Urban spatial expansion and its impact on ecological service values of Chongqing City Proper in the last 30 years

Based on the remote sensing images of urban land use of Chongqing City Proper in the last 30years(from 1978 to 2011),The paper focuses on the impact of urban spatial expansion on urban ecosystem service.The charactereristics of urban spatial expansion pattern are expressed by Landscape Expansion Index and Index of Fractal Dimension.Taking advantage of calculation of these two indices,changes of the ecological service values in the main urban area of Chongqing caused by the variation of urban expansion patterns are evaluated and the interrelationship is analyzed.The main conclusions and results are as follows;in Chongqing City Proper,the ecological service value decreased rapidly from 1978 to 2011,especially in the period of 2002-2011.Urban spatial expansion pattern has exerted significant impact on urban ecosystem service value.Edge-expansion pattern broke into a great deal of urban enclaves and caused the disadvantage effect of the function of urban ecological system.At the same time,negative correlation existed between the indices of fractal dimension and the ecosystem service value.

Characteristics and Driving Forces of Spatial Expansion of Oasis Cities and Towns in Hexi Corridor, Gansu Province, China

This paper presents an integrated study of urban spatial expansion in the Hexi Corridor, Gansu Province, China based on TM, ETM remote sensing data in 1987, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2006 and 2011. The study explores the characteristics of urban spatial expansion and dynamic mechanism by using expansion speed index, expansion intensity index, compact index, fractal dimension, and extended flexibility index. We built the index system of influencing factors of urban spatial expansion by using the grey incidence model. The results showed that urban spatial expansion rate in the Hexi Corridor has been on the upward trend since 1987. Expansion intensity showed an obvious upward trend, however, the upward trend varied in different urban areas. In addition, the urban structure was loose relatively, but the urban compactness was more obvious. The urban spatial form tended to be simple, and the urban land use tended to become more intensive. Urban spatial expansion experienced several stages: padding internally, external expansion and padding internally. The main driving factors of urban spatial expansion are not the urban water resources and the oasis scale, but one or several factors such as economy, traffic, population, resource and national policy.

Dynamic analysis of urban spatial expansion and its determinants in Xiamen Island

Most of the world＇s cities are concentrated in coastal areas. As a special geographical component of the coastal system, island urban spatial expansion is the outcome of interactions between city development and the physical environment. This paper takes Xiamen Island, located in Southeastern China, as an example to analyze island urban spatial expansion and its determinants by combining an analysis of the literature on urban development policies, urban overall plans, population growth and industrial development, with geographical information analysis using historical maps and remote sensing photographs. Firstly, we reviewed the history of the Xiamen City development during the last 100 years, which can be divided into four periods： the embryonic modern city and early development from 1908 to 1949; administrative boundary expansion and infrastructure development from 1950 to 1979; special economic zone construction and rapid urbanization from 1980 to 2003; and Bay City construction since 2003. The dynamic changes to the coastline, island shape, built-up area, transportation, administrative division, and major land use type conversion which occurred during approximately the past 100 years were analyzed and the characteristics of the island urban spatial expansion were concluded： early expansion from a central point, followed by expansion along a section of coastline, and expansion from the coastline inland. Secondly, we discussed the potential determinants of island urban spatial expansion including administrative division adjustment, urban master planning revision, industrial development, topographical factors, coastal area reclamation, transportation expansion, and population growth. Finally, the effects of each potential determinant on island urban spatial expansion were concluded. Island urban spatial expansion is the result of a synthesis of natural and socio-economic factors which are not independent but interacting. Built-up area expansion is the major driver of island land cover and land use changes. By this paper, we hope to provide a scientific reference contributing to the rational understanding of island and coastal sustainable urbanization in China, and the world beyond.

