Evolution of Urban Spatial Clusters in China: A Graph-Based Method Using Nighttime Light Data

An urban spatial cluster (USC) describes one or more geographic agglomerations and the linkages among cities. USCs are conventionally delineated based on predefined administrative boundaries of cities, without considering the dynamic and evolving nature of the spatial extent of USCs. This study uses Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) nighttime light (NTL) satellite images to quantitatively detect and characterize the evolution of USCs. We propose a dynamic minimum spanning tree (DMST) and a subgraph partitioning method to identify the evolving USCs over time, which considers both the spatial proximity of urban built-up areas and their affiliations with USCs at the previous snapshot. China is selected as a case study for its rapid urbanization process and the cluster-based economic development strategy. Four DMSTs are generated for China using the urban built-up areas extracted from DMSP/OLS NTL satellite images collected in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. Each DMST is partitioned into various subtrees and the urban built-up areas connected by the same subtree are identified as a potential USC. By inspecting the evolution of USCs over time, three different types of USCs are obtained, including newly emerging, single-core, and multicore clusters. Using the rank-size distribution, we find that large-sized USCs have greater development than medium- and small-sized USCs. A clear directionality and heterogeneity are observed in the expansions of the ten largest USCs. Our study provides further insight for the understanding of urban system and its spatial structures, and assists policymakers in their planning practices at national and regional scales

ESTIMATING INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE CHANGES IN CHINA USING DMSP – OLS NIGHT-TIME LIGHT DATA DURING 1999–2012

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) night-time light imagery has been proved to be a powerful tool to monitor economic development with its relatively high spatial resolution at large scales. Night-time lights caused by human activities derived from DMSP-OLS satellite imagery are widely used in socioeconomic parameter estimations and urbanization monitoring. In this paper, DMSP-OLS night-time stable light data from 1999 to 2012 are utilized to analyze inter-annual variation in GDP of per unit light intensity (RGDP) in China. Furthermore, RGDP was compared with statistical data of the tertiary industry structure for 28 provincial regions. The results show that the provincial RGDP decreased abruptly in 2001–2002, 2008–2009 and 2011–2012, which is consistent with the proportional growth of the tertiary industry in GDP. These results indicate that the changes in RGDP can reflect tertiary industry structural changes in China's province-level regions

中国における都市化総合評価及び環境への影響に関する研究

In Chapter one, research background and significance is investigated. In addition, previous studies and current situation in the research fields was reviewed and discussed. In Chapter two, an in-depth review of prior studies associated with the research topic was conducted. The literature review was carried out from three aspects: urbanization and eco-environment evalution and coordination, urban sprawl assessment and urban heat island investigation. In Chapter three, maximum entropy method was applied to help generate the evaluation system of eco-environment level and urbanization level at provincial scale. Comparison analysis and coordinate analysis was carried through to assess the development of urbanization and eco-environment as well as the balance and health degree of the city develops. In Chapter four, DMSP/OLS stable nighttime light dataset was used to measure and assess the urban dynamics from the extraction of built up area. Urban sprawl was evaluated by analyzing the landscape metrics which provided general understanding of the urban sprawl and distribution pattern characteristics could be got from the evaluation. In Chapter five, the investigation of surface urban heat island effects in Beijing city which derive from land surface temperature retrieval from remote sensing data of Landsat TM was carried out. In addition, spatial correlation and relationship between the urbanization level, vegetation coverage and surface urban heat island was carried out in this chapter. In Chapter six, all the works have been summarized and a conclusion of whole thesis is deduced.北九州市立大

Counting Errors: How Misunderstanding of China's Local Population and Employment Counts Affects Economic Analysis

A confusion over local population counts and employment counts in China persists throughout the economic literature. The existing studies within many branches of economics related to China commonly use the count of people with local hukou registration, the GDP per capita using the hukou count as the population denominator, and incomplete employment counts reported in various Chinese statistical yearbooks as if they were appropriate measures of local population, local employment and local per capita income. This misunderstanding of China’s local population and employment counts may lead researchers astray and could contribute to wrong conclusions and mistaken policy implications. An analogous error would be to study the economic geography of, say, the United States using local population and employment counts that were only for citizens rather than for all residents; the resulting statistical pictures are likely to be biased since cities such as New York or Los Angeles have a much higher share of non-citizens than do other areas. Yet there is no similar criticism of the large and growing literature that relies on sub-national population counts for China, despite the equally egregious errors that are likely to have resulted from using the wrong population and employment counts. Five economic issues that are pertinent to modern China are studied in this thesis using the most reliable estimates of local resident population and employment from China’s 2010 population census. These issues are regional inequality, optimal city size, the city size distribution, the nature, location and size of urbanization economies, and the determinants of urban land area expansion. Each issue is studied in a single, self-contained, paper that in some cases has already appeared in a peer-reviewed journal, and in other cases is under review at such journals. In general, the findings based on the most reliable local resident population counts and employment counts from the 2010 census extensively challenge the existing evidence in the literature. In some cases the policy implications from this new research are the opposite of what was previously suggested from research that was potentially distorted by the counting errors described here

Recent Progress in Urbanisation Dynamics Research

This book is dedicated to urbanization, which is observed every day, as well as the methods and techniques of monitoring and analyzing this phenomenon. In the 21st century, urbanization has gained momentum, and the awareness of the significance and influence of this phenomenon on our lives make us take a closer look at it not only with curiosity, but also great attention. There are numerous reasons for this, among which the economy is of special significance, but it also has many results, namely, economic, social, and environmental. First of all, it is a spatial phenomenon, as all of the aspects can be placed in space. We would therefore like to draw special attention to the results of urbanization seen on the Earth's surface and in the surrounding space. The urbanization–land relation seems obvious, but is also interesting and multi-layered. The development of science and technology provides a lot of new tools for observing urbanization, as well as the analyses and inference of the phenomenon in space. This book is devoted to in-depth analysis of past, present and future urbanization processes all over the world. We present the latest trends of research that use experience in the widely understood geography of the area. This book is focused on multidisciplinary phenomenon, i.e., urbanization, with the use of the satellite and photogrammetric observation technologies and GIS analyses

Computational socioeconomics

Uncovering the structure of socioeconomic systems and timely estimation of socioeconomic status are significant for economic development. The understanding of socioeconomic processes provides foundations to quantify global economic development, to map regional industrial structure, and to infer individual socioeconomic status. In this review, we will make a brief manifesto about a new interdisciplinary research field named Computational Socioeconomics, followed by detailed introduction about data resources, computational tools, data-driven methods, theoretical models and novel applications at multiple resolutions, including the quantification of global economic inequality and complexity, the map of regional industrial structure and urban perception, the estimation of individual socioeconomic status and demographic, and the real-time monitoring of emergent events. This review, together with pioneering works we have highlighted, will draw increasing interdisciplinary attentions and induce a methodological shift in future socioeconomic studies

Book of short Abstracts of the 11th International Symposium on Digital Earth

The Booklet is a collection of accepted short abstracts of the ISDE11 Symposium