Evolution mechanisms and governance responses of cold-region rural human settlements: A systematic thematic synthesis

Rural human-settlement systems in cold regions mediate the interaction between climatic stress, population restructuring and unequal access to housing and public services, yet the relevant evidence remains divided among building science, spatial analysis and governance research. This review synthesizes 196 studies retained through a PRISMA-informed search and screening process. A Doxiadis-based 5 + 1 architecture codes Nature, Man, Society, Shells and Networks, with governance treated as a regulatory layer; production-living-ecological functions provide the planning interface. The evidence base combines two analytical corridors: dwelling-scale performance assessment and settlement-to-regional spatial diagnosis. Their integration identifies a pressure-transmission mechanism in which recurrent climatic and ecological loads act through buildings and service networks, are differentiated by household resources and collective capacity, and are redirected towards adaptation, selective restructuring or system transformation. Only 17 records provide direct cold-region rural evidence, so mechanism propositions are calibrated by evidence directness and method capability rather than publication volume. Governance evidence is concentrated in Build and spatial reconfiguration (127 of 189 governance-oriented records), compared with Operate (6), Adapt (25) and Learn (31). The review therefore proposes an evidence-to-action framework that links mechanism diagnosis to intervention portfolios, accountable actors, lifecycle obligations, distributional effects and monitoring. Its comparative application requires explicit adjustment for energy, tenure, welfare, municipal and rural-urban network systems.