Open Space Implications in Urban Development: Reflections in Recent Urban Planning Practices in Nepal

Open space has various implications in urban development planning and has been integrated in recent urban planning approaches and practices in Nepal.The open spaces are not only important for(re)shaping the urban form but are also important for enhancing urban social life and disaster risk management,particularly for dense cities.As most of the cities in Nepal have been growing haphazardly,the cities lack sufficient open space.However,the value of open space in dense cities like Kathmandu has been recognized more after the Gorkha Earthquake 2015 as the open spaces were extensively used for risk relief,treatment,recovery,and rehabilitation during and after the earthquake.With this background,this paper presents the major planning initiatives in Nepal and discusses how recent urban plans have provisioned and initiated open spaces development by reviewing concurrent urban planning practices,particularly reviewing Periodic Plans,Integrated Urban Development Plan,Smart City Plan,and Land Development Plan.The development of open areas has not been given much attention in the earlier urban planning practice but recent urban development planning has emphasized with a special focus which is very important for sustainable and safer city development and is expected to address the current bulging urban issues of spatiality and sociability.Therefore,it is very important for integrating open space implications in city planning and such open space should be conceptualized according to the city’s geography,landscape as well as socio-cultural contexts.

Study on the Layout of Urban Planning in Rapid Urbanization Areas under the Background of Air Pollution

China＇s urbanization has been over the medium-term process,which has made great achievements,but also triggered a huge problem of air pollution. Air pollution has become a big problem after the water pollution in China,and a serious threat to people＇s life and health. Under the background of ＂ the construction of beautiful China＂ and rapid urbanization,how to build a beautiful home has become the focus of attention. Taking Shenyang as an example,the author contrastively analyses the spatial distribution of the main air pollutants（ PM10,PM2. 5,and SO2） and the present situation of land use,and thus finds out the rules between pollutants distribution and land use. Then combining the urban planning scheme and the rules obtained above,reasonable suggestions are proposed for the scheme to improve the air quality,and reduce or avoid air pollution,and providing the basis for the construction of a piece of blue sky. The conclusions are as follows： 1 air pollutants concentration above Light Oil Gas Making Factory in south vice city of Shenyang reaches the peak value,and industrial point source is the main air pollutants emission source; 2 pollutants concentration above greenbelt is the lowest; 3 the overall spatial structure of urban planning can insulate the industrial agglomeration areas to some extent; greenbelt planning covers 40%- 50% of the area with high concentration of air pollutants,and it is suggested to achieve full coverage; traffic planning can achieve shunt most of the pollutants in many regions,but it can also expand the scope of pollutants in some certain regions,in such regions,it should reduce the road density.

Urban Densification Strategy and Land Value in Tijuana,Baja California-The Opinion of Specialists

Specialists can provide opinions regarding the city and land value based on their specialized field.Professionals in these fields are identified as urban planners and valuators,who play a crucial role in the current dynamics of cities.They have a qualified opinion on city issues based on their professional practice in various areas of expertise.This opinion was obtained through the formulation and application of a questionnaire to specialists.Subsequently,the results were analyzed and graphically represented.In the discussion,several findings were found related to the relationship between land value and the urban densification policy established in the urban planning that governs the city of Tijuana,Baja California.The study investigated the behavior of the real estate market in the region and the establishment of a solid strategy toward densification.

Remote Sensing Data and SLEUTH Urban Growth Model:As Decision Support Tools for Urban Planning

