The Urbanization Pattern of China in the 21st Century

The 21st century is referred to as a"century for cities" or "era for cities" and China hasalso speeded up its process of urbanization. It is veryimportant to choose a scientific urbanization patternto exert the function of cities and realize our dreamfor China to become a powerful modernized country.It’s concluded from history since 1800 that the patternof the world urbanization has transformed from"extensive" to "intensive". However, it is still anextensive pattern in China, and there are manyproblems behind the splendid achievements, reflectedon the urbanization process of our country since1949. Today, sustainable development and theknowledge economy are the themes of the cities; itis inevitable to change our urbanization pattern.Based on the dialectic relationship of quality andquantity, the article points out that urbanizationshould not only focus on quantity but also on qualityin China. High quality and multiform urbanizationpattern is an inevitable choice of China, and thedevelopment of the region can also be exalted by theradiation of the cities. But what’s the real meaningof the new pattern? What’s its difference from thewestern countries’? The article discusses its contentaccording to the reality of China.

Exploring Temporal Activity Patterns of Urban Areas Using Aggregated Network-driven Mobile Phone Data:A Case Study of Wuhu,China

The increasing availability of data in the urban context(e.g.,mobile phone,smart card and social media data)allows us to study urban dynamics at much finer temporal resolutions(e.g.,diurnal urban dynamics).Mobile phone data,for instance,are found to be a useful data source for extracting diurnal human mobility patterns and for understanding urban dynamics.While previous studies often use call detail record(CDR)data,this study deploys aggregated network-driven mobile phone data that may reveal human mobility patterns more comprehensively and can mitigate some of the privacy concerns raised by mobile phone data usage.We first propose an analytical framework for characterizing and classifying urban areas based on their temporal activity patterns extracted from mobile phone data.Specifically,urban areas’diurnal spatiotemporal signatures of human mobility patterns are obtained through longitudinal mobile phone data.Urban areas are then classified based on the obtained signatures.The classification provides insights into city planning and development.Using the proposed framework,a case study was implemented in the city of Wuhu,China to understand its urban dynamics.The empirical study suggests that human activities in the city of Wuhu are highly concentrated at the Traffic Analysis Zone(TAZ)level.This large portion of local activities suggests that development and planning strategies that are different from those used by metropolitan Chinese cities should be applied in the city of Wuhu.This article concludes with discussions on several common challenges associated with using network-driven mobile phone data,which should be addressed in future studies.

Evolution and Spatial Patterns of Spheres of Urban Influence in China

This article presents the findings of a study of the spheres of urban influence with regard to all cities in China(not including Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan Province of China)in the years 1990,2000 and 2009.An optimized gravity model with comprehensive time distance was used to carry out a detailed analysis of the spatial patterns of Chinese spheres of urban influence and the spatial characteristics of urban agglomerations.Such urban agglomerations are characterized by high density population and a developed economy,which are also considered as the national competition unit.This paper initially identifies four spatial patterns of urban agglomerations based on the spatial layout of city groups during their evolution.Some basic characteristics of urban agglomerations are outlined,including the number of cities,the size of cities and the functions of urban centers.These characteristics are examined by using statistical methods and Geographic Information System(GIS).The main findings from this research are that the development stages and structures of urban agglomerations in China vary significantly.It is also clear that the stages and evolution of spatial patterns are strongly affected and dominated by both policy and location factors.

The spatial-temporal pattern and influencing factors of negative air ions in urban forests, Shanghai, China

Negative air ions are natural components of the air we breathe Forests are the main continuous natural source of negative air ions （NAI）. The spatio-temporal patterns of negative air ions were explored in Shanghai, based on monthly monitoring in 15 parks from March 2009 to February 2010. In each park, sampling sites were selected in forests and open spaces. The annual variation in negative air ion concentrations （NAIC） showed peak values from June to October and minimum values from December to January. NAIC were highest in summer and autumn, intermediate in spring, and lowest in winter. During spring and summer, NAIC in open spaces were significantly higher in rural areas than those in suburban areas. However, there were no significant differences in NAIC at forest sites among seasons. For open spaces, total suspended particles （TSP） were the dominant determining factor of NAIC in sum- mer, and air temperature and air humidity were the dominant determining factors of NAIC in spring, which were tightly correlated with Shanghai＇s ongoing urbanization and its impacts on the environment. R is suggested that urbanization could induce variation in NAIC along the urban-rural gradient, but that may not change the temporal variation pattern. Fur- thermore, the effects of urbanization on NAIC were limited in non-vegetated or less-vegetated sites, such as open spaces, but not in well-vegetated areas, such as urban forests. Therefore, we suggest that urban greening, especially urban forest, has significant resistance to theeffect of urbanization on NAIC.

