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Urban Land and Sustainable Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2015) | Viewed by 134994

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Yehua Dennis Wei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geography, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9155, USA
Interests: urban and regional development; urbanization; urban land; globalization; geographical information system; China

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

According to the 2014 revision of the World Urbanization Prospects by UN DESA, urbanization could add another 2.5 billion people to the urban population by 2050, with close to 90 percent of the increase concentrated in Asia and Africa. The largest urban growth will take place in India, China and Nigeria. This unprecedented increase in urban population not only poses challenges to providing urban jobs, housing, and infrastructure, but also exerts an increased pressure on urban land and sustainability. As land is a vital yet limited resource, sustainable management of urban land to cater to the needs of this growing urban population is seen as one of the key challenges for achieving an economically efficient, socially equitable, and environmentally safe society. A key tenet for sustainable economic development and smart growth is promoting sustainable urban land development and mitigating land use conflicts.

While a large body of literature has dealt with both land use and sustainable development, the study of the interactive effects of these two remains limited. We also need more sophisticated empirical studies examining processes, mechanisms, institutions, equity, and sustainability of urban land use. We also encourage efforts to develop new theories, new concepts and new methods to understand the myriad ways in which urban land and sustainable development correlate each other. This special issue examines patterns, structure, and dynamics of urban land development and sustainability from multiple perspectives, in various contexts and at multiple dimensions (economic, social, political, developmental, environmental, etc.). We welcome research articles that showcase the best examples to address theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues in urban land development and sustainability arising from globalization, urbanization and institutional change, as well as the underlying dynamics, constitutive processes, and the wider socio-economic implications of urban land use governance.

Potential topics include, but are not restricted to, the following:
• Urban land use: patterns, restructuring, and efficiency
• Urban land expansion: directions, structures, dynamics/trajectories, clustering/agglomeration/scaling/neighborhood effects, models
• Land development: globalization, development zones, mega projects, global(izing) cities, and “land grabs”, space/place/geography as agents
• Urban land use policy and governance; role of institutions
• Global-local: effects of globalization, land development and global change
• Urban land and economic/social/environmental equity and sustainability
• Sustainable land use and urban development policies and practices
• Drivers of urban development and land use change
• Methodology: ESDA, spatial regression, GWR, multi-agent based modeling, spatiotemporal dynamics, joint decision-making scenario analysis, etc.

We would like authors to address questions such as the following: what is the nature structure and trajectory of urban land expansion and development? What are the underlying mechanisms and the main drivers of urban land use change? What is sustainable urban land use in the context of increasing global urban population and climate change and how can it be achieved? What implications do the practices of urban land use have on sustainable development at the local, regional, and global scales? What are the governance and political processes? How to measure the roles of geography, contexts and institutions? How are urban land use and sustainability displayed in terms of convergence/divergence, dimension, scale and time? How do national and sub-national states understand and leverage their geographical endowments vis-a-vis globalization? How to use developments in GIS and big data to advance our knowledge? How can various forms of knowledge be integrated and how do they influence urban land governance processes? What are the theoretical and policy implications of the research?

Please keep in mind that papers selected for this special issue entitled “urban land and sustainable development” will be subject to a rigorous peer review procedure with the aim of rapid and wider dissemination of research results, developments and applications. It is hoped that the outcomes of this issue will contribute to a broadening of the understanding of the spatial and temporal aspects of urban land use policies, processes, and practices and their intertwinement to sustainable development. We prefer theoretically guided, quantitatively oriented, empirical research. Each paper should consider the problem-oriented and application-oriented focus of the journal. The authors will complement deep and state-of-the-art conceptual and empirical analysis, and discuss the practical consequences of their findings as well as ways to translate them into policy measures.

Yehua Dennis Wei
Guest Editor

Yehua Dennis Wei (Ph.D., UCLA) is professor in the Department of Geography and Institute of Public and International Affairs. He has many publications in leading journals in geography, urban studies/planning, and regional studies/science, such as Applied Geography (AG), Economic Geography, Environment and Planning A, Journal of Economic Geography, Landscape and Urban Planning, Progress in Human Geography, Urban Geography and Urban Studies. He has also edited eight journal special issues including China’s Restless Urban Landscapes I, II (Environment and Planning A, 2002) and Urbanization, Land Use and Sustainable Development in China (Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 2014). He has received excellence in research awards from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Association of American Geographer’s (AAG) Regional Development and Planning Specialty Group.  His professional services include: advisor/panelist for the U.S. National Science Foundation, consultant to the World Bank, Chair of AAG’s China Geography, Asian Geography, and Regional Development & Planning specialty groups, and vice president of Chinese Professionals in Geographical Information Science.

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


Keywords

  • Urban land use efficiency and equity
  • Urban land use restructuring and clustering
  • Drivers and trajectories of urban land expansion
  • Institutions and urban land use change
  • Urban land use, metropolitan development and global change
  • Urban land and economic/social/environmental sustainability
  • Sustainable land use policies and practices

Published Papers (15 papers)

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Editorial

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193 KiB  
Editorial
Towards Equitable and Sustainable Urban Space: Introduction to Special Issue on “Urban Land and Sustainable Development”
by Yehua Dennis Wei
Sustainability 2016, 8(8), 804; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8080804 - 15 Aug 2016
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4890
Abstract
The unprecedented wave of global urbanization has exerted increased pressure on urban land and made land-use sustainability an urgent concern. This Special Issue examines patterns, structures, and dynamics of urban land use from the economic, social, and, to a lesser extent, environmental standpoints, [...] Read more.
The unprecedented wave of global urbanization has exerted increased pressure on urban land and made land-use sustainability an urgent concern. This Special Issue examines patterns, structures, and dynamics of urban land use from the economic, social, and, to a lesser extent, environmental standpoints, in light of the goal of equitable and sustainable development. This introduction discusses the background and design of the Special Issue and highlights the contribution of the selected papers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

580 KiB  
Article
Do Urban Rail Transit Facilities Affect Housing Prices? Evidence from China
by Xu Zhang, Xiaoxing Liu, Jianqin Hang, Dengbao Yao and Guangping Shi
Sustainability 2016, 8(4), 380; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8040380 - 18 Apr 2016
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 6898
Abstract
Urban rail transit facilities play a critical role in citizen’s social activities (e.g., residence, work and education). Using panel data on housing prices and urban rail transit facilities for 35 Chinese cities for 2002 to 2013, this study constructs a panel data model [...] Read more.
Urban rail transit facilities play a critical role in citizen’s social activities (e.g., residence, work and education). Using panel data on housing prices and urban rail transit facilities for 35 Chinese cities for 2002 to 2013, this study constructs a panel data model to evaluate the effect of rail transit facilities on housing prices quantitatively. A correlation test reveals significant correlations between housing prices and rail transit facilities. Empirical results demonstrate that rail transit facilities can markedly elevate real estate prices. Quantitatively, a 1% increase in rail transit mileage improves housing prices by 0.0233%. The results highlight the importance of other factors (e.g., per capita GDP, land price, investment in real estate and population density) in determining housing prices. We also assess the effects of expectations of new rail transit lines on housing prices, and the results show that expectation effects are insignificant. These findings encourage Chinese policy makers to take rail transit facilities into account in achieving sustainable development of real estate markets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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674 KiB  
Article
How Does Land Development Promote China’s Urban Economic Growth? The Mediating Effect of Public Infrastructure
by Xianwei Fan, Dan Zheng and Minjun Shi
Sustainability 2016, 8(3), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8030279 - 17 Mar 2016
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6892
Abstract
Although substantial studies emphasized the close relationship among land development, public infrastructure, and urban economic growth, the mediating effect of public infrastructure remains unexplored. Using panel data of 253 prefecture-level Chinese cities from 1999 to 2012, we empirically conduct a mediating effect analysis [...] Read more.
Although substantial studies emphasized the close relationship among land development, public infrastructure, and urban economic growth, the mediating effect of public infrastructure remains unexplored. Using panel data of 253 prefecture-level Chinese cities from 1999 to 2012, we empirically conduct a mediating effect analysis to examine how land development promotes urban economic growth. It is found that land development has a positive impact on public infrastructure, whereas the construction of public infrastructure is positively related with urban economic growth. Therefore, land development exerts a positive influence on urban economic growth through one important mediator: public infrastructure. It is also found that the mediating effect of public infrastructure is partial. The estimation results are robust to various specifications and sensitivity analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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1318 KiB  
Article
The Role of Villages and Townships in Informal Land Development in China: An Investigation on the City Fringe of Beijing
by Pengjun Zhao and Mengzhu Zhang
Sustainability 2016, 8(3), 255; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8030255 - 09 Mar 2016
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 7859
Abstract
The past decades have witnessed a number of informal land developments on the urban fringe in China although many strict state regulations have been made to control this. The dual urban rural land system is widely believed to be one major determinant of [...] Read more.
The past decades have witnessed a number of informal land developments on the urban fringe in China although many strict state regulations have been made to control this. The dual urban rural land system is widely believed to be one major determinant of informal developments in the existing literature. However, the important role of local villages and townships are often neglected. This paper aims to shed light on this by looking at the gated informal housing communities in Beijing as a case study. It investigates the role of villages and townships in informal land development and the conflicts of interest that arise with state regulations in the context of political decentralization. The results of analysis show that township governments have an ambivalent attitude or even give tacit approval to informal land development in villages since these informal developments actually bring economic benefits to local villagers and themselves. The situation seems to be worse as townships have poor fiscal capacity and a growing administrative responsibility for improvement of local development in the context of decentralization. Villages are keen to capture economic benefits from informal land development with help from private developers. As a result, a local, informal coalition between townships, villages, and private developers emerged at the grass roots level. This presents a major challenge to the state regulations designed for sustainable urban growth management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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2788 KiB  
Article
The Making of a Sustainable Wireless City? Mapping Public Wi-Fi Access in Shanghai
by Mingfeng Wang, Felix Haifeng Liao, Juan Lin, Li Huang, Chengcheng Gu and Yehua Dennis Wei
Sustainability 2016, 8(2), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020111 - 26 Jan 2016
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 8046
Abstract
In the context of the global information economy, ready access to the Internet is critical to a city’s competitiveness, which has prompted a number of cities to launch plans to establish wireless networks. Most literature on the development of wireless cities focuses on [...] Read more.
In the context of the global information economy, ready access to the Internet is critical to a city’s competitiveness, which has prompted a number of cities to launch plans to establish wireless networks. Most literature on the development of wireless cities focuses on cities in Western countries, and few have discussed how Chinese cities have adopted wireless technologies in their urban infrastructure development efforts. This paper examines recent development and spatial distribution of public Wi-Fi access in Shanghai, a leading business hub in China. We mapped Wi-Fi hotspots through the government sponsored “i-Shanghai” project and China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC). We find that while telecommunication providers have been proactively deploying WLAN (wireless local area network，a proxy of public Wi-Fi or wireless access) hotspots in Shanghai, neither government sponsored WLAN hotspots nor facilities established by CMCC could cover the old traditional neighborhoods in the central city and sub-districts in remote rural areas. We also address the development of a more sustainable wireless city in Shanghai with a particular focus on digital divide and social equity issues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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2994 KiB  
Article
Walkability, Land Use and Physical Activity
by Yehua Dennis Wei, Weiye Xiao, Ming Wen and Ran Wei
Sustainability 2016, 8(1), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010065 - 11 Jan 2016
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 10153
Abstract
Physical activity (PA) promotes healthy life and contributes to sustainable development. In this paper, we rely on the Utah Household Travel Survey data and analyze the determinants of PA in terms of neighborhood land use, accessibility to transportation, and socio-demographic status in Salt [...] Read more.
Physical activity (PA) promotes healthy life and contributes to sustainable development. In this paper, we rely on the Utah Household Travel Survey data and analyze the determinants of PA in terms of neighborhood land use, accessibility to transportation, and socio-demographic status in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States using four-component walkability indices at various geographic scales. We find that PA is associated with neighborhood land use and social demographic status, including the compact design of the neighborhood. The results also indicate that land use mix is insignificant, and that current neighborhood design only supports people’s 20-min walk. The spatial lag model reveals significant spatial autocorrelation of PA but the barely improved R2 validates the dominant effect of neighborhood land use and social demographic status on people’s walking behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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2172 KiB  
Article
General Spatiotemporal Patterns of Urbanization: An Examination of 16 World Cities
by Zhifeng Liu, Chunyang He and Jianguo Wu
Sustainability 2016, 8(1), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010041 - 04 Jan 2016
Cited by 66 | Viewed by 7703
Abstract
Urbanization is the most dramatic form of land use change that has profoundly influenced environmental and socioeconomic conditions around the world. To assess these impacts and promote urban sustainability, a better understanding of urbanization patterns is needed. Recent studies have suggested several spatiotemporal [...] Read more.
