How does the withdrawal of rural homesteads impact rural resilience in China? A MADM model

Rural Resilience represents the ability of maintaining their core functions when facing internal changes and recovering to original conditions through transformation. Withdrawal from rural homesteads (WRH) is considered as one of critical strategy for rural revitalization of China but its systemic impacts on rural resilience remain underexplored. This study develops a multidimensional resilience evaluation framework encompassing economic, social, cultural, environmental, and governance dimensions through a Delphi-structured expert consultation process with 16 specialists. Considering the complexity of rural socio-ecological systems and the interplay among various dimensions of rural resilience, this paper uses the Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory methodology to analyze the causal relationships between 22 resilience indicators. Results reveal economic resilience and social resilience as dominant causal dimensions, with economic diversification promotion and collective land marketization emerging as key drivers. Cultural and environmental dimensions exhibit effect characteristics, demonstrating dependence on economic, social, governance interventions. Notably, villagers’ income improvement and cooperative mechanisms demonstrate high centrality, while indicators related to culture and environment rank as vulnerable nodes. These findings provide policymakers with a prioritized intervention framework, emphasizing the need for economic restructuring coupled with institutional safeguards to balance developmental and conservation objectives in rural spatial reorganization processes.