Defining Urban Boundaries by Characteristic Scales

Defining an objective boundary for a city is a difficult problem, which remains to be solved by an effective method. Recent years, new methods for identifying urban boundary have been developed by means of spatial search techniques (e.g. CCA). However, the new algorithms are involved with another problem, that is, how to determine the characteristic radius of spatial search. This paper proposes new approaches to looking for the most advisable spatial searching radius for determining urban boundary. We found that the relationships between the spatial searching radius and the corresponding number of clusters take on an exponential function. In the exponential model, the scale parameter just represents the characteristic length that we can use to define the most objective urban boundary objectively. Two sets of China's cities are employed to test this method, and the results lend support to the judgment that the characteristic parameter can well serve for the spatial searching radius. The research may be revealing for making urban spatial analysis in methodology and implementing identification of urban boundaries in practice.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures, 7 table

Challenges and Opportunities Facing China’s Urban Development in the New Era

The acceleration of urban expansion has greatly impacted the study of China’s urban system, and the urban function at the national level has largely been characterised by the spatial distribution and evolution of cities. In order to understand the dynamics of urban development in China, it is necessary to analyse the history of city evolution and understand the context in which that evolution took place. The first section of this paper introduces the urbanisation process in China since the 1950s in order to demonstrate the origins of China’s recenturbanisation patterns. Subsequently, the structural transitions of city scaling and urban clusters are presented by employing Rank-size Analysis and satellite imagery, followed by the challenges brought about by these changes. Finally, the spatial distribution and transition patterns of China’s urban system are analysed using Centrographic Analysis

Challenges and Opportunities Facing China’s Urban Development in the New Era

The acceleration of urban expansion has greatly impacted the study of China’s urban system, and the urban function at the national level has largely been characterised by the spatial distribution and evolution of cities. In order to understand the dynamics of urban development in China, it is necessary to analyse the history of city evolution and understand the context in which that evolution took place. The first section of this paper introduces the urbanisation process in China since the 1950s in order to demonstrate the origins of China’s recenturbanisation patterns. Subsequently, the structural transitions of city scaling and urban clusters are presented by employing Rank-size Analysis and satellite imagery, followed by the challenges brought about by these changes. Finally, the spatial distribution and transition patterns of China’s urban system are analysed using Centrographic Analysis

Dynamic Changes Analysis and Hotspots Detection of Land Use in the Central Core Functional Area of Jing-Jin-Ji from 2000 to 2015 Based on Remote Sensing Data

The article uses GIS spatial analysis and grid technologies to study the dynamic changes, hotspot regions, and driving forces in land use of the central core functional area of Jing-Jin-Ji. The research results are as follows: from 2000 to 2015, the main types of land use in the central core functional area of Jing-Jin-Ji are cultivated land, woodland, and built-up land. In the period of 2005–2010, the transfer between built-up land and cultivated land was frequent. The dynamic degree of single land use in unused land was highest. It also finds out that the dynamic degree of the integrated land use from 2005 to 2010 was higher. The center of gravity transfer of the dynamic degree of integrated land use was concentrated in research area. As for the hotspots, their number and scope are increasing, and the positions located in the edge of original main urban area and developed transportation network. The main characteristics of land use dynamic change in the study area are the rapid decrease of cultivated land area and rapid growth of built-up land. The spatial agglomeration of economic factors caused by human activities has an important influence on the spatial and temporal dynamic changes of land use

中国における都市化とその環境の持続可能性に関する研究

This study aims to explore the sustainability performance of urbanization and its environment in the scope of megalopolises in China, based on the proposed assessment system of urban sustainability. That is defined as the ratio of the two dimensions: quality of the built environment and environmental pressure. The quality of the built environment includes urbanization economies, infrastructure development, and urban attraction. With the help of statistical data analysis and geoinformatics methods, the corresponding assessment and spatio-temporal analysis results are obtained using national official statistics. The empirical results of four Chinese major megalopolises (Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Shandong Peninsula and JingJinJi) show that the urban sustainability model is applicable to conveniently combine various analytical methods to help multiple parties reach a common consensus for guiding a reasonable, efficient and sustainable urbanization process.北九州市立大

Deep Learning Methods for Remote Sensing

Remote sensing is a field where important physical characteristics of an area are exacted using emitted radiation generally captured by satellite cameras, sensors onboard aerial vehicles, etc. Captured data help researchers develop solutions to sense and detect various characteristics such as forest fires, flooding, changes in urban areas, crop diseases, soil moisture, etc. The recent impressive progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning has sparked innovations in technologies, algorithms, and approaches and led to results that were unachievable until recently in multiple areas, among them remote sensing. This book consists of sixteen peer-reviewed papers covering new advances in the use of AI for remote sensing

マルチスケールの視点からみた中国における都市開発と人口移動の関係に関する研究

Development is the main problem facing cities in the world today. Urban development is inseparable from the support of labor. The population movement between regions provides a guarantee for the sustainable development of the city. Therefore, the interactive relationship between urban development and population mobility needs more in-depth research. This research combines official statistics and emerging big data to study the interactive relationship between urban development and population mobility from the macro, meso and micro levels. In addition, with the help of exploratory spatial data analysis methods, the spatial effects between urban development and population mobility can be captured, including spatial dependence and spatial heterogeneity. The use of spatial econometric models reveals the driving forces that affect population mobility. The results of the empirical analysis can provide a theoretical reference for the future development of China’s urbanization.北九州市立大

