Resort Morphology: Chinese applications

This paper adopts a geographical perspective to understand the conceptual and theoretical issues of resort morphology. Resort morphology refers to “the forms and associated functions of a destination area and their development”. Resort towns are differentiated from other urban areas in terms of morphology because of their functional emphasis on tourism. The literature reflects the significant interest of European geographers in the morphological study of coastal resort towns. However, limited attention has been given to resort morphology in developing countries. It is argued that the complex of contextual factors that influence the morphological character of resorts needs to be considered and, furthermore, there is a great need to develop a systematic approach for investigating resort morphology. Based on a review of literature, this paper first introduces the contributions and implications of related research to the understanding of resort morphology: study of resort evolution, the Recreational Business District, urban morphology, and Geographic Information System (GIS) applications. Then, the situation of China is addressed because there is a striking contrast between the rate of change and increasing complexity of Chinese resorts and the very limited amount of studies from either western or Chinese scholars. A quantitative-qualitative mixed research approach is introduced to understand transitional resort morphology in China. It involves classifying land uses, building a descriptive and explanatory framework, creating form-function maps, and the analysis of morphological characteristics. Two study areas are selected for detailed examination: a coastal resort town, Sanya and a lake-based resort town, Wuxi. Morphological changes associated with key contextual factors influencing tourism and recreational development are analyzed in these places. A comparative discussion of Sanya and Wuxi indicates similarities between their development patterns of resort morphology and their present morphological features but significant differences in terms of history, evolutionary process, tourism resources, location and level of economic development. It is less helpful simply to define models applicable to distinct Chinese water-based resort towns than to identify similarities among them. Rules for resort study in the Chinese context are recommended and the characteristics of morphological transformation in a typical water-based resort town are summarized in view of resort development patterns. It is indicated that the morphology of a typical water-based resort cluster can be in large part a function of its recreational hinterlands (urban areas), and whether it is well-planned or more naturally developed. Finally, the relationships between contextual factors, tourism development, and resort evolution and resort morphology are interpreted in the context of Chinese water-based resort towns. The significance of morphological research on current as well as past resort structure for future planning and conservation activities is indicated. A systematic approach, which combines the morphological method, the functional method and the evolutionary method, is suggested to study resort morphology. By using resort evolution theory, it is indicated that resort morphology can be clearly identified and explored within a conceptual framework. This study also shows that GIS techniques are highly applicable in the study of resort morphology. This study indicates that water-based resort morphology in China is presently characterized by intensive land use and dense development, fast settlement expansion associated with growing vacation property development, and a generally clustered pattern of accommodation. Tourism planning in China has developed procedures and strategies with little consideration for the historical process. Therefore, this study has implications for making reasonable development strategies and efficiently implemented policies and plans. Academically, resort morphology is clarified in both Chinese and Western contexts. Also, common characteristics of Chinese water-based resort towns are summarized and phenomena generated from western studies are tested in the Chinese cases

Determining the model of tourism business district (TBD) in coastal resorts: a case study of Turkey

Coastal resorts, whose dominant economic activities are those of providing an array of recreational services to tourists, reflect this specialization in their land-use patterns. Therefore, the business districts in coastal resorts have a unique morphology, landscape, and land use. However, the literature reflects that there is limited attention to the tourism business districts (TBDs) that have developed in coastal resorts. Moreover, few empirical studies have been conducted in developing countries, such as Thailand, China, and Turkey, as well as developed ones such as United States, Canada, and Italy. This study discusses the TBDs located in Turkey’s coastal resorts in terms of location, form, and function. The findings are presented statistically, and detailed maps are presented to explain the TBDs from a geographical and practical perspective. In this study, ArcGIS 10.5 software has been used to perform spatial analysis of the data. The main findings include that Turkish TBDs have similar characteristics in terms of location, form, and function compared to other coastal resorts worldwide. Therefore, it is possible to say that these similar features constitute a model in terms of land use. In addition, the statistical findings of the study are largely similar to those found in the literature

The debris flow occurred at ru secco creek, venetian dolomites, on 4 august 2015: Analysis of the phenomenon, its characteristics and reproduction by models