Spatial expansion and potential of construction land use in the Yangtze River Delta

Based on remote sensing data of the Yangtze River Delta(YRD) in the years of 1991, 2001 and 2008, the paper built an index system of land use potential restraint factors in YRD, according to geological condition, terrain condition, water area, natural reserve area and basic farmland, and evaluated construction land potential based on the platform of GIS spatial analysis model. The results showed that:(1) the construction land increased rapidly since 1991 and reached 24,951.21 km2 in 2008, or 21.27% of the total area. Among all the cities in the YRD, Shanghai took the greatest percentage, followed by Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Spatially, areas where government departments are located became the growth center of construction land. Prefecture-level cities were the fastest growth region and the changing trend showed circle layered characteristics and significant increase with Shanghai and Suzhou as the core.(2) The higher the quality of construction land potentials(CLP), the smaller the number of CLP units. High sensitive area accounted for the largest percentage(40.14%) among all types of constraint regions and this was followed by medium sensitive region(31.53%) of the whole region.(3) The comprehensive CLP in the YRD was 24,989.65 km2, or 21.76% of the total YRD. The land use potential showed spatial distribution imbalance. CLP of Zhejiang was obviously larger than that of Jiangsu. CLP was insufficient in regional central city. Moreover, CLP in the YRD formed a circle layered spatial pattern that increasingly expanded centered in prefecture-level cities. Low potential area expanded from north to south. High potential area was mainly located in south YRD. Areas with zero potential in the YRD formed a northwest-southeast "Y-shaped" spatial pattern in north Hangzhou Bay.(4) CLP per capita in YRD was 0.045 ha/person and also unevenly distributed. Some 25.57% of the study units at county level nearly had no construction land and 8.24% of the units had CLP per capita below the national average level. CLP per capita in less than 25% of the county-level units was larger than the YRD average level, which were mainly located in Zhejiang. Therefore, research on the construction potential area in YRD was favorable for analysis of the development status and potential space of this region under the background of rapid urbanization and industrialization.

Spatial expansion effects on urban ecosystem services supply-demand mismatching in Guanzhong Plain Urban Agglomeration of China

Global urbanization has led to drastic land use change,interfering the ecosystem services(ES)supply-demand balance,in turn threatening the well-being of humans.However,existing studies mainly stranded at the historical and current analysis,and the effects of urban spatial expansion on the relationship between ES supply and demand in the future are less clear,in particular at an urban agglomeration scale.This study was constructed with a framework of assessing the effects of urban spatial expansion on ES supply-demand mismatching under different future scenarios in the Guanzhong Plain Urban Agglomeration(GPUA)by using the Future Land Use Simulation(FLUS)model and expert-based Land-Use and Land-Cover Change(LUCC)matrix.The results showed that:(1)Urban expansion is significant in the natural development(ND)scenario,mainly manifesting the great transfer of dry land to construction land.(2)The gap between total ES supply and demand is narrowed from 2000 to 2030 and the mismatch between ES supply and demand is mainly reflected in the spatial distribution pattern in the GPUA.The ES budgets were in high surplus in Northern Qinling Mountains and northeast mountain areas,while they were in severe deficit in urban center areas.The budgets deficit under the ND scenario in 2030 is the most severe.(3)The gradient differences of ES budgets of the GPUA between urban centers and suburbs increase from 2000 to 2030 under two scenarios.The deficit region expands largest under ND scenario.The findings revealed that ES declining and supply-demand mismatching were triggered by the drastic land-use change driven by rapid urban expansion.The expansion has brought about an increasing material demand and growing industries,threatening the sustainability of ecosystems.Scenarios setting could contribute to coordinating the relationship between future urban development and ecological protection,and the policy strategies proposed in the study could inform ecological management and urban planning in the regions facing the similar urbanization situation.

Spatial Differences of Coastal Urban Expansion in China from 1970s to 2013

As the ′economic engines′ of China,coastal cities have developed and expanded considerably since the 1970 s.In this study,information on the urban expansion process of Chinese coastal cities from the 1970 s to 2013 was retrieved.Through the analysis of stage characteristics,spatial expansion modes,influences on land use,centroid shifts,and spatial morphological evolutions,the spatial differences of coastal urban expansion were revealed.Results indicate that 1) the expansion stages of southern coastal cities are more complex than those of northern coastal cities,and the expansion ranges and speeds of the former are far higher than those of the latter;2) the spatial expansion of southern coastal cities mostly adopt a single mode,whereas northern coastal cities mostly adopt a mixed mode;3) significant spatial differences in the occupations of different land sources exist between the south and the north along the coastline;4) the centroid of coastal cities tends to migrate toward the coastline,and the centroid shift distances of southern coastal cities are clearly higher than those of northern coastal cities;and 5) the spatial morphology of southern coastal cities tends to be compact,whereas that of northern coastal cities tends to be loose.Policies have a powerful significance in terms of guiding urban expansion and its spatial differences in coastal cities.Urban expansion in coastal cities will encounter new opportunities and challenges under the guidance of new types of urbanization strategies.

