Urban structure transformation of Lhasa City after the peaceful liberation and democratic reform of Tibet

In Tibet, Buddhism coupled with its theocratic history has given its cities and urban areas unique forms and structures. As the political, religious, and economic center of Tibet, Lhasa City has a special urban form and has experienced typical urban transformation processes for a thousand years. The city has been experiencing significant urban structure transformation that has accompanied the socio-economic development in recent decades since the peaceful liberation and democratic reform of Tibet during the 1950 s. Hence, this study presents the time-series of urban structure changes in Lhasa City for the purpose of understanding the characteristics and mechanisms of transformation under the republican political system. First, the study illustrates the urban socio-economic changes of Lhasa City beginning in the 1950 s via statistical data analysis. We then divide the urban development into several stages. Subsequently, we identify the transformation characteristics of urban structure by investigating urban growth, street structure, land-use, and religious facilities via maps of the city from every development stage. This paper ultimately discusses the regulation of city transformation. This study clarifies several probable issues facing Tibetan cities and proposes suggestions for future urban development of Tibetan cities.

URBAN REGIONAL STRUCTURES TRANSFORMATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: CASE STUDY OF NANJING MEGALOPOLIS

s: Since 1978, many changes have happened on the background of urban regional structure in China, such as the economy system restructuring, the social transforming including the population flow accelerating and social demand diversifying and individualizing, the political and economic systems reforms, the rise of the real estate market and the changing relationship between human and nature. From the macroscopic view, these changes make the national urban system to be a newer pattern with a widening gap among the cities in spite of the rising of the cities as a whole. At the same, the urban land use structures are changing with both the trends of intensification and diversification, and the trends of the regional diversification and the economic integration. Besides, urban structures with multiple centers are emerging in several metropolitan areas in China. These changes and trends mentioned above are confirmed by a case study of Nanjing City, a growing metropolitan area in east China. The case study also points out some problems in urban regional structure reforming, especially the poor social and ecological considerations. We should pay more attention to some ideas like balance of intensification and decentralization, development of suburban centers and a reasonable mixing of the functional activities to develop a sustainable urban regional structure.

Study on urban spatial structure and morphology of Guangzhou-Foshan metropolitan coordinating region compared with Randstad,Netherlands

In recent years,regional integration of Chinese cities has gradually developed.Meanwhile,metropolitan areas and urban agglomerations have taken shape.On the one hand,the development of the metropolitan area has brought about urban spatial expansion,as well as population and economic growth.On the other hand,it has led to problems such as the urban sprawl and suburbanization,increasing pressure on environmental resources,and the decline of urban central areas.Under this background,the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan Outline proposes to accelerate the integration of Guangzhou-Foshan(Guang Fo)Metropolitan Coordinating Region(MCR),and to construct a networked space pattern driven by urban poles and shafts.Based on the academic research of Metropolitan Coordinating Region(MCR),as well as the theory of urban spatial structure and morphology,this study focus on urban spatial patterns and elements in different scales,from two individual cites(Guangzhou and Foshan),Guang Fo MCR,to Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao(GHM)Greater Bay Area.With GIS and the mapping method,the spatial elements such as green space,water system,built-up area,road network,rail transit network and main pivot points of the Guang Fo MCR are classified,laid out individually and again overlaid in order to figure out the relationship of these elements.At the same time,through the comparative case study of the Randstad MCR in the Netherlands,the enlightenment of solving the development problem of MCR is hopefully to be obtained.As delta cities,the Guang Fo MCR is cut by the multi-channel water network,while the urban built-up area is concentrated in the middle of the MCR and spread out along the traffic corridor to the suburban district.The traffic structure of the Guang Fo MCR is characterized by the outward radiation of the central area of Guangzhou and Foshan.Simultaneously,the traffic connection between Guangzhou and Foshan is relatively weak.Compared with the polycentric spatial structure,which is called Decentralized Compact pattern of Randstad MCR,the Guang Fo MCR presents a city form with little hierarchy but homogeneity,and its urban space is disorderly spread.The bluegreen system of water and vegetation is fragmented because of the urban invasion in Guang Fo MCR,while the green heart in central Randstad is well preserved.As a result,it is well advised to explore a more resilient and ecological urban development in Guang Fo MCR.

