Demand For Urban Land Research Articles

Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Nonlinear Negative Relationship between Urbanization and Habitat Quality in Metropolitan Areas

Urbanization intensity (UI) affects habitat quality (HQ) by changing land patterns, nutrient conditions, management, etc. Therefore, there is a need for studies on the relationship between UI and HQ and quantification of separate urbanization impacts on HQ. In this study, the relationship between HQ and UI and the direct and indirect impacts of urbanization on HQ were analyzed for the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA) from 1995 to 2010. The results indicated that the regional relationship between HQ and UI was nonlinear and negative, with inflection points where urbanization reached 20% and 80%. Furthermore, depending on different urbanization impacts, the relationship types generally changed from a steady decrease to stable in different cities. Negative indirect impacts accelerate habitat degradation, while positive impacts partially offset habitat degradation caused by land conversion. The average offset extent was approximately 28.23%, 17.41%, 22.94%, and 16.18% in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010, respectively. Moreover, the dependency of urbanization impacts on human demand in different urbanization stages was also demonstrated. The increasing demand for urban land has exacerbated the threat to ecological areas, but awareness about the need to protect ecological conditions began to strengthen after the antagonistic stage of urbanization.

Exploring the impacts of urban growth on carbon storage under integrated spatial regulation: A case study of Wuhan, China

Abstract The increasing demand for natural resources due to urban growth has led to sharp conflicts between urban land demand and environmental protection, causing problems such as decrease in the carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems. To achieve sustainable urban development, China has implemented spatial regulation to restrict urban growth, but there have been various conflicts among multiple spatial regulation plans. In this study, we explored the impact of urban growth on carbon storage under integrated spatial regulation in Wuhan, China by combining the SLEUTH and InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs) models. Firstly, the SLEUTH model was adopted to simulate the urban growth under different scenarios from 2015 to 2030. Then, the InVEST model was employed to explore the impacts of urban growth on regional carbon storage. The results showed that the integrated spatial regulation can reduce the growth rate of urban areas, decrease the use of natural resources by urban land, and alleviate the conflicts between the construction needs of urban development and environmental protection. Besides, under integrated spatial regulation, the encroachment rate of high carbon density land by urban growth is gradually slowed down, effectively reducing the loss of regional carbon storage. These findings indicate that the implementation of urban development strategies under integrated spatial regulation will better facilitate regional sustainable development than traditional urban planning.

The Ecological Politics Surrounding the Downsizing and Downgrading of Public Park: A Reflection on the History of Change of the Harare Gardens in Zimbabwe

The study of protected area downgrading and downsizing (PADD) in Africa has largely been confined to rustic and nature reserves outside urban boundaries. This study addresses the gap in research practice and puts a focus on urban public parks, a reference to Harare Gardens, located within central Harare. The case study of this important park engaged the political ecology lenses as a basis for understanding the significance of public parks in urban environments. Operationalization of the study involved interviews with various stakeholders including the city officials and experts in urban planning and conservation, as well as observations and examination of published documents. Several lessons and observations are made. First, downsizing is mainly a result of increasing demand for urban land in Harare, which seems to be exhausted. Second, downscaling was explained through eco-development where the City of Harare sought to maximize on land-use. Third, the rationale for the PADD of Harare Gardens has been mainly for selfish reasons by individuals who manipulate the land market in Harare and subsequently benefit from the process. Fourth, politics takes a central role in influencing the occurrence of PADD in Zimbabwe that has been the case with Harare Gardens. Our findings suggest that the decision to downsize Harare Gardens was largely politically driven considering that such occurrences have been on-going in the city and led to the downsizing and downgrading of other protected areas such as wetlands.

Delineating early warning zones in rapidly growing metropolitan areas by integrating a multiscale urban growth model with biogeography-based optimization