Spatial Structure and Land Use Control in Extended Metropolitan Region of Zhujiang River Delta,China

The Zhujiang (Pearl) River Delta is one of the most developed Extended Metropolitan Regions (EMR) in China.With the rapid urbanization,the agglomeration of population and industries has emerged,which has led to dramatic changes of spatial structure and land use in this region.With data of high resolution TM remote sensing images and Google Earth maps,this paper identified and analyzed the spatial pattern of the Zhujiang River Delta EMR using Envy and ArcGIS tools.It was found that 1) the industrial land uses were expanding substantially,particularly on the bank sides of the Zhujiang River estuary;2) large-scale housing developments were concentrated in the fringe of metropolitan areas such as those of Guangzhou and Shenzhen;3) a regional transportation network with the spatial pattern of ″1 circle +2 pieces + 3 axes″ had significantly affected the location choice of manufacture enterprises.At the same time,both highly specialized land use and severely mixed land use patterns were identified.As a consequence of the latter,land use efficiency of the whole EMR areas was reduced.Moreover,ecologic and environmental problems were severe.Based on the above analysis,suggestions were given from the viewpoint of spatial safety,land use efficiency,and the reorganization of spatial structure in the Zhujiang River Delta EMR.

Spatiotemporal Measurement of Regional Expansion in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Metropolitan Area Based on Nighttime Light Data

The research purpose is to accurately reveal the temporal and spatial law of the urban expansion of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan, one of the seven major urban agglomeration areas in China, and provide decision-making basis for the future urban construction land layout and regional development policy-making. Based on the night lighting data (DMSP/OLS), this paper extracts the boundary of the urban construction land of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration from 1993 to 2017, and quantitatively studies the spatial and temporal characteristics of the expansion of the metropolitan area in the past 25 years according to the methods of spatial expansion analysis, center of gravity migration measurement, landscape pattern index, spatial autocorrelation, etc. The results show that: 1) it is scientific and feasible to extract urban agglomeration construction land by the method of auxiliary data comparison for the study of urban expansion;2) the expansion of regional space in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan metropolitan area shows a trend of “weakening first and strengthening later”. The construction land keeps increasing, and the expansion form gradually changes from extensive type to intensive type;3) the center of gravity of the metropolitan area fluctuated and repeated in part during the past 25 years, but it was always located in the municipal district of Changsha city. The eastern region, mainly Changsha city, was still the core area of urban agglomeration expansion;4) strengthening the territorial space protection and control of ecological green core in the metropolitan area is a key measure for the high-quality development of urban agglomeration.

Spatio-temporal Characteristics of Residential Land Growth in Hefei of Anhui Province, China

We used the maps of urban land-use in 1978, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2004, and softwares such as ArcGIS, Fragstats to analyze the spatio-temporal process of urban residential space quantitatively. Some methods, such as di- rection analysis and landscape pattern analysis, were employed. The results show that: 1) the residential land grew very rapidly in Hefei from 1978 to 2004, and the increased land was distributed mainly in the central city zone surrounded by a moat; however, after 1994, it was distributed mainly outside the 1th Ring Road; 2) the expansion speeds were very different in different directions: there exists a fastest expansion of residential land in the directions of NE-NNE, SW and SSE, and a slowest one in the directions of E and SEE; 3) the residential land growth went through four stages: slow circular expansion in 1978-1991, 'axes + fan wings' expansion in 1991-1994, more rapid circular expansion in 1994-2000 and 'fan-wings' expansion in 2000-2004; 4) the expansion intensity was also different in all directions in the period of 1978 to 1994, and the most was in SW and then NW; and 5) there were more and more residential land area, and the spatial agglomeration was improved increasingly.