Empirical Analysis on Urbanization Patterns in Zhejiang Province Based on Spatial Economy and GIS

Regional core cities are the growth poles for regional economic development, thus the issue about efficient urbanization pattern has always become a hot spot among researchers and policy makers. The Spatial Economy can be employed to improve it. Nevertheless, there actually exists an obvious gap between its theoretical models and the em- pirical simulation. To do so, this paper modifies the measurement of initial geographical advantages Stelder gave, and implements the empirical analyses of urban distribution in Zhejiang during the period of 1980–1990 by means of computer simulations in GIS environment. There are several interesting results achieved in this process. Firstly, given the values of parameters (transport cost is τ, substitution elasticity of manufacturing sector ρ, and income share of spending on manufacture δ), initial geographical advantages have the different impacts on urban systems, namely, urban locations, numbers and sizes over time across space. Secondly, the cities were distributed without any overlay in geo- graphical space, which makes the patterns of urbanization generate the largest possible economic efficiencies. Thirdly, the urban systems—the location, number and size of cities—from the simulation of the study area are suitable for the actual social and economic situations in the real world during the testing periods. Such results may have substantial implications for the policy how to choose the way of urbanization in a region.

Integrating ecosystem services evaluation and landscape pattern analysis into urban planning based on scenario prediction and regression model

Urban planning has become a widely concern for minimizing the negative effects of urban expansion on terrestrial ecosystems. We developed an interdisciplinary modeling framework to evaluate the effectiveness and shortcomings of urban expansion management strategies. A three-step method was applied to Yinchuan Plain in the northwestern of China, including(1)analyzing the relationship between landscape pattern and ecosystem service values through mathematical statistics;(2) predicting landscape pattern and ecosystem services change under different scenarios based on cellular automaton model(SLEUTH-3r model); and(3) designing and validating optimized scenario through integrating historical analysis experiments and future multi-comparison suggestions. Results have suggested that landscape composition and configuration can significantly affect regional ecosystem service values, especially the connectivity and shape of landscape. Compact urban growth policy and medium environment protection policy are the appropriate setting for urban expansion plan. Optimization validation of the combined designed scenario implied the reliability of this method. Our results highlighted the significance of integrating application of landscape pattern analysis, ecosystem service value evaluation,model simulation and multi-scenario prediction in urban planning.

URBAN COMPETITIVE PATTERN AND ITS CHANGES IN CHINA

With the national economy’s transition from a planning one to a market one, the factors affecting regional economic pattern has changed greatly. In this paper we first construct an index system for evaluating competitiveness of Chinese cities based on modern competitive advantage theory. With principal component analysis and cluster analysis methods, we compare the factors affecling cities’ integrated competitiveness in 1990 and 1997. We find that four major factors are capital (including investment, FDI and urban financial revenue ), urban ithestructure (transporiation and communication, urbanization level, education etc. ), industrial performance and structure, degree of market openness and that these factors have become more advanced and complicated since 1990. Most Chinese cities are transforming from productive factors-oriented type to investment-oriented type and a few are becoming innovation oriented. The integrated competitiveness is closely related to cities’ scale, urban function, regional policy and degree of market openness and displays an uneven spatial pattern. The difference between the south and the north and the difference between the west and the east co-exist bul the former has been more larger. Finally, we discuss the mechanism behind the pattern and attribute the unevenness to change of factors dominating the cities’ compehtiveness regional innovation capacity and geographical differenceof traditional culture.

Evolution Process of Urban Spatial Pattern in Hubei Province Based on DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

This paper intends to investigate the urban spatial patterns of Hubei Province and its evolution from three different perspectives: urban nodes, urban connections and urban clusters. The research adopts nighttime light imagery of cities in Hubei Province, the viewpoint of ′point-axis-area′ in the ′point-axis system′ theory, and employs light index model, gravity model and social network analysis. The findings are as follows: 1) In terms of urban nodes, the urbanization process of Hubei has been carried out mainly on the basis of external expansion rather than internal increasing. The polarization trend of urban connection network is strengthening. 2) As for urban connections, the estimation of urban connections using light index model is capable of containing various actual flow, and the connections are getting increasingly closer. 3) In regard to urban groups, seven urban groups of varying sizes have formed. On that basis, three stable and relatively independent urban groups as the centers, namely Wuchang, Yichang and Xiangyang emerge as well. But the structures of ′Wuhan Metropolitan Area′, ′Yichang-Jingzhou-Jingmen City Group′ and ′Xiangyang-Shiyen-Suizhou City Group′, which are defined by local development strategy in Hubei Province, are different from the above three urban groups.

