Differences in Urban Built-Up Land Expansion in Zhengzhou and Changsha, China: An Approach Based on Different Geographical Features

Zhanqi Wang,Ji Chai,Hongwei Zhang

doi:10.3390/su10114258

Abstract

The disorderly expansion of urban built-up land is a global issue. It is of great significance to guide urban land use scientifically through the analysis of geographical features to identify the mechanisms that underlie differences in urban built-up land expansion. We selected Changsha and Zhengzhou in China, whose built-up areas during the initial period of study had different natural geographical features, but similar human geographical features, and systematically explored the development and evolution characteristics of the natural and human geographical features from 1990 to 2010 using a landscape metrics analysis and an urban built-up land intensive use analysis. We found that (1) although human beings have a strong ability to transform nature, they have to rely on the natural endowment of the land to develop the cities and, thus, have formed different landscape patterns and levels of urban built-up land intensive use; (2) in places where the natural geographical features are more restrictive, land-use policy-makers are more cautious in their decision-making, which more closely links the land-use policies and human geographical features, thereby simultaneously increasing the degree of intensive built-up land use and reducing the number of problems that arise from urban built-up land expansion. This research can provide a reference for the development of policies for urban built-up land use in Changsha and Zhengzhou. It also can provide ideas for how to implement different built-up land management policies for other cities with different natural and human geographical features.

Highlights

Urbanization is a process of mass accumulation of human beings, materials, and energies
Different geographical features have always influenced the development cost and development direction of urban built-up land; the sequence and manner of the influence of natural and human geographical features are different in urban built-up land expansion, which, in turn, reflect in the spatial pattern and utilization efficiency of land
Relatively simple natural geographical features lead to lower costs of urban built-up land development, they are more dependent on the land economy, which leads to rapid expansion of urban built-up land with a lower degree of urban built-up land intensive use, and is reflected on the landscape pattern

Summary

Introduction

Urbanization is a process of mass accumulation of human beings, materials, and energies. Regional concentration inevitably gives rise to a series of environmental and ecological problems, such as urban built-up land expansion [1–4], a shortage of water resources, urban heat islands [5,6], air pollution [7], traffic congestion, and so on. The blindness of urban built-up land expansion and disordered planning have led to the uncontrolled conversion of cultivated land into built-up land, which has created food security problems and landless farmers in some countries [8]. Urban built-up land expansion and encroachment on natural forests land and lakes have produced ecological problems, which have seriously threatened the survival of urban residents and species richness [9]. Governments have begun to realize the seriousness of the problems that have been caused by the urban built-up land expansion, and they are making great efforts to readjust and upgrade the industrial structure and land use for sustainable urban development [10,11]. Scientifically analyzing the differences in the expansion of urban built-up land will help us to understand the factors that affect urban expansion in different cities, formulate plans for urban land use, and control urban sprawl rationally

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Discussion

Conclusion