Temporal-spatial Characteristics of the Urbanization of Rural Land in Xinjiang

Abstract

Abstract Relying on remote sensor technology, GIS and Land-sat TM digital images, the authors use spatial and statistical analysis to examine the temporal-spatial characteristics of the change caused by urban construction in Xinjiang's rural areas from the end of the 1980s to the end of the 1990s. The primary findings show the following: 1) The urban construction in rural areas has increased drastically. The expansion speed of urban land use has accelerated over the past decade. The sub-land use changes caused by the urbanization of rural are characterized by salient regional differentiation among the three main regions and among the 85 counties of Xinjiang. 2) The shift of land use is mostly characterized by cultivated land and grassland being used for urban and industrial projects. Moreover, this change of land use is characteristic of regional differences. 3) Factors of rural-urban construction land use changes in Xinjiang, are undoubtedly affected by natural environment, social, economic conditions, a...