This study estimates the probability of housing vacancy occurrence in rural Sangju and develops differentiated management strategies by operationalizing these probabilities into grid-based spatial information. Drawing on 2022 vacant house survey data,...
This study estimates the probability of housing vacancy occurrence in rural Sangju and develops differentiated management strategies by operationalizing these probabilities into grid-based spatial information. Drawing on 2022 vacant house survey data, a comparative analysis of five machine learning models identified XGBoost as the most robust predictor. SHAP-based interpretations further revealed that small housing size, older building age, and an aging population are the primary drivers of vacancy. Furthermore, the study proposes a four-tiered management framework - Intensive Intervention, Current Management, Preventive Management, and Monitoring - providing a systematic basis for policy prioritization. Ultimately, this research illustrates that machine learning–driven spatial diagnostics can serve as a practical foundation for proactive and evidence-based rural vacancy management, demonstrating how empirical diagnostics and policy design can be organically integrated.