Comprehensive evaluation of rural courtyard utilization efficiency: A case study in Shandong Province,Eastern China

China is implementing the strategy of Rural Revitalization. Revitalizing idle and inefficient utilization courtyards is an important measure for rural revitalization. The evaluation of courtyard utilization efficiency is the basis of determining the idle and inefficient utilization courtyards in order to revitalizing it. This study provided a reference for the optimal use of rural courtyard utilization and revitalization through the quantitative comprehensive evaluation of courtyard utilization efficiency and the classification of courtyard utilization types. Taking Shandong Province in Eastern China as study area, we selected eight surveyed villages by stratified sampling method. According to the scale of the villages, full survey and sample survey were used, while middleaged men who familiar with the courtyards were selected as the respondents. Through a household questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews from2017 to 2018, 578 questionnaires of rural courtyardsin eight villages were obtained. Then based on the functions of rural courtyard and land resource conditions, 16 comprehensive factors were formulated,involving land conditions, construction conditions and economic benefits, to build the comprehensive evaluation index system of rural courtyard utilization efficiency. Next the index weight was determined by analytic hierarchy process, and the linear weighted regression model was used to evaluate the utilization efficiency of rural courtyard. Finally, the K-means clustering analysis was used to classify the utilization efficiency of courtyards. The results showed that among the eight villages, the average utilization efficiency of courtyards was moderate(one village was low, five were moderate, and two were high). The proportions of both idle and inefficiently utilized courtyards were high. There were three vital factors leading to the idle and low efficiency of rural courtyards. They were declining rural industries,limited arable land per capita, and more farmer workers. In this case, the utilization efficiency of courtyards should be improved by transferring rural land, developing secondary and tertiary industries,evaluating the development potential of villages,classifying and optimizing courtyard utilization, so as to make full use of idle and inefficient courtyards,increase the income of farmers and collectives and promote the revitalization of rural areas.