Spatial integration of oasis city group around the western margins of the Tarim Basin

In this paper,the oasis cities in Kashgar Prefecture and Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture are taken as an example,through the factor analysis,spatial attraction interaction model and location quotient methods,urban hierarchy system,the intensity of urban economic ties,economic subordination degree,and structure of city functions were analyzed. The results indicated:(1) The urban hierarchy system takes Kashgar city as the main center,Artux city,Yarkant county and Maralbexi county as the sub-centers; (2) The intensity of economic ties among Kashgar city and each county is much higher than others. The interaction of Kashgar city,Shufu county and Shule county are the strongest,and the economic ties of Yarkant,Kagilik,Poskam counties are relatively close; All cities in the study area are economically subordinate to Kashgar city. (3) Three cities of Kashgar city,Shufu county and Shule county should connect strongly,with Kashgar city as the core. The cities and towns along the Southern Xinjiang Railway and along National Road 315 should be regarded as two strips,and the two city strips along the border,and the city strip along Provincial Road 215 should be treated as three axes. The ring structure strategy of 'core ring,closer ring and radiated ring' was proposed. (4) It was proposed to build Kashgar city group in the north,and Yarkant city group in the south,Maralbexi city group in the southeast,and Taxkorgan border city group with four inner groups’ development strategy.

The classification and assessment of vulnerability of man-land system of oasis city in arid area

Oasis city system is the center of the man-land relationship in arid area and it is the most influential spatial and temporal multiple dynamic system. Oasis city system is not only the largest area where artificial disturbances occur at a regional scale but also the most concentrated area of human activity in arid area. In this study, we developed an applicable and convenient method to assess vulnerability of man-land system of oasis cities with vulnerability indicator system, respectively evaluating the sensitivity, adaptability and vulnerability of the eco- environment system, the economic system and the social system. The results showed that the sensitivity and vulnerability of oasis cities in Xinjiang, China have significant differences while their adaptability does little. In order to find the inherent differences in the vulnerability of oasis cities, triangle methodology has been adopted to divide Xinjiang oasis cities into five types. Some adaptive developing policies specific for individual cities are also proposed based on their vulnerability type and constrain- ing factors.

The characteristics of oasis urban expansion and drive mechanism analysis:a case study on Ganzhou District in Hexi Corridor,China

Ganzhou District is an oasis city in the Zhangye Municipality of Gansu Province, China. Based on multi-temporal TM and ETM satellite remote sensing data in 1985, 1996, 2000, and 2012, and by using corrected figures of land use status over the same periods, the spatial area of Ganzhou District since 1985 was extracted with statistical methods, and urban spatial expansion was measured by quantitative research methods. The characteristics of spatial expansion of Ganzhou District were analyzed by urban expansion rate, expansion intensity index, compactness, fractal dimension, and the city center shift method. The results showed that the built-up area of Ganzhou District increased by 3.46 times during 1985-2012. The expansion in 1985 1996 was slow, during 1996 2000 it was rapid, and during 2000-2012 it was at a high speed. This city mainly expanded to the northeast and northwest. Government decision making had a decisive influence on urban expansion. Initially the expansion was uniform, but later the local tfansportation, economy, resources, population, and national policies factors had an obvious influence on urban expansion.

Spatio-temporal analysis of urbanization and land and water resources efficiency of oasis cities in Tarim River Basin

This paper examines the spatial pattern of land and water resources as well as urbanization and their interactions in the Tarim River Basin, Xinjiang, China. In order to do so, we extract the data associated with efficiency of land and water resources and urbanization for the years of 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2008. Specifically the paper investigates the extent to which agglomeration of population and economic activities varies geographically and inter- plays with spatial pattern of resources efficiency through computation of Global Moran＇s I index, Getis-Ord Gi＊ index and a coordinated development model. The method used provides clear evidence that urbanization, land and water resources efficiency have shown uneven spatial pattern due to oasis distribution, climate, and initial phase of urban development. Some conclusions can be drawn as follows. （1） Agglomeration and dispersion of urbanization are not consistent with those of land and water resources efficiency. （2） Evolution of the hot and cold spots of urbanization, and land and water resources efficiency, in different trajecto- ries, indicate that there are no significant interactions between them. （3） The evidence that numbers of hot and cold spots of the three factors present varying structures reveals the dominance of unequal urban development in the study area. （4） Significant differences are also found between sub-river basins in terms of the three factors, which is a reflection of the complex physical geography of the area. （5） The degree of coordinated development of cities in the Tarim River Basin is generally low in part as a reflection of difference in spatial patterns of the three factors. It is also shown that the pattern of the degree of coordinated development is relatively stable compared with evolution of hot and cold spots of the three factors.

Exploitation of mineral resource and its influence on regional development and urban evolution in Xinjiang, China

The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between mineral resources exploitation and economic and urban development in Xinjiang. The article summarizes the mineral resource exploitation development of Xinjiang especially over the last 50 years, and investigates energy industries and their driving forces, directions, and economic impact on the oasis urban system evolution in Xinjiang. Methods like correlation analysis, location quotient and elastic coefficient are employed in the presentation and discussion, and also field reconnaissance surveys, interviews and secondary sources are used. The result shows Xinjiang＇s economic growth is promoted by the contributions of the increasing mineral resource industry which promotes economic development by accelerating infrastructure construction, developing industry and raising revenue and fixed investment. Mineral exploitation in recent years had profound impacts on urban development as a growth engine. The evolution of urban system has a close relationship with resource exploitation, and statistical results provide strong evidence to support the argument that mineral resource exploitation has promoted the growth of built-up areas and its expansion patterns in Xinjiang, especially regions along the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains.