Examining the Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Determinants of Land Urbanization in Prefecture-level Cities,China

Examining the spatiotemporal dynamics and determinants of land urbanization is critical for promoting healthy urban development and the rational use of land resources.Based on the dataset consisting of land use change data and selected factors in 2010 and2020,this study used visual analysis to reveal the spatiotemporal dynamics of land urbanization across prefecture-level cities in China.Meanwhile,the driving forces underlying land urbanization were examined by using geographical detector technique.Following are the findings:1)we find that there exist notable spatial variances in land urbanization across prefecture-level cities.Currently,the differentiation in land urbanization between the northern and southern cities is more pronounced than that between the coastal and inland cities,or between the eastern and western cities.Prefecture-level cities located in central and western China have experienced the most rapid growth in land urbanization.Conversely,the growth rate in northeastern China is the lowest,while the velocity in eastern China remains relatively stable.By using spatial autocorrelation analysis,this study reveals that the land urbanization level in prefecture-level cities has significant spatial agglomeration.2)We further find that land urbanization in China is influenced by factors related to urban land supply and demand,and urban population growth,economic growth,land financial and political incentive have greater impact on land urbanization than other factors.3)We also find that the impacts of determinants on China’s land urbanization vary over time,the explanatory power of economic development increased,while the explanatory power of state forces declined.We argue that integrating the supply and demand factors of land urbanization can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the driving mechanisms underlying land urbanization in China and other transitional countries,and help decision-makers in these countries formulate more detailed and specific land urbanization policies.

Spatio-temporal Evolution Characteristics and Driving Forces of Winter Urban Heat Island:A Case Study of Rapid Urbanization Area of Fuzhou City,China

Under the influence of anthropogenic and climate change,the problems caused by urban heat island(UHI)has become increasingly prominent.In order to promote urban sustainable development and improve the quality of human settlements,it is significant for exploring the evolution characteristics of urban thermal environment and analyzing its driving forces.Taking the Landsat series images as the basic data sources,the winter land surface temperature(LST)of the rapid urbanization area of Fuzhou City in China was quantitatively retrieved from 2001 to 2021.Combing comprehensively the standard deviation ellipse model,profile analysis and GeoDetector model,the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of the winter urban thermal environment were systematically analyzed.The results showed that the winter LST presented an increasing trend in the study area during 2001–2021,and the winter LST of the central urban regions was significantly higher than the suburbs.There was a strong UHI effect from 2001 to 2021with an expansion trend from the central urban regions to the suburbs and coastal areas in space scale.The LST of green lands and wetlands are significantly lower than croplands,artificial surface and unvegetated lands.Vegetation and water bodies had a significant mitigation effect on UHI,especially in the micro-scale.The winter UHI had been jointly driven by the underlying surface and socio-economic factors in a nonlinear or two-factor interactive enhancement mode,and socio-economic factors had played a leading role.This research could provide data support and decision-making references for rationally planning urban layout and promoting sustainable urban development.

Study on Economic growth,Urbanization and Sustainable Utilization of Cultivated Land in China

By means of the dynamic regression model, this paper analyzes the relationships among economic growth, urbanization and changes of cultivated land in China, finds that the ratio of cultivated land occupied by economic growth is decreasing with social and economic growth. And, based on that, some policy suggestions on how to promote the sustainable use of cultivated land in China are put forward.

Efficiency of Land Utilizationand Urbanization Progress of China

Urbanization is a process that is undergoing all over the world, which will speed up in the forthcoming years, especially in China as the boom of economy. On average, urbanization level is not only depended on the speed, but theefficiency, particularly efficiency of using land resource which affects urbanization directly. This paper provided status quo of land resource utilization efficiency, indictors, methods and factors, and illustrated the reference of well land utilization, aiming at fostering urbanization in China.

Coordination of urbanization and cultivated land resources in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area:A case study of Guangzhou City

Guangzhou,a significant hub city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,has seen fast social and economic growth as well as steady progress in the degree of urbanization.This research,taking Guangzhou city as an example,aims to provide an understanding of how land resources,urbanization,and spatial planning are coordinated in the study area.It also aims to explore how the coordination degree of land resources,urbanization,and spatial planning changes over time.It seeks to provide effective suggestions for land resource protection,national spatial planning,and urban transformation development to promote the coordinated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into a world-class Bay Area.

Problems of Land Use during Urbanization of Western China: A Case Study in Baoji City,Shaanxi Province

Baoji City develops much faster recently, and much progress has made on urbanization. On the other hand, urbanization has been closely linked to use of land resources, for city expansion relies on lands. According to the 6th demographic census of Baoji and land survey in 2009, the research analyzed problems in urbanization of Baoji and concluded that urbanization proceeds well, as well as land intensified use. Still, the problems can never be ignored, such as poor land quality,decreasing farmland, low land use ratio and intensive use degree, slow optimization process of land use structure, more limiting factors of land development and use,heavier eco-environment protection tasks. Additionally, the research proposed specific countermeasures based on status quo of land use.

Sustainable Utilization of Arable Land Resources in Karst Area:A Case Study of Anshun City of China

Aiming at utilization status of arable land resources in Anshun City,a Karst area,quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed from the viewpoints of quality,quantity and benefits of arable land.And the benefits of arable land were analyzed with multiple linear regression.Finally,the sustainable utilization of arable land resources was discussed,and several protection measures were pointed out.

Identifying drivers of urban landuse changes in the Wenchuan earthquake- affected area by using night-time light data

To learn the process of urban land evolution before and after an earthquake is vital to formulate the urban reconstruction control policies and recovery measures in the earthquake-stricken areas.However,spatiotemporal evolution and its driving factors of urban land in earthquake-prone areas remains limited due to the scarcity of ground observation data.This research,leveraging night-time light remote sensing imagery and land cover data,conducted a comprehensive analysis of the long-term evolution characteristics of urban land in earthquake-prone areas.It introduced methodologies for assessing the socio-economic impact and the primary natural environmental factors driving urban land evolution in these regions.To validate the proposed methods,the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake-affected area in China was selected as a representative study area.The results indicated that the average Digital Number(DN)values in socio-economically impacted areas showed a trend of rising,falling,and then rising again after the earthquake.DN values in three types of damaged areas including Type Ⅱ,Type Ⅲ,and Type Ⅳ exceeded pre-earthquake levels.The analysis of determinative factors influencing urban land evolution revealed that slope and elevation were key elements in controlling urban land expansion before the earthquake,whereas factors such as slope,elevation,lithology,and faults had a stronger influence on urban land expansion after the earthquake.It can be seen that,in view of the differences in the natural conditions of regions for post-disaster reconstruction,the local government need to actively adjust and adapt to urban spatial planning,so as to leverage the scale effect of large-scale inputs of funds,facilities,human resources and other factors after the disaster,thus enhancing resilience and recovery efficiency in response to disaster impacts.

How Does Urban Shrinkage Affect Land Use Efficiency?A Case Study of Shrinking Cities in Northeast China

The effect of urban shrinkage has gradually become a new topic.Theoretically,urban shrinkage may exert great influence on land use efficiency(LUE)through various urban subsystems,but there is currently limited research examining these pathways.Using the Super-SBM-Undesirable model and the Structural Equation Model(SEM),this study calculates the LUE of shrinking cities in Northeast China and simulates the process of urban shrinkage affecting LUE.To quantify the process of urban shrinkage affecting LUE,three mediation variables,namely the economy,public services,and innovation,are used as latent variables to apply SEM.The results show that urban shrinkage will affect LUE through a direct path and indirect paths.In the direct path,urban shrinkage leads to an improvement in LUE.In the indirect paths,the economy and innovation will transmit the negative effect of urban shrinkage on LUE,while public services will reverse this effect.An important contribution of this study is that it quantifies the paths of urban shrinkage affecting LUE,thereby expanding the understanding of urban shrinkage effect and laying a foundation for the sustainable development of shrinking cities.

