Abstract
A large number of studies have dealt with the driven forces of land expansion, in which the remote sensing data and statistical data are most commonly used. The recent progress based on the statistical data have not been fully tested and discussed by the remote sensing data, and the remote sensing data used in the previous studies are usually interpreted within certain areas which is not convenient for global comparison. In this paper, the 30-m GlobalLand Cover Dataset (GlobeLand30) and socioeconomic data from 2000 to 2010 are adopted to investigate the factors driving impervious surface expansion in China based on a multilevel regression model. The GlobeLand30 provides a world-wide data framework which has a sound basis for regional comparison research. The variables are selected according to the existing research. Most, but not all, results are consistent with the previous studies when using impervious surface data of GlobeLand30. The main findings are: (1) the market demand caused by economic development, such as the increase in GDP from 2000 to 2010, plays a positive role in the expansion of developed land; (2) the land supply, as reflected by the ratio of the total of land transfer fees to fiscal revenue, also has a positive effect on the increase in impervious surfaces; (3) the percentage of the increase by private workers to the increase in total workers and certain other frequently-used variables are not relevant after controlling for land demand- and supply-related variables; and (4) the growth in impervious surfaces is related to the amount of the cultivated land, which implies the necessity for a more stringent farmland protection policy. Considering the need to compare across regions, we suggest that GlobeLand30 should be used for more studies to better understand the driving forces of land expansion.
Highlights
In the background of fast urbanization and industrialization in China, the growth of cities and towns is accompanied by an intensive transformation of the original landscape into impervious surfaces
The results indicate that the models can pass the chi-squared test with a high significance and a p-value of less than 0.01, which suggests that the models are statistically valid
As compared with the previous studies based on statistical data, our results indicate that the local economic growth is most relative to the expansion of impervious surfaces, while some other characteristics, such as FDI or DZ, are less relative, though they may significantly contribute to the statistical numbers
Summary
In the background of fast urbanization and industrialization in China, the growth of cities and towns is accompanied by an intensive transformation of the original landscape into impervious surfaces. Many studies have focused on the drivers of land development, aiming at an in-depth understanding of the patterns of human activity and rationally guiding further development [11,12,13]. These studies indicate that the patterns and driving forces of the growth in developed land in China are quite different from those in the western world, and these differences are closely related to the institutional context of China
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