Immigrant Urban Housing and Socio-spatial Structure and Its Formation Mechanism:A Case Study of Shenzhen

Urban housing and socio-spatial attribute indicators are selected to identify housing and socio-spatial structure and its formation mechanism of Shenzhen.The following are the main conclusions.①Principal factors influencing the social area of Shenzhen include housing facilities,highly educated immigrants,migrant population,family structure,housing area and economic income level.②The socio-spatial structure which composed by six types of social areas shows obvious differentiation based on population mobility,housing,educational level and economic income level,forming a typical dual pattern of "urban society_-migrant worker society".③The formation of socio-spatial structure in Shenzhen results from natural conditions,economic development and institutional factors like the establishment of special economic zone,land system reform and urban planning.

The corridor effect of metropolitan spatialextension and optimization of landscape structure—the case of Beijing

Because of the existence of gradient field of the urban center and the corridor effect. underthe drive of going merely after economic benefit, the city intrinsically has the trend of massive growth, and this will seriously destroy the urban reasonable landscape structure and the ecological equilibrium.By applying the theory of corridor effect. this paper studies the interactive process between artificialcorridors and natural corridors. At the same time, by studying the Beijing's spatial extension pattern in central urban area during different periods. this paper analyses the corridors extension volume.extension velocity and variant tendency of urban landscape on & directions. Moreover. this paperbrings forward the idea of incorporating the systen of natural corridors into the Beijing'smetropolitan planning, namely to form a star-shaped scattering-group pattern in which artificialcorridors and natural corridors are alternately distributed in order to effectively prevent built-up areafrom massive growth .

Evaluating Structural and Temporal Factors Affecting Supply of Ecosystem Benefits in a University Urban Environment in South Carolina, USA

Sustainable urban forest management is still an evolving concept, particularly as it pertains to a sustainable supply of ecosystem benefits and management planning. Urban forestry maintains a greater human dimension component than traditional timber-oriented rural forestry because urban trees grow in city centers and neighborhoods, supplying critical ecosystem benefits to the population centers. The overall goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship of urban forest stand structure and its temporal dynamics with the sustainable supply of ecosystem benefits in university environments. Individual tree data were collected from a completed inventory, while the i-Tree Eco model was used to generate ecosystem benefits data from the Clemson urban forest. The cumulative-benefits supply curve had an inverted J-shaped curve, but the average supply curve had a negative slope against the species richness. Likewise, individual tree variables total height, DBH, leaf area, and crown height strongly correlated with the total ecosystem services supply. Based on the temporal supply trends, the study area trees were broadly segmented into three groups: establishment, growth, and legacy, with 65%, 31%, and 4% frequency distribution, respectively. Urban forest managers need to identify forest management goals and preferred ecosystem benefits among the urban communities to guide the required forest structure and dynamics to ensure a sustainable and functioning urban forest.

Differentiated effects of morphological and functional polycentricurban spatial structure on carbon emissions in China: an empiricalanalysis from remotely sensed nighttime light approach

Understanding the relationship between urban development and environmental sustainability to achieve‘double carbon’goals in China can be strengthened by evaluating the environmental effect of urban spatial structure(US).However,there have been few studies that consider the differentiated effects of polycentric US(PUS)on carbon emissions from both functional and morphological perspectives simultaneously.Thus,taking China’s 31 provinces as experimental subjects,our study developed a novel framework with remotely sensed nighttime light(NTL)data to quantify morphological PUS(MPUS)and functional PUS(FPUS)from 2000 to 2019.Then,from these two dimensions,differentiated effects of PUS on carbon emissions were further examined.Results indicated that NTL data presented high potential in quantifying MPUS and FPUS.The effect of FPUS on carbon emission-cutting outperformed that of MPUS.In addition,the spillover effect effectively enhanced the decreasing effect of the FPUS on carbon emissions.Our empiricalfindings can provide guidance for the government in developing strategies for reducing carbon emissions and optimizing USs.