Land Use Dynamics and Ecosystem Service Value Changes in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration Under Different Scenarios

Urban agglomerations,serving as pivotal centers of human activity,undergo swift alterations in ecosystem services prompted by shifts in land utilization.Strengthening the monitoring of ecosystem services in present and future urban agglomerations contributes to the rational planning of these areas and enhances the well-being of their inhabitants.Here,we analyzed land use conversion in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)urban agglomeration during 1990-2020 and discussed the spatiotemporal response and main drivers of changes in ecosystem service value(ESV).By considering the different development strategic directions described in land use planning policies,we predicted land use conversion and its impact on ESV using the Future Land Use Simulation(FLUS)model in three scenari-os in 2025 and 2030.Results show that:1)from 1990 to 2020,land use change is mainly manifested as the continuous expansion of con-struction land to cultivated land.Among the reduced cultivated land,82.2%were occupied by construction land.2)The land use types conversion caused a loss of 21.85 billion yuan(RMB)in ESV during 1990-2020.Moreover,the large reduction of cultivated land area led to the continuous decline of food production value,accounting for 13%of the total ESV loss.3)From 2020 to 2030,land use change will mainly focus on Yangzhou and Zhenjiang in central Jiangsu Province and Taizhou in southern Zhejiang Province.Under the BAU(natural development)and ED(cultivated land protection)scenarios,construction land expansion remains dominant.In contrast,under the EP(ecological protection)scenario,the areas of water bodies and forest land increase significantly.Among the different scenarios,ESV is highest in the EP scenario,making it the optimal solution for sustainable land use.It can be seen that the space use conflict among urban,agriculture and ecology is a key factor leading to ESV change in the urban agglomeration of Yangtze River Delta.There-fore,it is crucial to maintain spatial land use coordination.Our findings provide suggestions for scientific and rational land use planning for the urban agglomeration.

Land Use Situation and Strategies under the Background of New Urbanization in Yunnan Province

Scientific analysis and determination of land use lays foundation for regional sustainable development under the background of new urbanization. The research made a comprehensive analysis on land uses in Yunnan under the background of urbanization and proposed strategies for further development, providing references for land uses scientific decision making.

Study of Urban Sprawl and Its Impact on Vegetation, Land Surface Temperature and Air Pollution Using Remote Sensing and GIS in Kathmandu Valley from 2015 to 2020

The Kathmandu Valley has seen substantial urbanization over the past decades while being the nation’s economic centre. Built-up areas have expanded quickly along with the population, having a significantly negative influence on the environment. Recently, Kathmandu was named as the most polluted city in Asia. Urban sprawl has had a negative influence on Kathmandu’s residents in several ways. The state of urban sprawl and the effects it has had on the Kathmandu Valley have been examined using land sat imagery. In this study, IDW was used in GIS to analyze the pollution status using data of PM 2.5 and PM 10 obtained from various monitoring sites. A supervised classification was used to create a LULC map of Kathmandu for the years 2015, 2018, and 2020. To assess the state of the vegetation and determine whether the Kathmandu Valley is being affected by urban heat, NDVI and Land sat temperature calculations were also made. The study’s results were obtained using remote sensing and GIS technology. The built-up area in Kathmandu Valley has grown by 20% over the past five years, impacting land use patterns and deteriorating vegetation cover. Due to the rise of built-up area, which is a good heat absorber, the temperature in the Kathmandu Valley is rising along with the degradation of the vegetation cover. The pollution in the Kathmandu Valley is at its worst, and residents are compelled to breathe air that is significantly more polluted than the prescribed limit.

Geospatial Analysis of Urban Heat Island Effects and Tree Equity

In recent decades, Urban Heat Island Effects have become more pronounced and more widely examined. Despite great technological advances, our current societies still experience great spatial disparity in urban forest access. Urban Heat Island Effects are measurable phenomenon that are being experienced by the world’s most urbanized areas, including increased summer high temperatures and lower evapotranspiration from having impervious surfaces instead of vegetation and trees. Tree canopy cover is our natural mitigation tool that absorbs sunlight for photosynthesis, protects humans from incoming radiation, and releases cooling moisture into the air. Unfortunately, urban areas typically have low levels of vegetation. Vulnerable urban communities are lower-income areas of inner cities with less access to heat protection like air conditioners. This study uses mean evapotranspiration levels to assess the variability of urban heat island effects across the state of Tennessee. Results show that increased developed land surface cover in Tennessee creates measurable changes in atmospheric evapotranspiration. As a result, the mean evapotranspiration levels in areas with less tree vegetation are significantly lower than the surrounding forested areas. Central areas of urban cities in Tennessee had lower mean evapotranspiration recordings than surrounding areas with less development. This work demonstrates the need for increased tree canopy coverage.