The Structure and Pattern of Urban Network in the Lanzhou-Xining Urban Agglomeration

In this paper,we use factor analysis to evaluate the urban comprehensive quality of each city in the Lanzhou-Xining(Lan-Xi)urban agglomeration.The time distance was obtained by using GIS spatial analysis,and the structure and pattern of the spatial network were analyzed by using the gravity model and social network analysis method.The results show that:1)The scale effect of the Lan-Xi urban agglomeration is gradually emerging,and it is gradually forming the urban agglomeration with Lanzhou and Xining as the core,the Lan-Xi high-speed railway as the axis,and a high-dense connection.2)Lanzhou and Xining are at the core of the Lan-Xi urban agglomeration,which has a strong attraction and spreads to neighboring cities.3)In the network structure of the Lan-Xi urban agglomeration,Lanzhou,Baiyin,Gaolan,Yuzhong,Yongdeng,Dingxi,Lintao,Xining,Ledu,Huangzhong,Ping’an,Minhe and Datong are located in the network core position,which have the superiority position and lead to the entire regional communication enhancement and the regional integration development.4)This urban agglomeration has significant subgroups,eight tertiary subgroups and four secondary subgroup;the tertiary subgroups which compose secondary subgroup have a close connection and mutually influence each other.5)The Lanzhou Metropolitan Area and the Xining Metropolitan Area have an important impact on the surrounding cities,and the peripheral cities are basically controlled by the central city.The Dingxi subgroup,Lintao-Linxia subgroup,Gonghe subgroup have more structural holes than the subgroups within the Lanzhou Metropolitan Area and the Xining Metropolitan Area,so the peripheral cities of these subgroups have relatively less connection with surrounding cities.

Spatial patterns of urban land use growth in Beijing

By using digitized land use maps of Beijing in 1982, 1992 and 1997 and employing GIS spatial analysis techniques, this paper conducts an empirical study on the spatial differentiation and spatial patterns of urban land use growth in Beijing in the period of 1982–1997. It is observed that urban land use growth in Beijing went beyond the control of urban planning, in terms of the extraordinary high growth rate and undesired spatial pattern. The rate of urban expansion after 1982, which was predominated by growth of industrial land, was extraordinary high compared to its historical period. While its growth centers have been actively shifting toward the northern part, rather than toward the southern and eastern parts as designated by the latest General Plan (1991–2010) of Beijing, its spatial pattern of urban land use growth in general was in distinct concentric sprawl, which seriously violated the General Plan of Beijing.

Correlation Between Economic Development Level and Landscape Pattern in Beijing Peri-urban Areas

With the rapid changes of demographic and socio-economic structure, various ecological and environmental problems have emerged in peri-urban areas. Studies on the correlation between socio-economic development and eco-environmental preservation are inadequate. This paper analyzes the landscape pattern of peri-urban areas to address this issue. First, it studies the differentiation of economic development levels in Beijing peri-urban areas. Then, it explores the correlation between economic development level of each town and its landscape pattern using Pearson Correlation and grade difference indices. Furthermore, it summarizes the problems within current landscape pattern. Three conclusions are drawn from the analysis: (1) on the whole, the economic de- velopment level in Beijing peri-urban areas basically matches with landscape pattern; (2) landscape contagion degree decreases with the growth of economic development level in as much as 30% of Beijing peri-urban areas. This is an irrational phenomenon accord- ing to our judgment; (3) landscape fragmentation grades in more than half of the towns are higher than their economic development grades, suggesting that attention should be paid to excessive fragmentation of land use.