Characterizing the urban spatial structure using taxi trip big data and implications for urban planning

Urban spatial structure is an important feature for assessing the effects of urban planning.Quantifying an urban spatial structure cannot only help in identifying the problems with current planning but also provide a basic reference for future adjustments.Evaluation of spatial structure is a difficult task for planners and researchers and this has been usually carried out by comparing different land use structures.However,these methods cannot efficiently reflect the influence of human activities.With the wide application of big data,analyzing data on human travel behavior has increasingly been carried out to reveal the relationship between urban spatial structure and urban planning.In this study,we constructed a human-activity space network using the taxi trip big data.Clustering at different scales revealed the hierarchy and redundancy of the spatial structure for assessing the appropriateness and shortcomings of urban planning.This method was applied to a case study based on one-month taxi trip data of Dongguan City.Existing urban spatial structures at different scales were retrieved and utilized to assess the effectiveness of the master plan designed for 2000 to 2015 and 2008 to 2020,which can help identify the limitations and improvements in the spatial structure designed in these two versions of the master plan.We also evaluated the potential effect of the master plan designed for 2016 to 2035 by providing a reference for reconstructing and optimizing future urban spatial structure.The analysis demonstrated that the taxi trip data are important big data on social spatial perception,and taxi data should be used for evaluating spatial structures in future urban planning.

The fractal or scaling perspective on progressively generated intra-urban clusters from street junctions

The underlying complexity of urban space can be manifested by its fractal forms and scaling statistics.This paper examines these characteristics at the intra-urban scale through the lens of clustered street junctions(including road ends)in two Chinese metropolitan areas:Beijing and Shenzhen.We derived the cluster sets with Euclidean distance thresholds starting at 100 meters(m)and ending at 1000 m,and outlined each cluster using a concave-hull method to maintain their original irregular shapes.Within each delimited cluster,we examined four urban attributes:gross domestic product,number of street nodes,polygon area,and population.Our analysis revealed that power law distribution applied to almost every cluster set in terms of the four attributes,but varied from one attribute to another or from city to city,represented primarily byfluctuated power law exponents and ht-index values whose profiles along with the cluster growth can effectively characterize the urban structure.Additionally,we computed the spectrum of intra-urban scaling exponents with cluster size increments,contributing new insights into the allometric relationships between urban configuration and function.

Urban spatial structure analysis:quantitative identification of urban social functions using building footprints

Analysis of urban spatial structures is an effective way to explain and solve increasingly serious urban problems.However,many of the existing methods are limited because of data quality and availability,and usually yield inaccurate results due to the unclear description of urban social functions.In this paper,we present an investigation on urban social function based spatial structure analysis using building footprint data.An improved turning function(TF)algorithm and a selforganizing clustering method are presented to generate the variable area units(VAUs)of high-homogeneity from building footprints as the basic research units.Based on the generated VAUs,five spatial metrics are then developed for measuring the morphological characteristics and the spatial distribution patterns of buildings in an urban block.Within these spatial metrics,three models are formulated for calculating the social function likelihoods of each urban block to describe mixed social functions in an urban block,quantitatively.Consequently,the urban structures can be clearly observed by an analysis of the spatial distribution patterns,the development trends,and the hierarchy of different social functions.The results of a case study conducted for Munich validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Muth-Mills Model of Urban Spatial Structure:Theory and Implications for Cities in China

Given the differences between cities in the United States and China,and the changing structure of Chinese cities,this paper examines the viability of some basic predictions of the Muth-Mills model of urban spatial structure for modern cities in China,using data for the year 2010. Chinese cities are experiencing rapid motorization and road construction over the last two decades,so we have tried to use different measurements for commuting cost in these cities to estimate the empirical model,and concluded that most results support the Muth-Mills assertion. The elasticities of the urban spatial size with respect to the signifi cant variables are discussed,comparing to those for cities in the United States. The results we obtain from both theoretical and empirical analyses can further increase our understanding on the model as a tool for a policy analysis on cities in China.