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.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Urban Land Uses in Modern Urbanization of China

Taking social statistic data as basic data,this paper extended the meaning of urban land uses,highlighted the meaning of urban land uses in modern urbanization,which includes direct,indirect and induced land uses,quantitatively simulated the indirect and induced land uses by the substitution method of agricultural consumption and urban carbon emission and then,analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution of urban land uses in China during 1952–2005 by spatial analysis tool of Geographic Information System. The results indicate that the area of urban land use in China had been increasing since 1952,showing an inversed pyramid structure,i.e.,the direct<the indirect<the induced. Specifically,Chinese urban land use has changed from concentrated distribution in Northwest China to balanced spatial distribution,and the eastern coastal area is under great pressure. Moreover,the northeastern region has moved into the induced dominant stage,while the western region remains at the indirect dominant stage. Finally,it is proposed that in order to guarantee the future demand of urban land use in China,ensuring the induced land use in the eastern region should be taken as a priority goal of Chinese developing policy.

Study on Ecological Risk of Land Use in Urbanization Watershed Based on RS and GIS:A Case Study of Songhua River Watershed in Harbin Section

By using RS and GIS technology,the ecological risk index ( ERI) was constructed based on the analysis of land use change and structural characteristics in urbanization watershed of Songhua River in Harbin section. Afterwards,the spatial distribution and change characteristics maps of ERI obtained by using block Kriging were analyzed to reveal the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics,change rules and formation mechanisms of ecological risk based on land use under the background of urbanization,and to minimize land use risk during urbanization process. The results showed that during the past 18 years,moderate ecological risk level was major,while proportion of high ecological risk was the lowest,and the area of higher and lower ecological risk region changed most greatly; high and higher ecological risk were focused on urban region and the transition zone from urban to suburban region,while low and lower ecological risk mainly distributed in forestland with higher vegetation coverage,water bodies,grassland,shrub land and so on. Meanwhile,the transition zone from high to low ecological risk was very obvious. In addition,ecological risk became slightly worse in some region due to the transformation from cropland to residential and urban land,while it became slightly better in other regions because of the transformation from cropland to forestland; the center of gravity in lower ecological risk region shifted most greatly,while the shift was the smallest in high ecological risk region,namely 12. 31 and 0. 57 km respectively.

Expansion of Urban Space and Land Use Control in the Process of Urbanization: an Overview

Urban expansion brought by the rapid progress of urbanization has caused many problems in China. It is a significant issue to evaluate the extent of urban expansion and to make appropriate controls over the sprawl of urban areas. With a comparative study of international experiences, this article analyzed the mechanism and consequences of urban expansion, reviewed the typical planning and financial policies adopted by other countries for controlling urban sprawl, and discussed the suitable densities of urban areas. The analysis results suggested that Chinese cities have no better choice but compact urban forms. To achieve the goal of compact development, intensive use of public transportation and high proportion of collective houses should be encouraged, and 60–100 m2 per capita is recommended as the reasonable range of urban density in large cities.

Impact of Land Use Change on Vegetation Carbon Storage During Rapid Urbanization:A Case Study of Hangzhou,China