Urbanization is the most dramatic form of land use change that has profoundly influenced environmental and socioeconomic conditions around the world. To assess these impacts and promote urban sustainability, a better understanding of urbanization patterns is needed. Recent studies have suggested several spatiotemporal patterns of urbanization, but their generality is yet to be adequately tested with long-term data. Thus, the main goal of our study was two-fold: (1) to examine the spatiotemporal patterns of urbanization of 16 world cities over a period of 200 years (1800–2000); and (2) to test four prominent hypotheses of urbanization patterns. Using a set of landscape metrics, we quantified temporal changes in the urban landscape pattern of the 16 cities and examined the four hypotheses individually. Our results show that these cities exhibit several common urbanization patterns: the urban landscape becomes compositionally more diverse, structurally more fragmented and geometrically more complex as urbanization progresses. Our study also suggests that urbanization is a process of shifting dominance among three urban growth modes: infilling, edge expanding and leapfrogging. However, idiosyncrasies do exist for individual cities, as detailed attributes of urbanization patterns often depend on the environmental and socioeconomic settings of cities. In addition, the choice of specific landscape metrics and the scales of analysis both influence the urbanization patterns revealed. Our study examined the urbanization patterns, for the first time, on long-term and global scales. The findings shed new light on the patterns and processes of urbanization, with implications for future studies of the ecology, planning and sustainability of cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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5259 KiB  
Article
Urban Land Expansion and Sustainable Land Use Policy in Shenzhen: A Case Study of China’s Rapid Urbanization
by Jing Qian, Yunfei Peng, Cheng Luo, Chao Wu and Qingyun Du
Sustainability 2016, 8(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010016 - 24 Dec 2015
Cited by 69 | Viewed by 14746
Abstract
Shenzhen is a city that is highly representative of China’s rapid urbanization process. As the city rapidly expands, there are enormous challenges to the sustainable use of land resources. This paper introduces the evolution of urban land expansion and the sustainable land use [...] Read more.
Shenzhen is a city that is highly representative of China’s rapid urbanization process. As the city rapidly expands, there are enormous challenges to the sustainable use of land resources. This paper introduces the evolution of urban land expansion and the sustainable land use policy of the Shenzhen Government since 2005. The policy covers the reduction in rural-to-urban land conversion, the delineation of urban growth boundaries, arable land reclamation and the establishment of farmland protection areas, urban redevelopment, and the investigation and prosecution of illegal construction. This paper considers the aspects of urbanization and land management systems that are unique to China. The current top-down indicative and mandatory mode of control, which relies on the central government, has very limited effects. Good results were achieved in Shenzhen for the following elements: governmental self-restraint, governmental identity change, and policy innovation. Shenzhen’s sustainable land use practices can provide a reference for other cities in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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1556 KiB  
Article
Urban Residential Land Use Reconstruction under Dual-Track Mechanism of Market Socialism in China: A Case Study of Chengdu
by Yongchun Yang, Deli Zhang, Qingmin Meng and Corrin McCarn
Sustainability 2015, 7(12), 16849-16865; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215850 - 21 Dec 2015
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7200
Abstract
We study urban residential land use changes by analyzing the massive migration and relocation of two typical social classes: employees in government departments (EGD) and urban demolition displaced households (UDDH). After the reform and opening-up of China that has taken place during the [...] Read more.
We study urban residential land use changes by analyzing the massive migration and relocation of two typical social classes: employees in government departments (EGD) and urban demolition displaced households (UDDH). After the reform and opening-up of China that has taken place during the last 30 years, the residential land use of both the EGD and UDDH groups has been notable in terms of the changing urban landscape in China’s cities. A considerable number of studies highlight the large scale relocations of weaker groups usually through sample surveys at a microscopic scale, which sheds light on the relationships between market forces and government intervention and power. However, employees hired by state government departments and related branches (Shiye Danwei) have been neglected. Bridging the empirical research gap and using Chengdu as a case study, we compare residential relocations of EGD and UDDH groups in Chengdu. Our analysis based on field surveys conducted from 2009–2013 indicates that the relocations of EGD and UDDH are spatially agglomerated due to China’s unique dual-track mechanism driven by market forces and government power since the late 1970s. The study shows that most of the UDDH are migrated from urban centers to fringes, while a large number of EGD still agglomerate close to urban centers. Government interventions differentiate residential relocations of EGD and UDDH, and market mechanisms reinforce these relocations. Potential problems caused by the dual-track mechanism are finally discussed and summarized. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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372 KiB  
Article