Urban landscape structure anatomy:Structure patterns and typology identification in the space-time of Setif City,Algeria

The definition of urban form and its elements raises a wide debate in urban morphology.This study presents a proposal to understand the structuring of the urban landscape of Setif City over 170 years(1848-2018)by abstracting its main elements into permanent structure(PSUL).It corresponds to the street network,more static to the change of the town plan,and flexible structure(FSul),more resilient to change and explains the superimpositions of morphological components(plot,building,and land use).This work aims to identify typological patterns of structures suggested in space-time through the inspection of the growth of the street network and the filling of morphological layers framed by the concept of urbanity.The methodology is based on syntactic(diachronic)morphogenetic analysis,with statistical analyses as unsupervised classification.Results indicate that PSUL presents an accumulation of microincrements produced with a similar degree of coherence in different urban fabrics,which explain the local patterns of street network structuring.The typology of FSul patterns indicates an unbalanced growth by the arrangement between morphological elements,resulting in a variation in the degree of urbanity.

Spatio-temporal characteristics of intra-urban land cover in the cities of China and USA from 1978 to 2010

Urban land cover has major impacts on a city＇s ecosystem services and the inherent quality of its urban residential environment. The spatio-temporal distribution of impervious surface area and green areas in Chinese cities has exhibited a significantly marked difference in comparison with USA cities. This study focused on monitoring and comparing the spatio-temporal dynamics, land cover patterns and characteristics of functional regions in six Chinese （n=3） and USA （n=3） cities. The study data were collated from Landsat TM/MSS imagery during the period 1978-2010. Results indicate that Chinese cities have developed compactly over the past three decades, while development has been notably dispersed among USA cities. Mean vegetation coverage in USA cities is approximately 2.2 times that found amongst Chinese urban agglomerations. Land use types within Chinese cities are significantly more complex, with a higher density of impervious surface area. Conversely, the central business district （CBD） and residential areas within USA cities were compdsed of a lower proportion of impervious surface area and a higher proportion of green land. Results may be used to contribute to future urban planning and administration efforts in both China and the USA.

The compactness of spatial structure in Chinese cities:measurement,clustering patterns and influencing factors

Rapid urbanization in China has led to an excessive urban expansion of built-up areas,which makes quantitative research on compact city important.We adopted density and the degree of mixed land use to measure the compactness of 160 Chinese cities.Spatial autocorrelation analysis was performed to identify spatial clustering patterns,and the relationships between compactness and five variables were explored through regression models.The result shows that in nearly half of the cases,the calculated values of two indices are less than the average.The high or low values of density and the degree of mixed land use tend to be spatially clustered.The hot spot regions of density and the degree of mixed land use lie mainly in the south of China,while the north present as cold spots or the insignificant regions.Urban compactness can be affected by multifaceted factors and the relationships between compactness and five variables are not consistent throughout the areas of analysis.The GWR model can identify this phenomenon and provides a better fit than the OLS model.This study proposed a new approach to measure the compactness,and the results of GWR analysis can conducive to appropriate policy-making based on different local conditions.