Land use changes have significant impacts on the carbon balance in an urban ecosystem.When there is rapid development in urbanizing regions,land use changes have a dramatic effect on vegetation carbon storage(VCS).This study investigates the impact of land use change on VCS in a period of rapid urbanization in Hangzhou,China.The results show that:1)from 2000 to 2015,land use in Hangzhou underwent huge changes,mainly reflected in decrease in cropland and wetland and the increased settlement.More than 34.58%of the land was transformed,and the land use changes are primarily characterized by a significant decrease in cropland due to the occupation by settlement.2)over the 15 years,changes in land use led to a decrease of 3.93×10^(5) t of VCS in the urban ecosystem.The large-scale transformation of cropland and wetland,which have a comparatively high carbon density,into land for settlement exerted a negative impact on VCS.3)The central city,which with the Circle-E/I/O mode,had the lowest comprehensive land use dynamic degree,leading to moderate land use change and an increase in VCS;Yuhang and Xiaoshan,which with Multicore-E/O/I mode and Fan-E/O/I modes,had a higher comprehensive land use dynamic degree,drastic changes in land use,and a decrease in VCS.This study proposes a reliable method of estimating changes in VCS,clarifies the relationship between land use change and VCS during rapid urbanization,and provides recommendations for sustainable urban development.

Rapid Urbanization Induced Extensive Forest Loss to Urban Land in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China

China has experienced rapid urbanizations with dramatic land cover changes since 1978. Forest loss is one of land cover changes, and it induces various eco-environmental degradation issues. As one of China’s hotspot regions, the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area(GBA) has undergone a dramatic urban expansion. To better understand forest dynamics and protect forest ecosystem, revealing the processes, patterns and underlying drivers of forest loss is essential. This study focused on the spatiotemporal evolution and potential driving factors of forest loss in the GBA at regional and city level. The Landsat time-series images from 1987 to2017 were used to derive forest, and landscape metrics and geographic information system(GIS) were applied to implement further spatial analysis. The results showed that: 1) 14.86% of the total urban growth area of the GBA was obtained from the forest loss in1987–2017;meanwhile, the forest loss area of the GBA reached 4040.6 km2, of which 25.60%(1034.42 km2) was converted to urban land;2) the percentages of forest loss to urban land in Dongguan(19.14%), Guangzhou(18.35%) and Shenzhen(15.81%) were higher than those in other cities;3) the forest became increasingly fragmented from 1987–2007, and then the fragmentation decreased from2007 to 2017);4) the landscape responses to forest changes varied with the scale;and 5) some forest loss to urban regions moved from low-elevation and gentle-slope terrains to higher-elevation and steep-slope terrains over time, especially in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.Urbanization and industrialization greatly drove forest loss and fragmentation, and, notably, hillside urban land expansion may have contributed to hillside forest loss. The findings will help policy makers in maintaining the stability of forest ecosystems, and provide some new insights into forest management and conservation.

The Interaction of Population,Industry and Land in Process of Urbanization in China:A Case Study in Jilin Province

Urbanization is a complex process that covers a wide range of topics, of which population, industry and land urbanization are three important aspects. Jilin Province is an important agricultural province in China. The contradiction between population, industry and land urbanization is especially prominent here, and its coupling development is of great practical significance. In this paper, the coupling degree of population-industry-land urbanization in Jilin Province in 1990, 2000 and 2010 is measured by coupling mode. The spatial pattern of the coupling degree is analyzed by trend surface analysis and global and local spatial autocorrelation. The influence factors and their spatial differentiation are discussed using multiple linear regression(MLR) model and geographic weighted regression(GWR) model. The results show that: 1) the coupling degree of population-industry-land urbanization in Jilin Province is at a low level. Judging from the change of time scale, the urbanization of most research units is becoming more and more coordinated. From the comparison of spatial scales, there is significant spatial difference in the research units of different administrative levels. 2) Judging from the global change trend, the coupling degree of population-industry-land urbanization in the central region is higher than that in western and eastern regions. The coordination of urbanization in the central region is relatively good, and the distribution of the cold and hot spots is basically the same as that overall. 3) The spatial pattern of the coupling degree is related to the cold and hot spot distribution of the influence coefficient of urban population density and per capita urban construction land. The variation of the coupling degree spatial pattern is synchronous with the spatial change of the urban population density influence coefficient. 4) The degree of agglomeration of the urban population is the main factor promoting the coupling pattern of population-industry-land urbanization in Jilin Province, and the extent of its influence is gradually increasing. In addition, the level of city administrative, the efficiency of urban expansion and the capacity of market consumption also have an important influence on the coupling pattern.