Creative Strategies to Recover Urban Land in Disuse

[eng] Industrial land in disuse is a dual carrier of crisis and revitalization of mining cities facing decline. On the one hand, it is an object that carries urban crisis, which has many negative effects on the urban environment, economy, and society. On the other hand, it has the advantage of reuse and can be transformed into a positive factor for urban revival. The main starting point of this research is to explore the value of industrial wastelands and their reuse to promote China's mining cities out of their difficulties. The existing research on industrial lands in disuse lacks a holistic and systematic view and has insufficient knowledge of overall value of industrial lands in disuse and inadequate refining of their core values. This has led to a series of problems such as "islanding" renewal, "destructive" protection, and convergence of appearance. On account of these problems, this research applies landscape genetic theory to the conservation and renewal of industrial lands in disuse by using literature research, field survey, typology, comparative study, and systematic analysis, and analyzes the regular characteristics of industrial land in disuse clusters in China in time and space, so as to explore a more effective way for the deep excavation and scientific expression of the value of industrial lands in disuse. This research is highly interdisciplinary and exploratory. The main research contents and academic contributions: 1. The research introduces the concept of genes in biogenetics, based on the principles of "base pairing" and "DNA sequence combination" in the storage and transmission of genetic information. And based on the typology and the epistemology that interprets anthropology and the methodological basis of designing language and semiotics, we have constructed a landscape genetic theory structure with a landscape gene structure system and landscape genetic atlas as the core. 2. This research unravels the mining cities in China as the research background, clarifies the definition, classification, regional distribution, and spatial structure of mining cities, discusses the characteristics and laws of the formation and development of mining cities, and summarizes the problems and countermeasures. Then, the concept of industrial land in disuse is proposed. Its causes are analyzed and classified, and the main problems in the protection and renewal of industrial lands in disuse in China are analyzed. 3. Based on the evaluation of the value of industrial lands in disuse and their morphological and structural laws, the "unit-piece-chain-domain" landscape genetic structure system is proposed, so that any complex industrial land in disuse group can be quickly decomposed and combined under the guidance of this system. Based on this structure system, coupling mining city spaces, industrial land in disuse groups, and green space, the effective way for transformation and characteristics shaping of mining city and high-quality human living environment construction is explored. 4. This research proposes a conservation method and creative strategy for industrial land in disuse based on the genetic behavior of landscape genes. In the gene replication stage, it focuses on the protection of the authenticity and integrity of the landscape genes of industrial wasteland. In the gene translation stage, it focuses on the benign recombination and functional grafting of the landscape genes of industrial land in disuse. Three creative strategies of recombination and grafting are proposed: landscape genetic juxtaposition, landscape genetic translation, and landscape genetic symbiosis. The space of industrial land in disuse, which is contradictory and conflicting due to cultural heterogeneity and spatial and temporal differences, is reconstructed to create a landscape with regional characteristics. Huangshi City is a representative mining city in China, with a large number and many types of industrial wastelands, which has temporal continuity and spatial integrity. Based on the evaluation of the value of industrial wastelands in Huangshi City, using landscape gene theory, this research constructs the landscape gene structure system of "unit-piece-chain-domain", and builds the spatial layout of coupling urban space, industrial land in disuse clusters, and green space. Taking Tonglvshan landscape gene piece and Hanyeping Railway landscape gene chain as examples, this research maps the landscape gene atlas. Based on the landscape gene atlas and genetic behavior, protection of authenticity and integrity, recombination, and grafting measures are proposed to revitalize industrial land in disuse

Dynamics of land use and land cover changes in China

A key contribution of environmental economics to policy making has been to provide empirical indicators of sustainable economic development. An economy is (weakly) sustainable if it saves more than the combined depreciation of its stocks of natural capital and produced capital. Thus, these indicators allow trade-offs where, for example, natural capital might be depreciated in order to build up other forms of capital, such as in the built environment or in the form of human capital. As an application of this general idea, this thesis focuses on the trade-offs between ecosystem services, provided by natural capital, and certain land use and land cover changes (LUCC) in China. With better understanding of these trade-offs, this thesis contributes to optimum management for sustaining ecosystem services and supporting socio-economic development. The three case study areas are Hebei, Qinghai and Shandong provinces. I study trade-offs between landscape diversity and crop production, between grassland quality and livestock production, and between net primary productivity (NPP, a measure of the energy that enters ecosystems) and urbanization. After reviewing trade-off analyses of ecosystem services for sustainable land-use management (Chapter 2), the case studies are presented, with two chapters on Hebei, one on Qinghai, and three on Shandong. These chapters have econometric models for monitoring and assessing LUCC-induced ecosystem service changes, to enable quantitative analysis of the mechanisms available for policy-oriented optimum land-use management. The case study areas each have different policy interventions that are designed to preserve or restore natural capital. For example, Hebei has ecological restoration programs, such as the Green for Grain program, that are implemented in an attempt to conserve landscape diversity. Qinghai province has policies of enhancing ecological restoration for grassland conservation, in order to improve livestock production. Shandong province has enforced a prime cropland preservation policy in order to ensure high cropland productivity. Collectively, the case studies add to the literature on the use of sustainable land-use management strategies, while helping to illustrate some of the trade-offs that are central to environmental economics. The results highlight issues created by conversion of cultivated land to urban use, in both Hebei and Shandong. In Qinghai province, grassland degradation, livestock production and farmers’ income interact and affect LUCC and changes in ecosystem services. Restorative interventions, such as nature reserves, seem to have a positive effect on NPP, as a measure of ecosystem productivity. On the other hand, in Shandong province there is relatively low land productivity, as measured by the NPP, in regions covered by built-up area. While this thesis does not calculate a value for the produced capital and human capital in built-up areas, the reduction in the value of natural capital as a result of urbanization highlights the potential trade-offs and the need for careful measurement to help whether China is on a sustainable development path. In summary, the research in this thesis examines various land-use practices and management regimes for conserving ecosystem services, and contributes to the literature on how management of land use change and land cover change can influence ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing China