Spatiotemporal change of land use for deceased in Beijing since the mid-twentieth century

Abstract

Abstract The land use for the deceased is not only for the dead but also for the living relatives. It competes with land use for living populations in urban areas through occupying a specific space of land. This article looks at this shared interest in humankind by mapping the land use for the deceased in the mid-twentieth century and modern Beijing and address the sustainability of future land use for dead in Beijing. Specifically, it clarifies the change of its area and location in the urban–regional structure and also considers the background factors. In the 1930s, the spatial distribution of cemeteries in the mid-twentieth century was mapped using the old topographic maps and also mainly using city government materials for modern times. A comparison of land use between the two periods shows that the spatial land use for the deceased continues to be the characteristics of traditional funeral values, Feng Shui philosophy, spatial separation of the dead, and the population, such as public cemeteries surrounding the built-up area. The city government reduced the pressure on land resources by encouraging land-saving burial such as undersea burial, which affects the value of funerals for citizens, resulting in an area of cemetery per urban population.