On 4 August 2015, a very high intensity storm, 31.5 mm in 20 min (94.5 mm/h), hit the massif of Mount Antelao on the Venetian Dolomites triggering three stony debris \ufb02ows characterized by high magnitude. Two of them occurred in the historical sites of Rovina di Cancia and Rudan Creek and were stopped by the retaining works upstream the inhabited areas, while the third routed along the Ru Secco Creek and progressively reached the resort area and the village of San Vito di Cadore, causing fatalities and damages. The main triggering factor of the Ru Secco debris \ufb02ow was a large rock collapse on the northern cliffs of Mount Antelao occurred the previous autumn. The fallen debris material deposited on the Vallon d\u2019Antrimoia inclined plateau at the base of the collapsed cliffs and, below it, on the Ru Salvela Creek, covering it from the head to the con\ufb02uence with the Ru Secco Creek. The abundant runoff, caused by the high intensity rainfall on 4 August 2015, entrained about 52,500 m3 of the debris material laying on the Vallon d\u2019Antrimoia forming a debris \ufb02ow surge that hit and eroded the debris deposit covering the downstream Ru Salvela Creek, increasing its volume, about 110,000 m3 of mobilized sediments. This debris \ufb02ow routed downstream the con\ufb02uence, \ufb02ooding the parking of a resort area where three people died, and reached the village downstream damaging some buildings. A geomorphological analysis was initially carried out after surveying the whole basin. All liquid and solid-liquid contributions to the phenomenon were recognized together with the areas subjected to erosion and deposition. The elaboration of pre and post-event topographical surveys provided the map of deposition-erosion depths. Using the rainfall estimated by weather radar and corrected by the nearest rain gauge, about 0.8 km far, we estimated runoff by using a rainfall-runoff model designed for the headwater rocky basins of Dolomites. A triggering model provided the debris \ufb02ow hydrographs in the initiation areas, after using the simulated runoff. The initial solid-liquid surge hydrographs were, then, routed downstream by means of a cell model. The comparison between the simulated and estimated deposition-erosion pattern resulted satisfactory. The results of the simulation captured, in fact, the main features of the occurred phenomenon

Rapid methods of landslide hazard mapping : Fiji case study

A landslide hazard probability map can help planners (1) prepare for, and/or mitigate against, the effects of landsliding on communities and infrastructure, and (2) avoid or minimise the risks associated with new developments. The aims of the project were to establish, by means of studies in a few test areas, a generic method by which remote sensing and data analysis using a geographic information system (GIS) could provide a provisional landslide hazard zonation map. The provision of basic hazard information is an underpinning theme of the UN’s International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). It is an essential requirement for disaster preparedness and mitigation planning. This report forms part of BGS project 92/7 (R5554) ‘Rapid assessment of landslip hazards’ Carried out under the ODA/BGS Technology Development and Research Programme as part of the British Government’s provision of aid to developing countries. It provides a detailed technical account of work undertaken in a test area in Viti Levu in collaboration with Fiji Mineral Resources Department. The study represents a demonstration of a methodology that is applicable to many developing countries. The underlying principle is that relationships between past landsliding events, interpreted from remote sensing, and factors such as the geology, relief, soils etc provide the basis for modelling where future landslides are most likely to occur. This is achieved using a GIS by ‘weighting’ each class of each variable (e.g. each lithology ‘class’ of the variable ‘geology’) according to the proportion of landslides occurring within it compared to the regional average. Combinations of variables, produced by summing the weights in individual classes, provide ‘models’ of landslide probability. The approach is empirical but has the advantage of potentially being able to provide regional scale hazard maps over large areas quickly and cheaply; this is unlikely to be achieved using conventional ground-based geotechnical methods. In Fiji, landslides are usually triggered by intense rain storms commonly associated with tropical cyclones. However, the regional distribution of landslides has not been mapped nor is it known how far geology and landscape influence the location and severity of landsliding events. The report discusses the remote sensing and GIS methodology, and describes the results of the pilot study over an area of 713 km2 in south east Viti Levu. The landslide model uses geology, elevation, slope angle, slope aspect, soil type, and forest cover as inputs. The resulting provisional landslide hazard zonation map, divided into high, medium and low zones of landslide hazard probability, suggests that whilst rainfall is the immediate cause, others controls do exert a significant influence. It is recommended that consideration be given in Fiji to implementing the techniques as part of a national strategic plan for landslide hazard zonation mapping