Sri Lanka is experiencing speedy urbanization by converting the agriculture land and other natural land cover into built-up land. The urban population of Sri Lanka is expected to reach to 60% by 2030 from 14% in 2010. The rapid growth in urban population and urban areas in Sri Lanka may cause serious socioeconomic disparities, if they are not handled properly. Thus, planners in Sri Lanka are in need of information about past and future urban growth patterns to plan a better and sustainable urban future for Sri Lanka. In this paper, we analyzed the characteristics of past land use and land cover trends in Matara City of Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2010 to assess the historic urban dynamics. The land use change detection analysis based on remote sensing datasets reveal that the conversion of homestead/garden and paddy into urban land is evident in Matara City. The historic urban trends are projected into the near future by using SLEUTH urban growth model to identify the hot spots of future urbanization and as well as the urban growth patterns in Matara City up to the basic administrative level, i.e., Grama Niladari Divisions(GND). The urban growth simulations for the year 2030 reveal that 29 GNDs out of 66 GNDs in Matara City will be totally converted into urban land. Whereas, 28 GNDs will have urban land cover from 75% to 99% by 2030. The urban growth simulations are further analyzed with respect to the proposed Matara city development plan by the Urban Development Authority(UDA) of Sri Lanka. The results show that the UDA's city development plan of Matara will soon be outpaced by rapid urbanization. Based on the calibration and validation results, the SLEUTH model proved to be a useful planning tool to understand the near future urbanization of Sri Lankan cities.

THE APPLICATION OF GIS IN URBAN PLANNING:ENVIRONMENTAL ZONING STUDY IN THE OLD CITY OF WENZHOU,CHINA

Due to rapid growth of population, urbanization and industrialization, in many cites of the developing world, there is severe contradiction between urban land supply and land demand which resulted in many urban land use conflicting situations and urban environment degrading. This paper is mainly focused on this problem, demonstrating the feasibility and efficiency of environmental study by integrating GIS and environmetal zoning method. Two neighbourhoods of the old city of Wenzhou were chosen as the study area. With the aid of GIS software PC Arc/info as dBate IV, an urhan environmental impact assessment study was carried out based on the data available such as land use map and detailed attribute data of each land planning unit. The main factors taken into consideration include: the type of activity causing environmental stress, the type and strength of environmental impact and the type of receptive area that could be affected.

A MySQL-Based Software System of Urban Land Planning Database of Shanghai in China

With the development of the digital city,data and data analysis have become more and more important.The database is the foundation of data analysis.In this paper,the software system of the urban land planning database of Shanghai in China is developed based on MySQL.The conceptual model of the urban land planning database is proposed,and the entities,attributes and connections of this model are discussed.Then the E-R conceptual model is transformed into a logical structure,which is supported by the relational databasemanagement system(DBMS).Based on the conceptual and logical structures,by using Spring Boot as the back-end framework and using MySQL and Java API as the development tools,a platformwith datamanagement,information sharing,map assistance and other functions is established.The functionalmodules in this platformare designed.The results of J Meter test show that the DBMS can add,store and retrieve information data stably,and it has the advantages of fast response and low error rate.The software system of the urban land planning database developed in this paper can improve the efficiency of storing and managing land data,eliminating redundant data and sharing data.

Peri-urban Development:Discussion with Land Use Zoning,Statutory Provision,and Issues inside Katahari Rural Municipality,Nepal

The peri-urban area is a transitional zone between the city and its hinterlands characterized by mixed land use and intensive flows of resources,people,goods,and services from and to the city center.These zones are generally misguided and haphazardly developed without a proper planning framework.The peri-urban area at present will be the urban area in the future;therefore,it needs planning intervention in its initial stage of growth.Katahari,a peri-urban area of Biratnagar metropolitan city,is developing a spontaneous lack of land use plans.Recently,the Government of Nepal has encouraged the local government to implement land use plans in the provided framework,policy,and guidelines.This study,in this context,attempts to analyze and identify land use issues and potential zones for Katahari rural municipality that also supports planning urban development in the future.The study is based on primary and secondary data and information supported by maps and figures.It is concluded that Katahari has been developed as a multi-function center adjoining the Biratnagar metropolitan city,and future expansion of the city will cover a wide range of rural municipalities.The postal highway that passes through it has attracted a wide range of urban functions.Agriculture,residential,commercial,and industrial are the main land use category at present and needs development control through providing land use zoning and related planning instruments through the increasing role of the stakeholder and the government agencies in the decision-making processes and implementation of spatial development frameworks to regulate peri-urban development in the area which will guide the future planning for liability,economic viability,social inclusion,and environmental sustainability in the area.Spill-over development activities of Biratnagar,have increased the number of economic activities,population growth,and mixed-use development.