Urban agglomerations have become the core areas of new urbanization in China, leading to major structural adjustments in regional development patterns and thus threatening the ecosystem. Predicting future urban growth and delineating early warning zones can provide scientific guidance for land use planning and ecological protection. However, limited research has targeted fast-urbanizing metropolitan areas, which can be particularly difficult compared with existing approaches conducted in a single city. Another concern is that the adjustable demand of urban land in the future can invalidate simple and rigid zoning schemes. This study proposed a framework of delineating hierarchical early warning zones to represent different probabilities of potential development in vulnerable areas. Specifically, a multiscale urban growth model and biogeography-based optimization (BBO) were integrated for calibrating transition rules and simulating historical urban evolution (2005–2015) in the rapidly growing Yangtze River middle reaches megalopolis (YRMRM) in China. Then, the future urban land demand in 2025 was predicted under different economic development strategies, and multiple urban growth scenarios were simulated by coupling urban demand and spatial planning policies. Finally, simulation results of different scenarios were overlaid in a GIS environment to provide three levels of zones for the early warning of illegal development in the protected areas. Results indicate that BBO performed better in calibrating parameters of the urban growth model than did particle swarm optimization and genetic algorithm. The prediction of future urban dynamics suggests that urbanization will continue in this region until 2025, and these early warning areas should be given attention for farmland protection and ecological security in the YRMRM.

Informal Land Delivery and Tenure Security Institutions in Benin City, Nigeria

The informal sector in urban land supply has continued to meet the increasing demand for urban land owing to the deficiencies of the formal sector in Nigeria. But tenure security and equity in land supply have become the major issues that have evoked much concern in the sector. This article seeks to understand the provisions of tenure rights through customary institutions not as the binary opposite of the formal land titling but as a part of the continuum that includes the formal system in Benin City. Through focus group discussions with key informants in the customary land delivery systems and in-depth interviews of resident home owners in two selected communities, the customary practices that guarantee tenure security in the study area were identified. The article concludes that customary tenure institutions need to be modernised and customary tenure rights need to be recognised as alternative to statutory rights by the government.

Analysis of Flood Hydrograph to the Land Use Change on Flood Peak Discharge in the Sekanak Watershed

Land demands in urban areas are increasing with urbanization. To supply the urban land demand, various method are made including the over land function. The over land function if not properly planned will result in increased run-off in a watershed. The increased surface runoff will increase peak discharges and potentially cause flooding when capacity storages such as drainage and retention basins, as well as other low areas such as open areas and swamps are full. The effect of land use on peak discharge is a question that needs to be analyzed. The purpose of this study is to assess land use change and analyze peak flood discharge in the upstream of Sekanak watershed. The research methodology uses is spatial analysis that is doing DEM (Digital Elevation Model) analysis to determine river flow limit and determining of watershed characteristics and analysis of land use change in year 2004 and year 2014 influence to flood peak discharge in Sekanak watershed, due to rainfall factor. Peak discharge analysis was conducted with Nakayasu Synthetic Unit Hydrograpah. The result of this study is land use change increases the coefficient C value, causing the peak discharge in the 5 year return period to increase.

Simulating urban growth boundaries using a patch-based cellular automaton with economic and ecological constraints

ABSTRACTUrban growth boundaries (UGBs) have been applied in many rapid urbanizing areas to alleviate the problems of urban sprawl. Although empirical research has stressed the importance of ecological protection in UGB delineation, existing UGB models lack a component for the assessment of ecologically sensitive areas. To address this problem, we develop an innovative method that is capable of simulating UGB alternatives with economic and ecological constraints. Our method employs a patch-based cellular automaton (i.e. SA-Patch-CA) for simulating future urban growth, constrained by the ecological protection areas produced by an agent-based land allocation optimization model (AgentLA). The delineation of UGBs is also based on the estimated future urban land demand derived from support vector regression (SVR). The proposed method is applied in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. Three scenarios are designed to represent different objectives of future industrial transitions. The results indicate that increasing the shares of low energy consumption industries and tertiary industries can effectively reduce urban land demand. By overlapping the simulations, we found that the areal agreement of the simulated UGBs among the three scenarios accounts for approximately 88% of the total area. These areas can then be considered as the primary locations for establishing the UGBs.

THE POWER OF ACCESSIBILITY TO LAND PRICE IN SEMARANG URBAN CORRIDORS, INDONESIA

Urban land demand tends to keep increasing as a result of economic and population growths. The high intensity of activity will bring changes to land value. The corridors of Semarang - Ungaran and Semarang - Mranggen have significant differences in land values despite being at relatively the same distance to city centre. Similarly, the rate of land price change in these two corridors are also different. The study aims to examine and prove the effect of distance to city centre toward land price in downtown areas by employing statistical correlation analysis and accessibility calculation. The result reveals that distance to city centre has no longer effect land prices. It was found that the farther from the city centre the land prices decreases gradually but increases at road nodes that connect to the trip generation points such as toll road gate, residential area and commercial area or shopping centre.