Earthquake‐induced landslide scenarios for seismic microzonation. Application to the Accumoli area (Rieti, Italy)

Scenarios of earthquake-induced landslides are necessary for seismic microzonation (SM) studies since they must be integrated with the mapping of instability areas. The PARSIFAL (Probabilistic Approach to pRovide Scenarios of earthquake‐Induced slope FAiLures) approach provides extensive analyses, over tens to thousands of square kilometers, and is designed as a fully comprehensive methodology to output expected scenarios which depend on seismic input and saturation conditions. This allows to attribute a rating, in terms of severity level, to the landslide-prone slope areas in view of future engineering studies and designs. PARSIFAL takes into account first-time rock- and earth-slides as well as re-activations of existing landslides performing slope stability analyses of different failure mechanisms. The results consist of mapping earthquake-induced landslide scenarios in terms of exceedance probability of critical threshold values of co-seismic displacements (P[D≥Dc|a(t),ay]). PARSIFAL was applied in the framework of level 3 SM studies over the municipality area of Accumoli (Rieti, Italy), strongly struck by the 2016 seismic sequence of Central Apennines. The use of the PARSIFAL was tested for the first time to screen the Susceptibility Zones (ZSFR) from the Attention Zones (ZAFR) in the category of the unstable areas, according to the guidelines by Italian Civil Protection. The results obtained were in a GIS-based mapping representing the possibility for a landslide to be induced by an earthquake (with a return period of 475 years) in three different saturation scenarios (i.e. dry, average, full). Only 41% of the landslide-prone areas in the Municipality of Accumoli are existing events, while the remaining 59% is characterized by first-time earth- or rock-slides. In dry conditions, unstable conditions or P[D≥Dc|a(t),ay]>0 were for 54% of existing landslides, 17% of first-time rock-slides and 1% of first-time earth- slides. In full saturation conditions, the findings are much more severe since unstable conditions or P[D≥Dc|a(t),ay]>0 were found for 58% of the existing landslides and for more than 80% of first-time rock- and earth-slides. Moreover, comparison of the total area of the ZAFR versus ZSFR, resulted in PARSIFAL screening reducing of 22% of the mapped ZAFR

The role of morphometric parameters in Digital Terrain Models interpolation accuracy: a case study

AbstractIn the present study different algorithms, usually available in GIS environment, are analyzed in order to spot an optimal interpolation methodology and to define, by classification techniques, which morphological variable affects the interpolation quality. The investigated dataset is a helicopter-borne laser scanner survey carried out on a mountain slope. It has been interpolated at various resolutions, and a percentage of the entire set has been employed to evaluate the interpolation accuracy.The analysis has highlighted, among the tested interpolators, the Natural Neighbour as the best one. The classification has drawn the attention to the total curvature and slope as the main factors affecting interpolation accuracy. The next goal is the mapping of such classification results

On the effect of random errors in gridded bathymetric compilations

We address the problem of compiling bathymetric data sets with heterogeneous coverage and a range of data measurement accuracies. To generate a regularly spaced grid, we are obliged to interpolate sparse data; our objective here is to augment this product with an estimate of confidence in the interpolated bathymetry based on our knowledge of the component of random error in the bathymetric source data. Using a direct simulation Monte Carlo method, we utilize data from the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean database to develop a suitable methodology for assessment of the standard deviations of depths in the interpolated grid. Our assessment of random errors in each data set are heuristic but realistic and are based on available metadata from the data providers. We show that a confidence grid can be built using this method and that this product can be used to assess reliability of the final compilation. The methodology as developed here is applied to bathymetric data but is equally applicable to other interpolated data sets, such as gravity and magnetic data

The shrinking playground

The coastal zone of Romania earns a good deal of its revenues from tourism. In that it is not very different from other coastal areas. It faces erosion problems, and in this regard it shares a worldwide occurrence. Recent technological developments could provide a good deal of relief. Judicious choices must be made and inspiration from abroad could prove useful