Metropolitan Housing Development in Urban Fringe Areas-A Case Study of Three Metropolitan Cities of South Africa: Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane

Purpose:The metropolitan cities of Johannesburg,Ekurhuleni and Tshwane play an important role in the economy of the Gauteng province in South Africa.The region constitutes to 22.4 percent of the total population of South Africa and has a strong presence and contributes in areas of manufacturing sector,financial and business services,retail and wholesale trade,etc.The rapid urban population,increase in the informal settlements and socio-economic opportunities has resulted in considerable urban sprawl in and around the urban fringe areas of these metropolitan cities.The urban fringe areas of these metros often come under the influence of rapid urbanization process and pressures.Coupled with the economical and potential land dynamics and lack of priority of spatial development guidelines,these areas attract rapid and haphazard development from communities and developers.Research Design/Methodology:This research is based on a qualitative approach through a comprehensive literature review that included content analysis of key documents on housing sector such as IDPs(Integrated Development Plans),Municipal Annual Reports,Growth Development Strategies,and among other sectoral documents on housing sector.Some of the key priority issues considered in the housing sector included:eradication of housing backlogs,spatial restructuring of housing,provision of choice in terms of location,tenure and housing typology.Findings:The current paper discusses the approaches of metropolitan housing development processes in three metropolitan cities of South Africa from Gauteng region,namely:Johannesburg,Ekurhuleni and Tshwane.The paper discusses the existing housing sectoral scenario along with the fringe areas in three cities with focus on:formal and informal settlements,housing segregation and the backlogs,current institutional arrangements,role of public private participation,and scope for alternate mechanisms.The paper concludes in discussion on sustainable development options for housing development in urban fringe areas.

Urban planning construction land standard and its revision based on climate and topography in China

Urban planning construction land standard is the technical specification for scientifically allocating various types of urban construction land,and it is the basis for drawing up and revising the overall urban planning scheme.Considering China’s current urban planning construction land standard,many problems exist,such as the gap in the land use control threshold,the lack of regional differences in the climate revision,and failing to consider the topographic factors.To resolve these problems,this study proposed a step-by-step process framework and quantitative calculation method for the establishment and revision of standards in accordance with the principle of Total-Structure control.By setting the conditions,a universal basic standard for construction land was established.Quantitative analysis was then conducted on the relationship between the basic standard and the selected key indicators,such as urban population size,sunshine spacing coefficient,the width of river valleys or inter-montane basins,and terrain slope,among others.Finally,revised standards were formed for climate conditions,topography,and geomorphologic conditions,which were matched with the basic standards.The key results are three-fold:(1)The per capita construction land standard of 95 m~2/person can be used as the total indicator of China’s urban planning basic standard,and the corresponding per capita single construction land comprises 32.50%of residential land,7.42%of public management and public service land,22.50%of industrial land,17.50%of transportation facilities,12.50%of green space,and 7.58%of other land-use types.The results of the revision of the urban population size indicate that the difference in population size has little effect on the total amount of per capita construction land.(2)The climate revision results of per capita residential land and per capita construction land in major cities reveal that the revised climate value varies greatly between north and south China.The revised climate values of the per capita area of construction land vary by latitude as follows:the value at 20°N is 93 m^(2)/person,the value at 30°N is 97 m^(2)/person,the value at 40°N is 103 m^(2)/person,and the value at 50°N is 115 m^(2)/person.The basic standard land value of 95 m^(2)/person is generally distributed across the Xiamen-Guilin-Kunming line.(3)The cities located in mountainous areas,hilly valleys,or inter-montane basins can reduce the allocation of community parks and comprehensive parks when the average width of an existing river valley or inter-montane basin is less than 2 km.When the average width of the valley or inter-montane basin is between 2 km to 4 km,the allocation of the comprehensive parks can be reduced.The revised results of per capita sloping construction land reveal that the terrain slope greatly affects the revised value of per capita construction land.Specifically,the revised value at 3°is 3.68%higher than the basic standard value,and the increase rates at 8°,15°,and 25°are 11.25%,26.49%,and 68.47%,respectively.

