Abstract
Water is the most important and sensitive factor controlling urban development in basins. This paper developed a novel approach to construct a Basin Water Sensitivity Index (BWSI) from the perspective of integrated basin management. The correlation between the spatial expansion of development and water sensitivity over the past 30 years in the Taihu Basin was analyzed using BWSI and urban development data. The analysis found that, (1) from 1985 to 1995 the spatial expansion of developed areas in the Taihu Basin was unrelated to BWSI; (2) from 1995 to 2007 the expansion intensity decreased with an increase in BWSI; and (3) from 2007 to 2017 there was a significant increase in the spatial development expansion intensity and the area of expansion was concentrated in low BWSI areas, while the constraints of water sensitivity on spatial expansion were more obvious than in previous years. The analysis illustrated how BWSI affected spatial growth in a basin and this research can be used to help formulate a spatial growth management policy that includes water sensitivity and provides a scientific basis for coordinating the relationship between economic and social development with water resources and the environment.
Highlights
Water is a core element of regional development and human survival and as global urbanization accelerates, the natural water cycle is being more severely affected by human activities [1,2,3,4]
By correlating between Basin Water Sensitivity Index (BWSI) and spatial expansion intensity, the constraints that BWSI posed on spatial growth during different stages of economic development were determined
The intensity of expansion in urban development is influenced by both the original size of the developed land and its scale of expansion, which leads to different patterns and expansion intensities
Summary
Water is a core element of regional development and human survival and as global urbanization accelerates, the natural water cycle is being more severely affected by human activities [1,2,3,4]. There is an urgent need for a sustainable water environmental management system that offsets the impacts of urban development. One such system is the Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) approach [6], a comprehensive sustainable urban water ecological management framework based on the Low Impact Development Concept (LID). The intent of the approach is to cooperatively develop urban construction patterns and urban water cycles that protect water ecological resources, while improving the resilience of urban ecological environments [7]. Facing the challenges of climate change, urban population surges and water pollution, WSUD theory offers the potential to simultaneously accommodate urban development while protecting water sources, restoring urban ecosystems and addressing the potential impacts of climate change [8]
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