THE POWER OF ACCESSIBILITY TO LAND PRICE IN SEMARANG URBAN CORRIDORS, INDONESIA

Urban land demand tends to keep increasing as a result of economic and population growths. The high intensity of activity will bring changes to land value. The corridors of Semarang - Ungaran and Semarang - Mranggen have significant differences in land values despite being at relatively the same distance to city centre. Similarly, the rate of land price change in these two corridors are also different. The study aims to examine and prove the effect of distance to city centre toward land price in downtown areas by employing statistical correlation analysis and accessibility calculation. The result reveals that distance to city centre has no longer effect land prices. It was found that the farther from the city centre the land prices decreases gradually but increases at road nodes that connect to the trip generation points such as toll road gate, residential area and commercial area or shopping centre.

Social Sustainability and Redevelopment of Urban Villages in China: A Case Study of Guangzhou

Rapid economic development in China has generated substantial demand for urban land for development, resulting in an unprecedented urbanization process. The expansion of urbanized cities has started to engulf rural areas, making the urban–rural boundary less and less conspicuous in China. Urban encroachment has led to a rapid shrinkage of the rural territory as the rural–urban migration has increased due to better job opportunities and living standards in the urban cities. Urban villages, governed by a rural property rights mechanism, have started to emerge sporadically within urbanised areas. Various approaches, such as state-led, developer-led, or collective-led approaches, to redevelop these urban villages have been adopted with varying degrees of success. This paper uses a case-study framework to analyse the state–market interplay in two very different urban village redevelopment cases in Guangzhou. By an in-depth comparative analysis of the two regeneration cases in Guangzhou, which started within close proximity in terms of geographical location and timing, we are able to shed light on how completely different outcomes may result from different forms of state–market interplay. It is found that a neoliberal policy approach that aims at coordinating state resources with market forces rather than discarding the state’s role provides a more satisfactory outcome in urban village redevelopment when there are a lot of stakeholders involved each with different agendas. The state maintains a good balance of the power-play in the process with a clear and supportive policy and regulatory guidance, leaving the market to function more effectively and satisfactorily in effectuating capital flow for the project, which helps to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Analysis of the Impact of Economic Growth on Urban Land Expansion in Sichuan Province

Based on the panel data of the urban land expansion and economic growth of 18 prefecture- level cities in Sichuan province from 2000 to 2014, this paper analyzes the relationship between the regional economic development and urban land expansion by constructing the econometric model of the area of the built-up area, the economic aggregate and the economic structure variables. The results show that: (1) The evolution law of urban land expansion and economic growth in Sichuan province "N" three times, which basically conforms to the characteristics of Kuznets curve; (2) The change of economic structure will affect the urban land expansion and the area of built-up area - per capita income curve.The increase of the proportion of secondary industry, fiscal expenditure and fiscal revenue will reduce the demand for urban land, so that the area of built-up area - per capita income curve flattens out. On the contrary, the increase in the level of foreign trade, the increase of input-output ratio and the decline of the proportion of the tertiary industry will increase the demand for urban land, making the built-up area - per capita income curve steeper.

An urban proletariat with peasant characteristics: land occupations and livestock raising in South Africa

ABSTRACTMany scholars in South Africa associate urbanization with an ideal typical proletariat whose primary demands revolve around access to land for housing, wage labor and basic services. However, in Cape Town long-term urban residents are occupying land for raising livestock – a quintessential peasant activity. Drawing on research conducted over the course of six years at land occupation sites in Cape Town, this contribution argues that capitalist development has led to the emergence of an ‘urban proletariat with peasant characteristics’ and to a strong latent demand for urban land for agricultural pursuits. These land occupations are reconceptualized as an important part of the current wave of urban struggles dubbed the ‘rebellion of the poor’. The land and agrarian question is, accordingly, acquiring an urban dimension that needs to be brought to the center of our research and debates.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of land use changes in response to external pressures in Oman: Greenhouse cropping as an example

Further from the northern coast of Oman new farm developments were more frequent than closer to the coast; they were also larger. The density of farms was highest close to Muscat although the distance enclosing 50% of farms had shifted away from Muscat during the study period. The dominance of Muscat is likely to be related to access to markets and infrastructure development. The increase in groundwater salinity was also highest close to Muscat and may be responsible for the shift in greenhouse density. Salinization of groundwater is severe close to the coast and was responsible for the reduced density of greenhouses near the coast. Land abandonment was highest close to Muscat and to the coast, reflecting changes in groundwater salinity and urbanization pressure. Less evidence was available for a direct shift from farmland to urban land use. Recent urban developments were largely located in areas already abandoned by agriculture. The paper also discusses likely future trends in land use change given that Oman’s population is increasing at over 2% annually and demand for urban land is increasing. The identification of a “salinity corridor” within which much of the future land use change may occur is discussed.