Architectures in the Shadow of ＂Investors＇ Urban Planning＂--Case Study of Avala Hotel in Budva, Montenegro

Avala Hotel in Budva, Montenegro, has undergone three reconstructions. Each of them led to significant spatial changes. The first hotel established the foundation of urbanization process in Budva, the building was too high compared to the old town walls in the surrounding and thus not well integrated. The second reconstruction was the only successful achievement. At this time, in the first detailed urban plan including hotel and its surrounding area, the conclusion was that it represents ＂high-quality, seaside-favorable ambience＂ that should not be harmed by further building expansion. The last, illegal reconstruction in 2006 resulted in over enlarged new building disrespectful of the surrounding and the previous design. Similarly, the 2008 new detailed urban plan was the creation of ＂investors＇ urban planning＂. Entirely driven by profit, it arranges building reconstructions with multiple enlargements. This study tends to point out contextual impacts of the three hotels on the surrounding area, with special focus on the last reconstruction and ＂investors＇ urban planning＂ phenomena. The applied research method is comparative, chronological analysis of the three hotels. The aim of this research paper is to inspire initiatives that will help overcoming declining and harmful synergy of architecture and new socio-economic phenomena. It is the only way leading to the significant architectural goal： creating refined, harmonized and high quality ambience.

西部先发地区城市空间扩张特征及驱动因素探析——以陕西省为例

Compared with the stock-land exploitation of developed regions in eastern China,the development path in the western regions still relies on land expansion.Among them,Shaanxi stands out as an early-developing region with the highest comprehensive social and economic development level in the west,presenting a more significant and typical phenomenon of urban expansion.This paper utilizes remote sensing image data and socio-economic statistical data,employing mathematical and statistical analysis methods to examine the types and patterns of urban spatial expansion in Shaanxi over multiple years.It also summarizes the laws of expansion and subsequently delves into the driving factors of the spatial expansion.The result shows that the important driving factors of urban expansion in Shaanxi include natural geographical conditions,the economic development basis,the development of new towns and new areas,the drive of large-scale projects,and the guidance of urban and rural planning.The differences in driving factors between the east and west can be explained by the stages of regional development and the effects of administrative boundaries.This research aims to provide localized insights into the rational regulation of urban spatial evolution and efficient land use in similar regions and late-developing regions inwestern China.

Model construction of urban agglomeration expansion simulation considering urban flow and hierarchical characteristics

Since the launch of China’s reform and opening up policy,the process of urbanization in China has accelerated significantly.With the development of cities,inter-city interactions have become increasingly close,forming urban agglomerations that tend to be integrated.Urban agglomerations are regional spaces with network relationships and hierarchies,and have always been the main units for China to promote urbanization and regional coordinated development.In this paper,we comprehensively consider the network and hierarchical characteristics of an urban agglomeration,while using urban flow to describe the interactions of the inter-city networks and the hierarchical generalized linear model(HGLM)to reveal the hierarchical driving mechanism of the urban agglomeration.By coupling the HGLM with a cellular automata(CA)model,we introduced the HGLM-CA model for the simulation of the spatial expansion of an urban agglomeration,and compared the simulation results with those of the logistic-CA model and the biogeography-based optimization CA(BBO-CA)model.According to the results,we further analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed HGLM-CA model.We selected the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China as the research area to conduct this empirical research,and simulated the spatial expansion of the urban agglomeration in 2017 on the basis of urban land-use data from 2007 and 2012.The results indicate that the spatial expansion of the urban agglomeration can be attributed to various driving factors.As a driving factor at the urban level,urban flow promotes the evolution of land use in the urban agglomeration,and also plays an important role in regulating cell-level factors,making the cell-level factors of different cities show different driving effects.The HGLM-CA model is able to obtain a higher simulation accuracy than the logistic-CA model,which indicates that the simulation results for urban agglomeration expansion considering urban flow and hierarchical characteristics are more accurate.When compared with the intelligent algorithm model,i.e.,BBO-CA,the HGLM-CA model obtains a lower simulation accuracy,but it can analyze the interaction of the various driving factors from a hierarchical perspective.It also has a strong explanatory effect for the spatial expansion mechanism of urban agglomerations.