An iterative approach to an integrated land use and transportation planning tool for small urban areas

There has been increasing interests in developing land use models for small urban areas for various planning applications such as air quality conformity analysis. The output of a land use model can serve as a major input to a transportation model; conversely, transportation model output can provide a critical input to a land use model. The connection between the two models can be achieved by an accessibility measure. This paper presents an iterative approach to solving a regression-based land use model and a transportation model with combined trip distribution- assignment. A case study using data from a small urban area is presented to illustrate the application of the proposed modeling framework. Tests show that the procedures can converge, and the modeling framework can be a valuable tool for planners and decision-makers in evaluating land use policies and transportation investment strategies.

Spatiotemporal Evolution Characteristics of Urban Land Surface Temperature Based on Local Climate Zones in Xi’an Metropolitan,China

Local climate zones(LCZs)are an effective nexus linking internal urban structures to the local climate and have been widely used to study urban thermal environment.However,few studies considered how much the temperature changed due to LCZs transformation and their synergy.This paper quantified the change of urban land surface temperature(LST)in LCZs transformation process by combining the land use transfer matrix with zonal statistics method during 2000–2019 in the Xi’an metropolitan.The results show that,firstly,both LCZs and LST had significant spatiotemporal variations and synchrony.The period when the most LCZs were converted was also the LST rose the fastest,and the spatial growth of the LST coincided with the spatial expansion of the built type LCZs.Secondly,the LST difference between land cover type LCZs and built type LCZs gradually widened.And LST rose more in both built type LCZs transferred in and out.Finally,the Xi’an-Xianyang profile showed that the maximum temperature difference between the peaks and valleys of the LST increased by 4.39℃,indicating that localized high temperature phenomena and fluctuations in the urban thermal environment became more pronounced from 2000 to 2019.

Prediction-Adaptation-Resilience(PAR)approach-A new pathway towards future resilience and sustainable development of urban landscape

Urban land-use planning,especially in the peripheral region,has become an issue in contemporary urban stud-ies.Simultaneously,urban resilience is very indispensable for future urban land use planning and management.Therefore,consistent urban proliferation can be coped through Prediction-Adaptation-Resilience(PAR),to accom-plish future urban land use and sustainable development of any growing up urban areas worldwide.Therefore,different dynamic simulation models,e.g.Cellular automata-Markov model,artificial neural network,are used to project and predict any urban areas’spatial growth.Then,the adaptation strategies are taken to assess the urban land use transformation in the past and present context.Those strategies help to strengthen urban land use planning using an integrated supply and demand chain.Finally,this study checks the resilience of how much it will be threatened or saved for future sustainable urban developmental goals and urban resilience.Therefore,it is important to establish a conceptual framework to achieve Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)based on principles of the PAR approach.Advocating the on-going adaptation of sustainability,resilience,and rapid urban transformation in the developing cities requires clear and explicit definitions that are embedded with the recent and particular context.Thus,government and policy makers should draw their attention to make proper urban landscape planning and adaptation strategies for the future urban expansion in a holistic way by maintaining appropriate urban resilience.

Interactions between water-land resources and oasis urban development at the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains,Xinjiang,China

Urban development in arid and semi-arid regions is largely constrained by fragile physical environ- ments. The characteristics of an urban settlement are different from those in other regions of China. This paper analyses the coupling characteristics and spatio-temporal variations for oasis urban development and water-land resources at the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains by principal component analysis and a coupling degree model. The result shows that the degree and change in regional use of water and land resources are different among the studied cities/counties during their development. The built-up areas of these cities/counties have changed little with increasing populations and urbanization levels, which well reflects that the urban development in arid and semi-arid regions is limited by oasis areas. Per capita amount of water supplied, however, presented a trend of slowed growth with increasing levels of urbanization. Water consumption gradually increased with urban development and the improvement of people＇s living standards, accompanied by enhanced water use efficiency. The level of urbanization can be assessed through the coupling degree between oasis urban development and the use of water and land resources. A high coupling degree represents a high level of comprehensive urban devel- opment and use of water-land resources. Alternatively, a low coupling degree denotes a low level of urban devel- opment and water-land resource use.