Land readjustment as an alternative land development tool for peri-urban areas of Ethiopia

Purpose– The rapid urban population growth in Ethiopia is causing an increasing demand for urban land, which primarily tends to be supplied by expropriation of peri-urban land. The process of urban development in Ethiopia is largely criticized for forced displacement and disruption of the peri-urban local community. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to introduce how Ethiopia’s urban development system could be built on the participatory and inclusive approaches of land acquisition.Design/methodology/approach– The study has employed questionnaire survey results, focus group discussion with panel of experts and previous research reports to examine the peri-urban situations and then to show why an alternative land development approach is needed to be introduced in the urban land development system of Ethiopia. Desk review on land readjustment was also made to explore best lessons from other countries applicable to the peri-urban contexts of Ethiopia.Findings– This study has explored that land readjustment is potentially an appropriate land development tool to alleviate peri-urban land development limitations in Ethiopia.Practical implications– Researchers, policy makers and government bodies that are interested in peri-urban land would appreciate and consider implementing the adapted land readjustment model as an alternative land development tool. Consequently, the local peri-urban landholders’ rights would be protected and maintained in the process of urbanization.Originality/value– Although land readjustment has the potential to achieve participatory peri-urban land development, awareness of the method in the Ethiopian urban land development system is inadequate. This study contributes to fill this gap and create an insight into the basic conditions for the adaption of the tool.

Geo-information Based Spatio-temporal Modeling of Urban Land Use and Land Cover Change in Butwal Municipality, Nepal

Abstract. Unscientific utilization of land use and land cover due to rapid growth of urban population deteriorates urban condition. Urban growth, land use change and future urban land demand are key concerns of urban planners. This paper is aimed to model urban land use change essential for sustainable urban development. GI science technology was employed to study the urban change dynamics using Markov Chain and CA-Markov and predicted the magnitude and spatial pattern. It was performed using the probability transition matrix from the Markov chain process, the suitability map of each land use/cover types and the contiguity filter. Suitability maps were generated from the MCE process where weight was derived from the pair wise comparison in the AHP process considering slope, land capability, distance to road, and settlement and water bodies as criterion of factor maps. Thematic land use land cover types of 1999, 2006, and 2013 of Landsat sensors were classified using MLC algorithm. The spatial extent increase from 1999 to 2013 in built up , bush and forest was observed to be 48.30 percent,79.48 percent and 7.79 percent, respectively, while decrease in agriculture and water bodies were 30.26 percent and 28.22 percent. The predicted urban LULC for 2020 and 2027 would provide useful inputs to the decision makers. Built up and bush expansion are explored as the main driving force for loss of agriculture and river areas and has the potential to continue in future also. The abandoned area of river bed has been converted to built- up areas.

Investigation of formaldehyde and TVOC in underground malls in Xi'an, China: Concentrations, sources, and affecting factors

Along with the speeding up of Chinese urbanization process, the contradiction between urban land demand and supply had increased significantly, more and more underground structures appeared, and were used as crowed shopping malls, etc. However, concentrations of formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) in underground malls were higher than that of outdoors. In this study, concentration levels of formaldehyde and TVOC were investigated from 9 underground malls in Xi'an, China. Simultaneously, the sources and affecting factors were discussed. Results showed that the mass concentrations of formaldehyde and TVOC in underground malls exceeded the allowed figures and the over-standard rate reached 66.7% and 77.8%, respectively. The mean mass concentrations of formaldehyde and TVOC in all 9 underground malls ranged from 0.05 mg/m3 to 0.26 mg/m3 and from 0.34 mg/m3 to 3.56 mg/m3, respectively. The concentrations of formaldehyde and TVOC pollution were more serious in oversize underground malls than those in small ones. The main pollution sources of formaldehyde and TVOC in underground malls were interior decoration materials and merchandises sold, which illustrated that the lack of ventilation volume in the underground malls. Further analysis indicated that a strong negative correlation existed between formaldehyde and TVOC concentrations and indoor air velocity, while those significant positive correlations existed between formaldehyde and TVOC concentrations and indoor temperature and indoor relative humidity, respectively. Correlations noted that increased indoor ventilation rates or reduced the indoor temperature and indoor relative humidity appeared to decrease the indoor concentrations of formaldehyde and TVOC.

