Issues with Spatial Scale in Urban Research

Scale is the range or measurement unit of the characteristics of natural or human ontology in the temporal or spatial dimension and is widely used in daily life and the study of various disciplines.Scale effect pertains to certain laws and characteristics that can only be reflected on a specific scale,so choosing the appropriate scale remains the basic premise of scientific research.The concept of the urban spatial system is complex and has the characteristics of scale dependence,and the selection of an appropriate spatial scale is important for the accurate estimation and description of urban issues.In this paper,we discuss spatial scale in urban research using cases that primarily come from the Chinese experience,provide some examples that demonstrate the importance of appropriate scale in urban research,including urban shrinkage,and highlight problems in spatial research.Ultimately,we suggest that scale consciousness should be the basic consciousness required in empirical research.

Qualitative Research Methods in Spatial Urban Development： A Methodological Investigation of Approaches into Urban Development Based on Centralities in the Context of a Medium-Sized European City

Dispersed and peripheral spaces in the urban core are influenced both by the trend towards constant growth as well as social ways of life which are constantly evolving. Following a connotation, these two factors therefore play a crucial role in defining the alternation of urban space--in particular, that of the centers. The main focus of this research article is on the methodology used in the survey and evaluation of ＂centralities＂ as well as their developments over the past four decades （1974-2014） in approaches to urban development that has been developed in Graz.~ The analysis has drawn on the four editions （＂evolution＂） of approaches to urban development as conceived by the city of Graz in order to examine their verbal characteristics in regard to centralities. At the same time, the analysis does not examine presentations of plans which exist in supplementary forms （e.g., explanatory reports and supplemented plans）--it restricts itself solely to the various plans set out in the STEKs.2 The highest degree of accuracy has been applied to the notion of ＂centralis＂ in approaches to urban development. The goal of the research project was to depict the modulation of the notion of ＂centrality＂ in the urban context as a space-forming dimension. Furthermore, it clearly shows the extent to which the notion of the ＂centre＂ （in the widest sense of the word） has become distanced from qualitative, spatial development and at the current time of urban development is experiencing a sort of Renaissance. In the field of ＂urban development＂, architectural references in the context of＂centrality＂ have scarcely been researched. This has led to the opening-up of a complex interdisciplinary research field. In order to make the complex architectural determinants of ＂centrality＂ more accessible to the participating disciplines, approaches to urban development have been explored in the form of a social and spatial analysis.

THE RESEARCH ON MAXIMUM TURBIDITY OF YANGTZE RIVER ESTUARY AND URBAN GROWTH OF SHANGHAI USING TM CCT DATA

Based on the research on the diffusion of suspended sediments discharged outside of Yangtze River estuary and the landuse of Shanghai using Landsat MSS images in several years, the authors analysed the characteristics of TM CCT data of Shanghai scene, pointed out concrete range of maximum turbidity and growth of urban boundary of Shanghai through the information extraction.The feature vector combination method is used in the research process. The result is getting nice.

Constructing a World-Level Urban Research System: Review on Studies on the Transition of Urban China

Studies on the Transition of Urban China Author:Chenghua LI Year:2013Publisher:People’s Publishing House ISBN:9787010129716(417 pages,in Chinese)The innovative urbanization practice and the urban transitional development strategies in China have become new heated topics in the field of worldwide urban research,and posed new requirements on

Review of the Research on Urban Social Problems in Recent Years

In the last 10 years, China has madeconsiderable progress in urbanization withincreasing numbers of both city and urbanpopulation. This has played a positive rolein promoting the country’s political, eco-nomic and cultural development. However,the process of urbanization has broughtalong new problems and contradictionswhich require theoretical exploration.Against this background, urban sociology,

A Retrospect and Prospect of Urban Models: Reflections after Interviewing Michael Batty

Based on an interview with Prof. Michael Batty, a leading scholar in urban modeling, this paper reviews the history of urban models, comments on their present developments and pictures their prospects. The first section briefly overviews the family tree of urban models and then looks further into the causes for their failure in planning application in the first upsurge of related research in the 1960 s and 1970 s. The second section summarizes the current development of urban models, which can be counted as the second upsurge of related research. It is estimated that more research attention will be paid to building dynamic, disaggregate, micro and problem-oriented models, with a combination of top-down and bottomup modeling methods. This can be more capable of tackling the growing urban complexity and uncertainty. Meanwhile, the "big data era" also poses more opportunities for the development of urban models. The last section introduces three new trends in the theoretical, educational and research development of urban models, which compose the idea of "new science of cities" from Michael Batty, the start-up of quantitative urban research education and the establishment of Beijing City Lab.