Correlation between Urban Land Change Process and Socioeconomic Development since the 1980s in Jiangsu Province

Studying the process and characteristics of urban land change in different phases of urbanization and different economic development is much important for understanding urban land change and management at a macro level. Taking the example of Jiangsu Province, the present paper studied the correlation between urban land change process and socioeconomic development from 1981 to 2003 on the basis of statistical data. The results showed the following three aspects. First, urban land area has changed periodically and the research duration can be divided into two periods: from 1981 to 1994 and from 1995 to 2003. In each period, the changing trend is the same, i.e. slow at first and then quick. Studying from the comprehensive change status, the characteristic of fluctuant change is significant with three acute change pinnacles in 1988, 1991 and 2002 which were corresponded to turning point years of economic development phases of Jiangsu Province respectively. Second, the synchronization between urban land change and urbanization level change is not strict. With the evolution of urbanization phases, the change pace of urbanization level increased remarkably, but urban land change rate did not increase significantly accordingly. Third, the area of urban land has exponentially increased with the increase of per capita GDP. In different economic development levels classified by per capital GDP, land resource cost for economic development is different, respectively 29.01 hm2, 26.34 hm2, 26.22 hm2, and 11.14 hm2 for the increase of 100 million RMB GDP when the per capita GDP is under 1000, 1000–2000, 2000–5000 and over 5000 RMB.

Empirical Study on the Relationship between Economic Development and Urban Construction Land in China: Based on the Panel Data of Provinces

The panel data of 31 provinces,cities and autonomous regions was used in order to test the relationship between economic development and urban land. The result showed that the sequences of economic development and urban land were in accordance with first order integration. Secondly,there was cointegration between economic development and urban land and the cointegration equation illustrated that 10% of increase in GDP per capita would drive 4. 94% of expansion in city construction land. Thirdly,according to error correction model,economic development is the Granger cause of urban land expansion in the long term while the reverse relationship was not proved. In short-term,economic development and urban land expansion were Granger causes of each other. The long-term equilibrium can only regulate the short-term imbalance of urban land,arriving at 33. 83%. Therefore,the government should formulate related policies to encourage real estate developers and enterprises to increase land utilization efficiency,strictly control the increase of urban land and regulate short-term imbalance.

Urban Land-banking Planning:A New Instrument to Regulate Urban Land Supply-demand of Nanjing City

It is the major purpose of the paper to present the urban land-banking planning and its functions of promoting the urban land-banking system and land use administration.The urban land-banking system has the potential attribute of acting as an irreplaceable role in urban land administration,but its unexpected function-deviation has impacted its implementation effect in China.A few city governments are attempting to deal with the problem by the urban land-banking planning which is expected to contribute to the extension of urban function,optimization of urban patterns,promotion of urban core competitiveness and overall construction of the urban value chain.In this paper,we primarily discuss the necessity,functions,purposes and main contents of the urban land-banking planning.Subsequently,the implementing situation of the urban land-banking system in Nan- jing is analyzed,including its integrated mode,spatio-temporal quantitative distribution and main characteristics.Finally,the background and targets including total,compositions,space,and regulation points are gradually introduced to present the Nanjing land-banking planning version 2.

THE BENCHMARK LAND PRICE SYSTEM AND URBANLAND USE EFFICIENCY IN CHINA

ABSTRACT: China began to introduce market principles and establish price mechanism to better manage land and improve land use efficiency in the late 1980s. Since then, land markets begin to emerge. A benchmark land price system, providing guidelines for land use rights selling and transferring, was established in order to overcome lack of market data and experiences in land transaction. The benchmark prices of land use rights are determined by land use, land use density (floor-land ratio), land grades, land improvement, and tenant resettlement costs. This paper first conducts a formal analysis based on modern urban economic theory. The formal model provides a theoretical foundation in which the benchmark land price system is assessed and evaluated in terms of land use and urban development. The paper then concludes that the benchmark price system has two theoretical problems. One is associated with the fact that floor-land ratio plays an important role in land price determination whereas the theory suggests the other way around. That is, floor-land ratio depends on land prices. The other problem is that the benchmark land price system does not provide adequate room for the substitution between land and capital inputs. The substitution is a key in achieving land use efficiency in land markets and urban development process. It is concluded that the practice of the benchmark land price system is at odd with reforms that aim to introduce market principles and mechanism to guide resource uses. Therefore, it is recommended that further land policy reform should be taken.