Local climate zone mapping using remote sensing:a synergetic use of daytime multi-view Ziyuan-3 stereo imageries and Luojia-1 nighttime lightdata

The local climate zone(LCZ)scheme has been widely utilized in regional climate modeling,urban planning,and thermal comfort investigations.However,existing LCz classification methods face challenges in characterizing complex urban structures and human activities involving local climatic environments.In this study,we proposed a novel LCZ mapping method that fully uses space-borne multi-view and diurnal observations,i.e.daytime Ziyuan-3 stereo imageries(2.1 m)and Luojia-1 nighttime light(NTL)data(130 m).Firstly,we performed land cover classification using multiple machine learning methods(i.e.random forest(RF)and XGBoost algorithms)and various features(i.e.spectral,textural,multi-view features,3D urban structure parameters(USPs),and NTL).In addition,we developed a set of new cumulative elevation indexes to improve building roughness assessments.The indexes can estimate building roughness directly from fused point clouds generated by both along-and across-track modes.Finally,based on the land cover and building roughness results,we extracted 2D and 3D USPs for different land covers and used multi-classifiers to perform LCZ mapping.The results for Beijing,China,show that our method yielded satisfactory accuracy for LCZ mapping,with an overall accuracy(OA)of 90.46%.The overall accuracy of land cover classification using 3D USPs generated from both along-and across-track modes increased by 4.66%,compared to that of using the single along-track mode.Additionally,the OA value of LCZ mapping using 2D and 3D USPs(88.18%)achieved a better result than using only 2D USPs(83.83%).The use of NTL data increased the classification accuracy of LCZs E(bare rock or paved)and F(bare soil or sand)by 6.54%and 3.94%,respectively.The refined LCZ classification achieved through this study will not only contribute to more accurate regional climate modeling but also provide valuable guidance for urban planning initiatives aimed at enhancing thermal comfort and overall livabillity in urban areas.Ultimately,this study paves the way for more comprehensive and effective strategies in addressing the challenges posed by urban microclimates.

基于公路客流的中国城市网络结构与空间组织模式（英文）

The use of multi-perspective and multi-scalar city networks has gradually developed into a range of critical approaches to understand spatial interactions and linkages. In particular, road linkages represent key characteristics of spatial dependence and distance decay, and are of great significance in depicting spatial relationships at the regional scale. Therefore, based on highway passenger flow data between prefecture-level administrative units, this paper attempted to identify the functional structures and regional impacts of city networks in China, and to further explore the spatial organization patterns of the existing functional regions, aiming to deepen our understanding of city network structures and to provide new cognitive perspectives for ongoing research. The research results lead to four key conclusions. First, city networks that are based on highway flows exhibit strong spatial dependence and hierarchical characteristics, to a large extent spatially coupled with the distributions of major megaregions in China. These phenomena are a reflection of spatial relationships at regional scales as well as core-periphery structure. Second, 19 communities that belong to an important type of spatial configuration are identified through community detection algorithm, and we suggest they are correspondingly urban economic regions within urban China. Their spatial metaphors include the administrative region economy, spatial spillover effects of megaregions, and core-periphery structure. Third, each community possesses a specific city network system and exhibits strong spatial dependence and various spatial organization patterns. Regional patterns have emerged as the result of multi-level, dynamic, and networked characteristics. Fourth, adopting a morphology-based perspective, the regional city network systems can be basically divided into monocentric, dual-nuclei, polycentric, and low-level equilibration spatial structures, while most are developing monocentrically.

Research on the Spatial Axis System of Xianyang in the Qin Dynasty Based on the Ancient Planning Tradition of Bianfang Zhengwei

As the capital of the first unified Chinese empire, the planning and design of Xianyang in the Qin Dynasty is of significant value in the historical research of urban planning. However, its urban spatial structure is still ambiguous due to the insufficient historical literature and archaeological findings, thereby enforcing the breakthrough of extant research visions and methods. This paper is a tentative response to this issue from the perspective of urban planning. Firstly, the paper infers that the method of Bianfang Zhengwei [Orientation Identification and Position Determination] has been applied in the planning of Xianyang in the Qin Dynasty based on the study of the planning tradition of pre-Qin and Qin-Han dynasties. Secondly, it recognizes and reorganizes the related literature documents and archaeological findings according to the clue of "Core Establishment" and "Orientation Determination," to identify the axis system of Xianyang with the Polar Temple and Epang Palace as the core, based on which the spatial structure of Xianyang is revealed. Ultimately, it expounds the methodological and practical significance of this study.