Abstract
Urban bare lots are persistent phenomena in urban landscapes in the course of urbanization. In the present study, we examined the spatio-temporal distribution of urban bare lots in low-slope hilly areas, and to assess the major pathways by which they are generated and later re-transformed for exploitation. We extracted land use and land cover (LULC) change information and analyzed spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of urban bare lots using Landsat TM/OLI series remote sensing images. Subsequently, we proposed an index system for their evaluation and classification, and identified five types of urban bare lots. Urban bare lot quantity and distribution are closely correlated with human activity intensity. Stakeholders should consider the multiple effects of location, topography, landscape index, transportation, service facilities, and urban planning in urban bare lot classification activities for renovation and re-transformation.
Highlights
Urban bare lots refer to properties with surfaces that comprise mainly soil and minimal vegetation cover [1, 2], which is a pressing issue in many cities worldwide [3]
Concern over urban bare lots stems from the phenomenon of "counter-urbanization", but it was not until the 21st century that the issue gradually became an important part of urban land use research
Selecting the urban bare lots in 2017 as the target of the study and using the above classification method, we developed a comprehensive list of indexes, such as location, topography, landscape, traffic convenience, service facilities and urban planning class, and used them to evaluate urban bare lots in Mianyang City
Summary
Urban bare lots refer to properties with surfaces that comprise mainly soil and minimal vegetation cover [1, 2], which is a pressing issue in many cities worldwide [3]. Human activities directly or indirectly lead to the degradation of surface vegetation and the formation of bare surfaces through the expansion of residential areas, open-pit mining, urban infrastructure construction, etc. The alarming growth rate of urban bare lots, whether in shrinking or sprawling cities in many countries [6, 7], aggravates urban dust [8] and air particle pollution [9, 10], as well as the deterioration of the urban ecological environment [11], even to the extent of reducing the quality of human life [12].
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