Abstract
This study examines the temporal and spatial changes in land use as aconsequence of rapid urban development in the city of Beijing. Using a combination oftechniques of remote sensing and GIS, the study identifies a substantial loss of plaindryland and a phenomenal expansion of urban construction land over the recent decade.Geographically, there is a clear shifting of urban construction land from the inner city tothe outskirts as a consequence of suburbanization. The outward expansion of the ring-roadsystem is found to be one of the most important driving forces explaining the temporal andspatial pattern of land use change. The uneven distribution of population stands as anotherfactor with significant correlation with land use change. The application of the techniquesof remote sensing and GIS can enhance the precision and comparability of research onland use change and urban transformation in China.
Highlights
One of the most influential bodies of literature generated in recent decades has concerned the growth and transformation of “world cities”, “global cities”, and “global city-regions” as both the integral part and direct outcome of globalization [1,2,3,4]
The Chinese documentation of world cities has been overwhelmingly concerned with what qualify a city to be a “world city” and what should be done to promote a Chinese city to the world city rank
The census revealed a trend of growing concentration of the urban population in a few large cities on the open and economically advanced eastern coast. Large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have attracted a large number of migrants because of their advantageous positions as both centers of economic growth and destinations of foreign capital investments [16,17]
Summary
One of the most influential bodies of literature generated in recent decades has concerned the growth and transformation of “world cities”, “global cities”, and “global city-regions” as both the integral part and direct outcome of globalization [1,2,3,4]. Large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have attracted a large number of migrants because of their advantageous positions as both centers of economic growth and destinations of foreign capital investments [16,17] These Chinese cities are economically not as significant as such “world cities” as New York, London, and Tokyo, their continued expansion has posed great challenges for our theoretical understanding of urban transformation in a transitional planned economy and for planning and policy making for the betterment of over one-fifth of humankind [13,18,19]. We conclude the paper with a summary of the main findings of our research and a discussion of future research directions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
