Urban Land Use Efficiency and Contributing Factors in the Yangtze River Delta Under Increasing Environmental Restrictions in China

Evaluating urban land use efficiency(ULUE) provides insights into the interactions between land use systems and their external environment. Specifically, changes in ULUE are important for monitoring urban transformation in developing countries. In this study, using a traditional input-output index model, we incorporated slack-based measurements and undesirable outputs into a SBM-UN(slack-based measure-undesirable) model to investigate ULUE within the context of increasing environmental restrictions in China. The model was used to estimate the ULUE of 26 cities in the highly developed urban agglomeration of the Yangtze River Delta from 2000 to2018. The average ULUE in the Yangtze River Delta was relatively low compared to that of developed city regions in the European Union(EU) and North America and exhibited a U-shaped curve over the study period. Incorporating undesirable outputs, such as environmental pollution, into the model reduced ULUE by 19.06%. ULUE varied spatially, with the kernel density estimation exhibiting a bimodal distribution. Efficiency decomposition analysis showed that scale efficiency made a greater contribution to ULUE than pure technical efficiency. Based on our findings, recommended approaches to improve ULUE include optimizing factor allocation, reducing undesirable outputs, and increasing the effective output per land unit. The study suggests that ULUE and the SBM-UN model are useful planning tools for sustainable urban development.

Evolution Characteristics of Urban Land Use Efficiency under Environmental Constraints in China

In the context of high-quality economic development and coordinated regional development,this paper measures the urban land use efficiency of 275 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2016,taking into account the unexpected output(environmental pollution),and explores the temporal and spatial evolution of urban land use efficiency through kernel density estimation and spatial autocorrelation analysis.The results show that:(1)From 2003 to 2016,China’s urban land use efficiency showed an overall fluctuating growth,but it remained at a low level.The mean value of urban land use efficiency has been gradually decreasing in east,west and central regions.(2)In the whole country and the eastern,central and western regions,the regional differences have been increasing,and the efficiency values of the whole country and the east have become polarized.(3)Urban land use efficiency shows a weak spatial positive correlation,but the degree of spatial agglomeration is increasing.High-high agglomeration areas are mostly distributed in the southeastern coastal areas,and extend into the central region,while most of the high-low polarized areas are the capital cities of the central and western regions.The low-high depressed areas are scattered around the high-value accumulation areas,some of which have turned into high-high agglomeration areas during the study period,while the low-low homogeneous areas are mainly distributed in the central,western and northeastern regions.Therefore,it is proposed that strengthening the utilization of urban stock land,strengthening the regional cooperation mechanism,and formulating policies which improve the efficiency of land use are effective ways to promote the intensive and economical use of urban land,as well as regional coordinated development.

Driving Mechanism of Urban Space Expansion in Luoyang, China

Urban space expansion is the result of the interaction between internal and external forces of the urban. Based on the remote sensing image data of 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, and the social and economic development data, this paper analyzes the driving mechanism of the Luoyang space expansion characteristics and its correlation characteristics. By using urban land use efficiency index, urban expansion elastic index;urban allometric growth index, and grey correlation analysis in 4 times sections and 3 periods. The research results show that the urban space expansion of Luoyang mainly comes from the needs and support of economic development, the coordination between urban space expansion and population development is poor, and urban space expansion effectively attracts the inflow of external funds, and the settlement of migrants, drives the development of the tertiary industry, and increases the local revenue.

全球超大城市空间扩张及分形特征

Megacities serve as global centers for economic,cultural,and high-tech industries.The structural features and population agglomerations are typical traits of urbanization,yet little is known about the morphological features and expansion patterns of megacities worldwide.Here we examined the spatiotemporal variations of urban land in megalopolises from 2000 to 2020 using the Urban Expansion Intensity Differentiation Index.The fractal features and expansion patterns of megacities were analyzed using the Area-Radius Multi-dimensional Scaling Model.Urban land use efficiency was then evaluated based on the linear relationship between urban land area and population.We found that Southeast Asia and China were the hotspots of urban expansion in megacities from 2000 to 2020,with urban land areas expanding by 3148.32 km^(2)and 5996.26 km^(2),respectively.The morphological features and expansion patterns of megacities exhibited a growing trend towards intensification and compactness,with the average radial dimension increasing from 1.54 to 1.56.The annual decrease in fractal dimensions indicated the integration of inner urban areas.North America and Europe megacities showed a low urban land use efficiency,with a ratio of urban land area to population ranging from 0.89 to 4.11 in 2020.Conversely,South Asia and Africa megacities exhibited a high urban land use efficiency,with the ratios between 0.23 and 0.87.Our results provide information for promoting efficient urban land utilization and sustainable cities.It is proposed to control the scale of urban expansion and to promote balanced development between inner and outer urban areas for achieving resilient and sustainable urban development.