Spatio-temporal Pattern Characteristics of Relationship Between Urbanization and Economic Development at County Level in China

The relationship between China’s urbanization and economic development(RCUED) is an important concern nationwide. As important actors in regional strategy and policy, county-level regions have played an increasingly significant role in the development of China’s social economy. However, the existing research on the RCUED lacks the fine depiction of the county-level administrative units.Using 2000 and 2010 census data and the statistical analysis method, we uncovered the evolution characteristics of China’s urbanization and economic development and conducted a quantitative identification for the RCUED with improved methods using the quadrant map approach. In addition, we investigated the spatial correlation effect of the RCUED using the spatial autocorrelation analysis method. The results were as follows: 1) In general, a high degree of matching exists between China’s urbanization and economic development at the county level at the significance level of 0.01. The correlation coefficients between China’s urbanization and economic development in2000 and 2010 were 0.608 and 0.603, respectively. 2) A significant regional difference exists in the RCUED at the county level. Based on a comparative analysis of 2276 county units in China in the two years, we found that county units can be categorized as under-urbanized, basic coordination and over-urbanized in various areas. No situation was observed where urbanization seriously lagged behind the economic development level, so the levels of urbanization and economic development appear to be basically coordinated,and the coordination state may be gradually optimized over time. 3) Over time, the spatial dependency of the RCUED has weakened and the spatial heterogeneity has increased. Northeast China has always been an area characterized by over-urbanization. The number of county units classified as under-urbanized has begun to decline in eastern coastal urban agglomeration areas, while counties rich in resources have transformed from having point-shaped over-urbanization to plane-shaped under-urbanization along the northern border,and the number of over-urbanized county units has increased in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. 4)’Lag-lag’ type and ’advance-advance’ type accounted for 68% of all counties in China, and these counties were shown to have obvious spatial differentiation characteristics.

Pattern Dynamics of Thermal-environment Effect During Urbanization:A Case Study in Shenzhen City,China

The thermal-environment effect exists in the field of rapid urbanization.It has adverse effects on the urban atmosphere,regional climate,energy consumption,and public health.Shenzhen,a representative of rapidly urbanizing cities in China,was selected as a case for pattern dynamics analysis of the thermal environment.The surface temperature was acquired from the thermal infrared data of Landsat TM and ETM+ images in 1986,1995,and 2005 by Jiménez-Mu?oz and Sobrino's generalized single-channel method,which was used in assessing the distribution and spatial patterns of the thermal environment.The relative thermal environment curve(RTC) was combined with Moran's I analysis to assess the pattern dynamics of the thermal environment in different urbanization periods.Moran's I index and the RTC represent a process of aggregation-fragmentation-aggregation,which shows the aggregation pattern of a decrease during the rapid urbanization period and then an increase during the steady urbanization period.High-temperature areas gradually expanded to a uniform and scattered distribution in the rapid urbanization period;while the high thermal-environment effect was gradually transformed into a steady spatial pattern in the stable urbanization period.To characterize the increasing development in this multiple-center city,we chose profiles along an urban-development axis.The results suggest that heat islands have expanded from internal urban to external urban areas.Four profiles were obtained showing differences in shape due to spatial differences in the process of development.

Gradient Analysis of Urbanization Pattern Based on Class-level Landscape Metrics for Shanghai Region

The spatial pattern of urbanization in the Shanghai metropolitan area is quantified with GIS-based land use data set and gradient analysis of landscape metrics. A number of landscape metrics were computed along a 64 km long and 6 km wide west-east transect and another 66 km long and 6 km wide south-north transect. The results of transect analysis with class-level metrics showed that the spatial pattern of urbanization could be reliably quantified using landscape metrics with a gradient analysis approach, and the location of the urbanization center could be identified precisely and consistently with multiple indices of the landscape metrics used in this study. Different land use types exhibited distinctive, but not necessarily unique,spatial signatures that were dependent on specific landscape metrics. These results seemed to characterize the urban core of the Shanghai metropolitan area rather accurately and precisely: Agriculture patches were abundant and less fragmented; the urban land use types were extensive,having many small patches and highly fragmented.

Landscape pattern and its effect on ecosystem functions in Seoul Metropolitan area:Urban ecology on distribution of the naturalized plant species

During land transformation process in the human history, naturalized plants were introduced to several land use patterns by the different ways of plant itself. Including some naturalized plants that had been contribute to land restoration, many naturalized plants have been invaded to original habitat or landscape for native plants. Once the plants were colonized, they extend their area and population size. Urban developed areas often give an important role of source habitat for naturalized plants and expanding their population size. In recent, this situation is appearing as one of environmental problems about the urban landscape management controlling the naturalized plants that invaded in the developed area and conserving the native vegetation. This paper is focusing on relationships between distribution of habitat of naturalized plants and landscape patch in urban area in Seoul. Gangdong-Gu, one of the administrative areas in Seoul was selected for this study. We examined the recent land use change using LANDSAT TM data and spreading of the representative naturalized plants (Robinia pseudoacacia and Eupatorium rugosum) by Seoul Biotope Mapping Project and field survey in 1999. As a result, these two species were often occurred in the same habitat and distributed in forest edge disturbed by man. Their distribution patterns were related to landscape indices (patch size and shape) in the forest edge.