Spatio-temporal Patterns of Intra-urban Land Use Change in Beijing,China Between 1984 and 2008

Urban internal structure is essential information for urban geography researchers and urban planners or managers. This research aims to examine the spatial structure changes of internal urban land use based on the interpreted datasets of 1984 and 2008. Spatio-temporal patterns of internal land use conversion and urban expansion are analyzed, and then dominant driving factors (e.g., social economy, population growth and urban planning) were identified. The results indicate that Beijing′s intra-urban layout has experienced tremendous adjustment from compact to disperse configure, otherwise its function objects have shifted from the major economic and industrial development before the 1990s to the combination with cultural, high-technological and inhabitable city at present. The dominant urban land use transformations include the relocation of industrial lands from core districts to suburban or other provinces, and the accelerating expansion of residential areas and green spaces for supplying the demand of housing and ecological protection. Although Beijing′s urban planning has experienced three major adjustments and improvement since the 1980s, its optimization of urban internal patterns still remains a challenge.

Exploring Smart Growth Boundaries of Urban Agglomeration with Land Use Spatial Optimization:A Case Study of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Group,China

Urban agglomeration is the main spatial organization mode used by the Chinese government to promote the policy of new urbanization strategy.Hence,a better understanding of the urban growth boundary(UGB)has profound theoretical and practical significance regarding sustainable urban development.This study devised a raster-based land use spatial optimization(LUSO)framework,and utilized ant colony optimization(ACO)algorithm to delimit the smart growth boundaries of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city group(CZTCG)in China.The aim of this study is to design a LUSO model to explore an optimal pattern of urban agglomeration for sustainable growth.Multi growth scenario including a single development center,multipolar development and balanced development patterns are generated by the LUSO model for the year of 2050,and the optimum spatial pattern is chosen based on objectives comparison and the present stage of economic and social development in CZTCG.The main results are listed as the following.1)It is feasible to identify the growth boundaries of the urban agglomeration using the land use spatial optimization model,and the optimal form of the spatial pattern can be defined.2)With the growth trend of the urban agglomeration gradually spreads from a single center to multi-centers and even small towns,the total optimization target performance gradually increases,which means that the traditional pie-shaped development does not meet the maximum comprehensive benefit of the city group.3)Subject to the regional social and economic development stage,absolute fair development or simply developing the central city is not conducive to promoting the coordinated development of the urban agglomeration.Gradient equalization and gradual advancement are the best choice for UGB delineation of urban agglomeration.The findings of this study would be useful to identify the UGB in CZTCG for more sustainable urban development in the future.

Trade-offs between prosperity and urban land per capita in major world cities

Globally,urban land expands at a faster rate than the corresponding urban population,which comes at a cost of agricultural and natural land.Wealth has been identified as an underlying driver of this trend,but it is unclear whether more prosperous cities inevitably have a greater urban land consumption.Here,we map urban pros-perity indicators to their relevant Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)for 64 major world cities and relate these to the corresponding urban land consumption(defined here as built-up land per capita).Results indicate a moderately-weak but significant correlation between overall prosperity and urban land consumption(Spear-man’s correlation,𝜌ρ=0.47,p<0.001),suggesting a trade-offbetween both.In addition,we find a regional clustering,with for example cities with relatively low prosperity and low urban land consumption in Africa,and cities with high prosperity and low-to-medium urban land consumption in Europe.The moderately-weak correlation in combination with these regional differences suggests that the observed trade-offis avertable and that other drivers moderate this relation.Consequently,cities can increase their prosperity without additional environmental consequences entailing land take and the conversion of natural and agricultural land.