Accessibility of Urban Rail Transit in Post-Winter Olympics Period Based on Internet Map: A Case Study of Beijing

After the Winter Olympics,Beijing proposed to speed up the construction of rail transit.Taking Beijing as the research object,the accessibility of rail transit stations in the 6 districts of the city were analyzed by using POI services and route planning services provided by Internet map providers,relying on ArcMap10.6 platform.The research holds that the development of rail transit in Beijing is not sufficient and unbalanced.Network density has an important influence on the accessibility of rail transit stations.The travel mode of rail transit + cycling can improve the accessibility of stations in underdeveloped areas.In Shijingshan District,the accessibility of rail transit stations in the region can be improved by optimizing the slow traveling environment between the Winter Olympics branch line,Subway Line 6 and Subway Line 1.

Visualization issues in the development of electronic atlas in China

In this paper, we discuss the development of electronic atlas in China, with focus on the issues of visualization. We particularly categorise this development into four periods, and then analyse the characters in each period and discuss the visualization issues. The four periods are highlighted: 1) Infant period (<1990) characterized as computer assisted mapping with products of screen maps; 2) Starting period (1991-1995) characterized as object-oriented mapping with products of interactive maps/atlases; 3) Advancing period (1996-2000) characterized as integrated mapping with products of multimedia cartographic maps; 4) New era (> 2001) characterized as web mapping and adaptive map design with products of Internet maps and atlas as well as adaptive maps. It is obvious that the development follows the logical way from static to dynamic, and even real time visualization, from single user to multiple users, from presentation to exploration for effective communication and knowledge construction. Current research and development projects are focused on customisation of atlas information systems for real-time tasks, Internet operability, small displays and mobile environments. The major challenges involved in each of such customisation processes are identified and commented in relation to the further development of visualization.

Spatial Accessibility to Shopping Malls in Nanjing,China:Comparative Analysis with Multiple Transportation Modes

This study attempts to evaluate the rationality of the spatial layout of shopping malls and identify the urban area with poor shopping mall accessibility,as well as to provide a reference and assist decision-making for planning.Using the case of Nanjing,China,this study developed a method to evaluate the accessibility of shopping malls by three transport modes(car traffic,public transit,and bicycle).Specially,we divide the urban space into a regular hexagonal grid and harvest the total travel time from each of 7204 hexagon centroids to each of 129 shopping malls using the Baidu Internet map.The door-to-door travel time approach is used to evaluate all travel stages(walking,waiting,transfer,and transportation)based on travel time calculations.We further divide the shopping malls into two levels(super-regional and regional)based on the Dianping App’s information and develop the indicator of accessibility to shopping malls:the number of shopping malls within tolerance time thresholds and apply the closest facility and cumulative opportunities methods to measure accessibility scores.The results show that the accessibility estimations vary greatly with transport modes.The accessibility of shopping malls presents a concentric ring trend centered on the city center under the car traffic and bicycle modes.And public transit accessibility tends to axially extend due to the topology of bus routes and metro lines.In particular,we observe that the accessibility of shopping malls in Nanjing has an uneven spatial distribution pattern,with high accessibility values in the central urban areas and lots of underserved areas in urban fringe regions.Based on the accessibility measurements,we finally map the poor accessibility area and propose corresponding implications for urban planning.

Forage Species Suitability Mapping for China Using Topographic, Climatic and Soils Spatial Data and Quantitative Plant Tolerances

Selecting plants adapted to the climatic and soil conditions of specific locations is essential for environmental protection and economic sustainability of agricultural and pastoral systems. This is particularly true for countries like China with a diversity of climates and soils and intended uses. Currently, proper species selection is difficult due to the absence of computer-based selection tools. Climate and soil GIS layers, matched with a matrix of plant characteristics through rules describing species tolerances would greatly improve the selection process. Better matching will reduce environmental hazards and economic risks associated with sub-optimal plant selection and performance. GIS-based climate and soil maps have been developed for China. A matrix of quantitative species tolerances has been developed for example forage species and used in combination with an internet map server that allows customized map creation. A web-based decision support system has been developed to provide current information and links to original data sources, supplementary materials, and selection strategies.