irreversibly changing the evolution process of residential spaces. The spatial characteristics and social effects of residential spaces in tourist destinations are one of the most important dimensions for measuring social transformation of an area, and hence are important subjects for the study of tourism geography. This paper, taking the case of Qiandaohu Town, explores the residential space development of this tourist destination with a variety of research methods including field observations, interviews, questionnaires, statistical analysis and GIS technology. It identifies and classifies community types, measures spatial differentiation in living spaces and reveals typical residential space distribution patterns influenced by tourism. It also constructs a residential space social effect index system in terms of the satisfaction with the living space, social interaction and social integration. The research shows that: (1) Amid social and economic transformation, and with the development of the tourism industry and continuous urban renewal, the development of residential spaces has undergone five stages. (2) A total of 76 basic spatial units or communities have been identified, which are classified into rural communities, mixed residential and business communities, old commercially developed communities, commonplace commercially developed communities, high-end commercially developed communities, high-end villas and tourism resorts. (3) The phenomenon of urban residential space differentiation exists in residential areas in tourist destinations. The lower the social status of a residential community is, the greater the residential differentiation turns; the higher the social status, the smaller it becomes. The residential spaces in Qiandaohu Town are distributed in layered spheres. From the lakeside to the city center, the residential grade gradually goes down, with rural communities embedded into the main residential areas like a ladder, and the old residential areas and tourism resorts located in the periphery of Qiandaohu Town. (4) The development of tourism has led to the social differentiation of living spaces, and led to a fracturing of the traditional social relations in tourism destinations, which further affects the satisfaction of the community, social interaction and social integration. Overall, residents in the study area are satisfied with their living spaces, and satisfaction has obvious spatial differences. Residents in different communities differ in their willingness to make friends. Most residents can adapt to the local way of life pretty well.

Key words: tourism destination, spatial characteristics, social effect, Qiandaohu