Abstract
Understanding the integration process of urban agglomeration is essential for sustainable regional development and urban planning. However, few studies have analyzed the spatial integration patterns of metropolitan regions according to the impacts of landscape ecology along rail transit corridors. This study performed a comprehensive inter-city gradient analysis using landscape metrics and radar charts in order to determine the integration characteristics of an urban agglomeration. Specifically, we analyzed the evolution of spatial heterogeneity and functional landscapes along gradient transects in the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan (CZT) metropolitan region during the period of 1995–2015. Four landscape functional zones (urban center, urban area, urban–rural fringe, and green core) were identified based on a cluster analysis of landscape composition, connectivity, and fragmentation. The landscape metric NP/LPI (number of patches/largest patch index) was proposed to identify the urban–rural fringe, which revealed that the CZT region exhibited a more aggregated form, characterized by a single-core, continuous development, and the compression of green space. The integration of cities has resulted in continued compression and fragmentation of ecological space. Therefore, strategies for controlling urban expansion should be adopted for sustainable urban development. The proposed method can be used to quantify the integration characteristics of urban agglomerations, providing scientific support for urban landscape planning.
Highlights
Cities are usually the main carriers of capital, labor, and information
Three key questions are addressed: (a) What are the spatiotemporal heterogeneity characteristics of urban expansion in an urban agglomeration? (b) What are the differences in urban expansion heterogeneity and integration between the regional scale and the scale of a prefectural-level city? (c) What is the dynamic pattern of urban integration in a metropolitan region and the impacts on the ecological environment? The contribution of this study is to provide a new perspective of the integration process of urban agglomeration
Studies have shown that urban expansion with land use/land cover (LULC) changes is a global issue with extensive impacts on the ecosystem, human wellbeing, and landscape sustainability [6,47,55]
Summary
Cities are usually the main carriers of capital, labor, and information. A large number of the world’s population has settled in urban areas; this figure is projected to increase to approximately 6.3 billion by 2050 [1]. Due to city-centered regional development and industrialization, the spatial evolution of urban land will be characterized by alternating processes of diffusion and coalescence, which will inevitably lead to urban agglomeration [2,3]. Defined as megalopolises or metropolitan areas, are an advanced form of spatial organization for cities, characterized by contiguous areas of constantly developed urban territories with increasing economic interconnection [4]. Identifying the structures, inter-city interactions, and impact factors of urban agglomerations is a fundamental societal challenge, and essential for understanding sustainable regional development trends and supporting urban planning and decision-making [13]
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