Abstract
Urbanization has been driven by various social, economic, and political factors around the world for centuries. Because urbanization continues unabated in many places, it is crucial to understand patterns of urbanization and their potential ecological and environmental impacts. Given this need, the objectives of our study were to quantify urban growth rates, growth modes, and resultant changes in the landscape pattern of urbanization in Hanoi, Vietnam from 1993 to 2010 and to evaluate the extent to which the process of urban growth in Hanoi conformed to the diffusion-coalescence theory. We analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns and dynamics of the built-up land in Hanoi using landscape expansion modes, spatial metrics, and a gradient approach. Urbanization was most pronounced in the periods of 2001–2006 and 2006–2010 at a distance of 10 to 35 km around the urban center. Over the 17 year period urban expansion in Hanoi was dominated by infilling and edge expansion growth modes. Our findings support the diffusion-coalescence theory of urbanization. The shift of the urban growth areas over time and the dynamic nature of the spatial metrics revealed important information about our understanding of the urban growth process and cycle. Furthermore, our findings can be used to evaluate urban planning policies and aid in urbanization issues in rapidly urbanizing countries.
Highlights
Today, more than half of the world’s population live in urban areas [1, 2] and is expected to continue growing in the future
Cities in Vietnam have rapidly urbanized since the country adopted the economic reform in 1986
The urban growth dynamics were described by relative dominance of infilling, edge expansion, and spontaneous growth modes across the landscape in which infilling and edge expansion were the dominant types
Summary
More than half of the world’s population live in urban areas [1, 2] and is expected to continue growing in the future. In order to accommodate this urban growth land is transformed from one land use or land cover to a form of urban land. This transformation (i.e. urbanization) is one of the most powerful, irreversible, and visible impacts humans have on the environment [3, 4]. Urbanization provides many beneficial aspects to human society, such as boosting the economy, enhancing society, providing cultural and educational centers, and increasing economic productivity. Urbanization leads to significant landscape and ecosystem transformations and creates a host of problems, including.
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