Natural Disasters, Economic Growth and Sustainable Development in China―An Empirical Study Using Provincial Panel Data
by Ji Guo, Hui Liu, Xianhua Wu, Jiong Gu, Shunfeng Song and Yinshan Tang
Sustainability 2015, 7(12), 16783-16800; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215847 - 19 Dec 2015
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 7414
Abstract
Using a newly developed integrated indicator system with entropy weighting, we analyzed the panel data of 577 recorded disasters in 30 provinces of China from 1985–2011 to identify their links with the subsequent economic growth. Meteorological disasters promote economic growth through human capital [...] Read more.
Using a newly developed integrated indicator system with entropy weighting, we analyzed the panel data of 577 recorded disasters in 30 provinces of China from 1985–2011 to identify their links with the subsequent economic growth. Meteorological disasters promote economic growth through human capital instead of physical capital. Geological disasters did not trigger local economic growth from 1999–2011. Generally, natural disasters overall had no significant impact on economic growth from 1985–1998. Thus, human capital reinvestment should be the aim in managing recoveries, and it should be used to regenerate the local economy based on long-term sustainable development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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14080 KiB  
Article
Risky Business: Sustainability and Industrial Land Use across Seattle’s Gentrifying Riskscape
by Troy D. Abel, Jonah White and Stacy Clauson
Sustainability 2015, 7(11), 15718-15753; https://doi.org/10.3390/su71115718 - 24 Nov 2015
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 10431
Abstract
This paper examines the spatial and temporal trajectories of Seattle’s industrial land use restructuring and the shifting riskscape in Seattle, WA, a commonly recognized urban model of sustainability. Drawing on the perspective of sustainability as a conflicted process, this research explored the intersections [...] Read more.
This paper examines the spatial and temporal trajectories of Seattle’s industrial land use restructuring and the shifting riskscape in Seattle, WA, a commonly recognized urban model of sustainability. Drawing on the perspective of sustainability as a conflicted process, this research explored the intersections of urban industrial and nonindustrial land use planning, gentrification, and environmental injustice. In the first part of our research, we combine geographic cluster analysis and longitudinal air toxic emission comparisons to quantitatively investigate socioeconomic changes in Seattle Census block-groups between 1990, 2000, and 2009 coupled with measures of pollution volume and its relative potential risk. Second, we qualitatively examine Seattle’s historical land use policies and planning and the growing tension between industrial and nonindustrial land use. The gentrification, green cities, and growth management conflicts embedded within sustainability/livability lead to pollution exposure risk and socioeconomic vulnerability converging in the same areas and reveal one of Seattle’s significant environmental challenges. Our mixed-method approach can guide future urban sustainability studies to more effectively examine the connections between land use planning, industrial displacement, and environmental injustice. Our results also help sustainable development practitioners recognize that a more just sustainability in Seattle and beyond will require more planning and policy attention to mitigate obscured industrial land use conflicts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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11853 KiB  
Article
What is the Influence of the Planning Framework on the Land Use Change Trajectories? Photointerpretation Analysis in the 1958–2011 Period for a Medium/Small Sized City
by Mário Monteiro and Alexandre Oliveira Tavares
Sustainability 2015, 7(9), 11727-11755; https://doi.org/10.3390/su70911727 - 25 Aug 2015
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4969
Abstract
Medium/small sized cities create a polycentric urban system representing the backbone of their territory, characterized by profound changes on land use. The objective of this study is to evaluate the spatial and temporal dynamics of land use in a medium/small city in Portugal [...] Read more.
Medium/small sized cities create a polycentric urban system representing the backbone of their territory, characterized by profound changes on land use. The objective of this study is to evaluate the spatial and temporal dynamics of land use in a medium/small city in Portugal during the period 1958–2011, and the relation with the planning framework. The assessment involves land use changes recognition in the period 1958–2011, calculation of the stability grade indicator, and the losses and gains between classes. The rate of artificialization and its relation with the planning framework was also evaluated. The results for the city of Viseu showed a main decrease in annual crops and arable lands, with an increase of the continuous and discontinuous urban fabric. The changes are systematic transitions, marked by planning framework and its typology, objectives and scale enforcement. A plan addressing the city encouraged land use changes in the fringe, while a municipal Master Plan determined sequent transformation in all areas. The land use changes and the artificialization processes enabled the identification of three periods where planning framework was forthright. The study underlines the importance of a planning framework for medium/small sized cities for urban sprawl and artificialization processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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3649 KiB  
Article
