Abstract
The level of urbanization is a key factor in urban development. In this study, to better characterize the level of urbanization, the panel entropy weight method is used to weight the factors of population, industry, and area to construct a composite indicator of urbanization. A panel regression between this composite index and the average night light values after fusion shows a strong correlation. An accuracy test indicates that the estimated value of fused average light as calculated by the urbanization level estimation model that adequately represents the urbanization level. On this basis, night light data is corrected for zero error on the pixel scale, and spatiotemporal evolution analyses are performed on the city and county scales. The standard deviation ellipse method is used to find that the spatial distribution pattern of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urbanization level from 1995 to 2018 radiates and spreads to the northeast, with Beijing-Tianjin as the center. The spatial pattern shows a contracting trend that is strengthening year by year. Slope analyses show that areas with rapid urbanization growth are mainly concentrated in Beijing and Tianjin. The urbanization development speed of most counties in the Hebei Province is at a low level.
Highlights
Urbanization refers to the spatial and demographic process whereby towns and cities gain importance with the concentration of population in a given economy and society [1].Throughout history, urbanization has always been a key factor in the development process [2]
(1) The fixed-effects model showed that the composite urbanization index produced had a strong correlation with the fused NTL data
The empirical results showed that after correction, it is appropriate to use night light data to indicate the level of urbanization
Summary
Urbanization refers to the spatial and demographic process whereby towns and cities gain importance with the concentration of population in a given economy and society [1]. Throughout history, urbanization has always been a key factor in the development process [2]. According to China’s National New Urbanization Plan (2014–2020), released in 2014, the urbanization rate of permanent residents in China will reach about 60% by. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2019 there were 848 million permanent urban residents in China, 60.6 percent of the total population, 4.5 percentage points higher than at the end of 2015, reaching the planned target one year ahead of schedule. China’s economic development has entered a new normal of structural adjustment, in which urbanization is considered an important engine of China’s economic growth [5]
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