Pattern Change of Urban Green Space in Beijing from 2000 to 2010

With the rapid urbanization in Beijing, the vegetated surfaces have been increasingly replaced by impervious built surfaces. A clear recognition on the changes in green spaces pattern is vital for urban administrators and planners to optimize the urban development areas and define the ecological protection red lines. Based on the SPOT images and field investigation data of urban green spaces within the sixth ring road of Beijing in 2000, 2005 and 2010, the study investigated the dynamic changes of urban green spaces in this area, by means of GIS techniques and landscape ecology methods. The results indicated that green spaces in Beijing have decreased by 207 km2 from 2000 to 2010 at the expense of agricultural lands and waters. Although there has been some increases in urban forests and grasslands, it cannot compensate the rapid decrease of urban green spaces. The land cover types conversion occurred mainly in the areas between the fifth and sixth ring roads while the zones encircled by the fourth ring road had a little change. In addition, landscape metrics such as number of patches(NP) and shape index(SHAPE) increased, but the mean nearest-neighbor distance(MNN), aggregation index(AI) and patch cohesion index(COHESION) decreased during the period of 2000-2010. Also green landscapes became considerably isolated and fragmented. The study disclosed the obvious changes of green space size, composition and layout in urban districts of Beijing City from 2000 to 2010, and highlighted that construction of urban green space should consider not only the geometric or aesthetic effect, but also the increase of vertical green volume and optimization of spatial layout to fully develop the ecological service functions of green spaces.

Evolution of Waterfront Landscape Pattern Under Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study of Xuhui Riverside Zone in Shanghai

The urban waterfront area is in a special land-water communication zone and is an ecologically sensitive zone. It combines the characteristics of natural landscape and human landscape intertwined. The urbanization process continues to affect the natural and cultural environment of the waterfront, and environmental issues have become increasingly prominent. Taking Xuhui Riverside Zone as an example, this paper analyses the dynamic evolution process of the landscape, aiming at revealing the impact of the evolution of landscape pattern on urban ecological environment during the process of urbanization in China, so as to provide useful references for the planning and design of the waterfront space landscape of domestic and foreign cities.

Spatial-Temporal Features of Wuhan Urban Agglomeration Regional Development Pattern—Based on DMSP/OLS Night Light Data

Based on the night light data, urban area data, and economic data of Wuhan Urban Agglomeration from 2009 to 2015, we use spatial correlation dimension, spatial self-correlation analysis and weighted standard deviation ellipse to identify the general characteristics and dynamic evolution characteristics of urban spatial pattern and economic disparity pattern. The research results prove that: between 2009 and 2013, Wuhan Urban Agglomeration expanded gradually from northwest to southeast and presented the dynamic evolution features of “along the river and the road”. The spatial structure is obvious, forming the pattern of “core-periphery”. The development of Wuhan Urban Agglomeration has obvious imbalance in economic geography space, presenting the development tendency of “One prominent, stronger in the west and weaker in the east”. The contract within Wuhan Urban Agglomeration is gradually decreased. Wuhan city and its surrounding areas have stronger economic growth strength as well as the cities along The Yangtze River. However, the relative development rate of Wuhan city area is still far higher than other cities and counties.

NEW PATTERNS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA

According to the basic features of socio economic development in China, the paper retrospects the developmental process of Chinese cities in the 20th century. Based on lots of data and related research achievements, five new patterns of Chinese urban development are pointed out, that is 1) regional disparity of urban development in China is still obvious and large; 2) cities in developed region develop in the form of agglomeration and coordination; 3) spatial layout shape of Chinese cities appears relatively tight, and there exists great outside expansion inclination; 4) the construction of exploitation zone becomes the new important factor of urban development in the 1990s; 5) number increase of cities at county level become the main tide of urban development, but cause the discrete understanding for the concept of urban substantial region, which construct a challenge to urban management. In the end the article puts forward a series thoughts on the future trends and countermeasures of urban development in China.

The Empirical Research of Urban Renewal Pattern for Land Saving—A Case study

Exploiting the potentials of urban stock land and its intensive use have been widespread concerned, however the practical solutions are few,especially in the view of engineering.Basing on synthesizing and analysis of the traditional models,this paper introduces the concept of urban renewal pattern for land saving.A double-layer city model was proposed, following with calculation of land saving of