Monocentric or Polycentric? The Urban Spatial Structure of Employment in Beijing
by Daquan Huang, Zhen Liu and Xingshuo Zhao
Sustainability 2015, 7(9), 11632-11656; https://doi.org/10.3390/su70911632 - 25 Aug 2015
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 10872
Abstract
The spatial structure of Beijing has changed dramatically since the reforms of the late 1970s. It is not clear, however, whether these changes have been sufficient to transform the city’s monocentric spatial structure into a polycentric one. This paper uses 2010 enterprise registered [...] Read more.
The spatial structure of Beijing has changed dramatically since the reforms of the late 1970s. It is not clear, however, whether these changes have been sufficient to transform the city’s monocentric spatial structure into a polycentric one. This paper uses 2010 enterprise registered data to investigate the spatial distribution of employment in Beijing. Using a customized grid to increase the spatial resolution of our results, we explore the city’s employment density distribution and investigate potential employment subcenters. This leads to several findings. First, Beijing still has strong monocentric characteristics; second, the city has a very large employment center rather than a small central business district; third, five subcenters are identified, including four in the suburbs; and fourth, a polycentric model that includes these subcenters possesses more explanatory power than a simple monocentric model, but by only four percentage. We conclude that the spatial structure of Beijing is still quite monocentric, but may be in transition to a polycentric pattern. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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2336 KiB  
Article
Urban Land Expansion and Structural Change in the Yangtze River Delta, China
by Jinlong Gao, Yehua Dennis Wei, Wen Chen and Komali Yenneti
Sustainability 2015, 7(8), 10281-10307; https://doi.org/10.3390/su70810281 - 31 Jul 2015
Cited by 77 | Viewed by 9609
Abstract
Urban development in China has attracted considerable scholarly attention. However, more work is still needed to examine and understand the mechanisms of urban land expansion, especially within the context of globalization/marketization, decentralization and urbanization. This paper analyzes urban land expansion and structural changes [...] Read more.
Urban development in China has attracted considerable scholarly attention. However, more work is still needed to examine and understand the mechanisms of urban land expansion, especially within the context of globalization/marketization, decentralization and urbanization. This paper analyzes urban land expansion and structural changes in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). We find that cities in the YRD are experiencing urban land expansion mainly characterized by the growth of residential and industrial land. The dominant characteristics of urban land expansion in cities have also varied within different development and administrative levels. Based on our conceptual framework, we have used multi-models to investigate the driving forces of urban land expansion and structural changes in the YRD. The results reveal that six influencing factors—foreign direct investment (FDI), labor, government competition, institution, population, and job-housing relations—facilitate land use change in the economic transition process. However, their impacts differ in cities in different geographical locations, as well as with different administrative levels. Finally, this paper discusses policies to promote sustainable urban land use in the YRD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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3916 KiB  
Article
Scenario Simulation and the Prediction of Land Use and Land Cover Change in Beijing, China
by Huiran Han, Chengfeng Yang and Jinping Song
Sustainability 2015, 7(4), 4260-4279; https://doi.org/10.3390/su7044260 - 13 Apr 2015
Cited by 192 | Viewed by 15245
Abstract
Land use and land cover (LULC) models are essential for analyzing LULC change and predicting land use requirements and are valuable for guiding reasonable land use planning and management. However, each LULC model has its own advantages and constraints. In this paper, we [...] Read more.
Land use and land cover (LULC) models are essential for analyzing LULC change and predicting land use requirements and are valuable for guiding reasonable land use planning and management. However, each LULC model has its own advantages and constraints. In this paper, we explore the characteristics of LULC change and simulate future land use demand by combining a CLUE-S model with a Markov model to deal with some shortcomings of existing LULC models. Using Beijing as a case study, we describe the related driving factors from land-adaptive variables, regional spatial variables and socio-economic variables and then simulate future land use scenarios from 2010 to 2020, which include a development scenario (natural development and rapid development) and protection scenarios (ecological and cultivated land protection). The results indicate good consistency between predicted results and actual land use situations according to a Kappa statistic. The conversion of cultivated land to urban built-up land will form the primary features of LULC change in the future. The prediction for land use demand shows the differences under different scenarios. At higher elevations, the geographical environment limits the expansion of urban built-up land, but the conversion of cultivated land to built-up land in mountainous areas will be more prevalent by 2020; Beijing, however, still faces the most pressure in terms of ecological and cultivated land protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Land and Sustainable Development)
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