Influence of new town development on the urban heat island-The case of the Bundang area

Five new towns have been developed around the Seoul metropolitan area since 1996 However, these new towns generate lots of traffic and related problems in the areas including those new towns and Seoul as a result of increases in population and a lack of ecological-self-sufficiency. Currently, construction of another new town is under deliberation, and what should be a major consider is the notion that the new town be located within a wide, green zone. Many studies have revealed that green space can play an important role in improving urban eco-meteorological capability and air quality. In order to analyze the urban heat island which will be created by the new urban development, and to investigate the local thermal environment and its negative effects caused by a change of land use type and urbanization, Landsat TM images were used for extraction of urban surface temperature according to changes of land use over the last 15 years. These data are analyzed together with digital land use and topographic information. As a study result, it was found the urban heat island of the study area from 1985 to 1999 rapidly developed which showed a difference of mean temperature above +2 0 Before the Bundang new town construction the temperature of the residential area was the same as a forest, but during the new town construction in 1991 analysis revealed the creation of an urban heat island. The temperature of a forest whose size is over 50% of the investigation area was lowest, and thus the presence of a forest is believed to have a direct cooling effect on the urban environment and its surroundings. The mean temperature of the residential and commercial areas in the study was found to be +4 5 higher than the forest, and therefore this part of land use is believed to be the main factor causing the temperature increase of the urban heat island.

Land use suitability analysis for town development planning in Nanjing hilly areas: A case study of Tangshan new town, China

Land use suitability analysis plays an important role in sustainable land use and solving environmental problems caused by rapid urban development.A land use suitability mapping approach for town development planning in hilly areas was constructed based on two multi-criteria evaluation methods:Weighted Linear Combination(WLC)and Ordered Weighted Averaging(OWA),to comparatively evaluate and map land use suitability of Tangshan new town in Nanjing,China.Fourteen evaluation factors related to topographic,environmental,socio-economics and historical sites data were used as suitability criteria.The analytic hierarchy process(AHP)method and GIS techniques were integrated into the evaluation models to create the land use suitability map for town development planning.The results of WLC approach showed that 11.4%of the total area is highly suitable while the 48.6%is unsuitable.The results of WLC and OWA approach showed the distribution of degree of land use suitability is almost the same.The areas located at the southern and eastern flat regions are highly suitable for land use,whereas the areas close to the mountain forests,steep slopes,waters,and hot springs,have lower suitability for land use.Sensitivity analysis indicated that the suitability results of the two proposed methods are robust.Indirect validation was achieved by mutual comparison of suitability maps derived from the WLC and OWA methods.It demonstrated that the overall agreement is 90.81%and kappa coefficient is 0.81,indicating that both methods provide very similar spatial suitability distributions.By overlaying the resultant map with the previous master plan map of Tangshan new town,the overlay map once again indicated a satisfactory ecological fit between the two maps.At last,several recommendations are proposed aiming at improving the long-term town development plan for Tangshan new town.

TRANSPORT PLANNING FOR NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT:EXPERIENCE OF HONG KONG

Since the 1960s, Hong Kongs new towns have been builton the assumption that they could be socially and economically selfcontained entities. A study of the linkage between three new townsand metropolitan area confirms that substantial commuting trips arestill made. The new towns serve as dormitories for people workingin the metropolitan area. The commuters' reliance on publictransport is significant. The towns are thus far from self-containedeven aller 20 years of development. The public transport network,trip rate, peak factor, purpose, mode choice, costs and journey time,are signilicantly different from those originally estimated. Thesemay be related to distance from the metropolitan area,theavailability of modes, the structure of the public transport netwrk,and changs in the economical structure of Hong Kong. lt suggeststhat the direct and indiscriminant importation of Westernplanning practice to plan new towns with an oriental socio-economicsetting deserves critical review.

Solidified Branding Function: How the Urban Brand Affects a Small Town’s Development? Case Study of Wangqingtuo, Tianjin, China

Chinese small towns are usually developed with single core industry,and the urban brand is the identity of a town that formed with the development of its industry.However,when the core industry representing its urban brand is facing a changing situation or market,will the brand be a motivation or an obstruction of the development of a town?The paper combined top-down and bottom-up research method to study the function of the urban brand in Wangqingtuo town in Tianjin,China.We studied over 400 samples(including government staff and town citizens)to make questionnaire investigation about the town’s branding.And we found that the solidified urban brand is a complicated emotional symbol for both government and citizens.The town has demand of exploring and developing new dominant industry,and it has the expectation to keep branding and upgrade its current core industry.

OVERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF GARMENT INDUSTRY IN SHAXI TOWN (Part I)

Bordering Guangzhou on the north and connecting the urban area of Zhongshan city, Shaxi is located in the central south of Pearl River Delta and near to Hong Kong and Macao. It covers an area of 55 square kilometers, with population of

Development and Planning of Small Towns in China:Speculation, Reassessment, and Prospect

Small town development has been one of the most remarkable features of urbanization in China: This paper systematically examines different definitions of small towns and critically assesses various interpretations of the functions performed by Chinese towns in national development. Prior to the- 1980s, small towns were enthusiastically portrayed as storage reservoirs that can dam the flux of the surplus rural labor force into large cities. Existing problems associated with the growth and planning of small towns have resulted in a sober reassessment of the role played by the towns. Despite the partial retreat of enthusiasm about the town-based urbanization strategy, small towns continue to flourish spontaneously in the grassroots level of the Chinese countryside. A new pattern of ’urbanizationfrom below’, motivated primarily by the growth of township and village enterprises and centeredaround small towns, is quickly taking shape in the country patticularly in the coastal extended metropolitan regions.

Investigating the urban-rural integrated town development strategy on the basis of the study of rural forms in Nantong,China

Urban-rural integrated development is the priority task of China due to the wide development gap between cities and villages caused by the most rapid economic growth in history.In the province-city-town-village administrative system of China,town,as the smallest urban form,is the social,economic,and cultural center of a rural area and becomes the key to many development problems.An improved township enhances living standards and creates numerous jobs in rural areas,and it will provide opportunities for urban-rural sustainable integration.This paper introduces three typical rural forms in Nantong and demonstrates the objective fact that rural form is an important manifestation of residents,living habits,historical context,and the regional characteristics of rural areas.Then,this study aims to find the close inner relationship between rural form and town development through a comparative study of morphological indicators.Therefore,on the basis of full understanding of rural forms,this study proposes that town development from the perspective of serving the countryside,improving the quality of life of rural residents,and protecting the rural landscape texture with regional characteristics is the development mode conforming to the spirit of sustainable development.

Seminar on Employment and Development of Town Women

IN October 1994, the All-China Women’s Federation held a seminar on the employment and development of town women in Shanghai, China’s largest city. The seminar was also a preparatory meeting for the ’95 NGO Forum on women’s employment. More than 70 people, including the presidents of the provincial women’s federations, the municipal women’s federations and some leaders of the state departments concerned attended this meeting. Chen Muhua, Vice-Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the NPC,