Dynamics of Urban Density in China: Estimations Based on DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

In China, rapid urbanization has increased the demand for urban land and intensified the conflict between limited land resources and urban development. In response, high urban density has been proposed to realize sustainable urban development. Achieving this goal requires an examination of the dynamics of urban density in China. Nighttime light (NTL) data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) are a good indicator of human activity. We applied NTL data to measure urban density in 70 major cities in China during 1992–2010. Based on temporal changes in NTL, we identified seven classes of urban density and clustered the distributions of urban density in 70 cities into six types. The dynamics of urban density were then obtained from the GDP density as an index of city development. The curves of urban density distribution gradually changed from a concave increase to W-shaped and S-shaped to a concave decrease, indicating that the current urban land use in China is unsustainable and that the shortage of land resources must be addressed. An examination of the distribution of urban density in Hong Kong revealed a different pattern and a potential solution for cities in mainland China.

Exploring Land Development Dynamics in Rural-Urban Fringes: A Reflection on Why Agriculture is Being Squeezed Out by Urban Land Uses in the Nairobi Rural–Urban Fringe?

Rapid urban growth has led to an increasing demand for urban land. This land is not readily available within city, but in the rural–urban fringe, due to variety of factors. The conversion of land in rural–urban fringe is leading to the rapid transformations. This article, based on qualitative research approach, explores urbanization in Nairobi rural–urban fringe as a case study, while comparing the situation with literature from other situations in developing countries. This article appreciates that urbanization in an urbanizing context such as in rural–urban fringes need be understood at different scales, that’s site or situational. Separating urbanization pressures is not easy and any attempt to classify them in this article does not in any way show that they are independent of each other. The article concludes that urbanization of rural–urban fringes is contingent upon many factors, primary of which is population increase through natural growth and immigration. Population growth is thus a necessary condition for the urbanization in rural–urban fringe. The process that produces population growth is however a subset of the processes that produces urbanization of rural–urban fringe.

Do Supply Restrictions Raise the Value of Urban Land? The (Neglected) Role of Production Externalities

Restriction on the supply of new urban land is commonly thought to raise the value of existing urban land. Our paper questions this view. We develop a tractable production-externality-based circular city model in which firms and workers choose locations and intensity of land use. Consistent with evidence, the model implies exponentially decaying density and price gradients. For plausible parameter values, an increase in the demand for urban land can lead to a smaller increase in urban rents in cities that cannot expand physically because they are less able to exploit the positive external effect of greater employment density. ; Supersedes Working Paper 12-25.

Interference of Human Impacts in Urban Growth Modelling with Transition Rules of Cellular Automata, GIS and Multi-Temporal Satellite Imagery: A Case Study of Maraghe, Iran

Urban growth is the result of physical and human impacts. In this study Cellular Automata (CA) has been used to analyze physical suitability and human forces in urban growth modelling of Maraghe. The multi-temporal satellite imagery, physical suitability and human impacts Layers have been applied to the modelling. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the image classification methods, Fuzzy ARTMAP is compared with Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) and Minimum Distance Classification (MDC) methods. The image classification results showed an overall accuracy of 93 %. Therefore, it is employed for classification of multi-temporal satellite imagery. In order to weight physical suitability and human impacts layers or geographical transition rules in the modelling, regression analysis, the correlation coefficient, trial-and-error method and visual comparison used. The statistical methods are presented to validate neighbourhood scales in the urban growth modelling. The calibration of the model is in fact to the estimate value of the physical suitability and human impacts layer (combinatory layer of demand for urban land and the government facilities) in the modelling. The results obtained from the model calibration showed that human impacts have the highest influence in the urban growth among other factors. Also a small neighbourhood scale (25:5 × 5 cells) is more realistic in the modeling. The accuracy of final validation is 83 % and the final scenario is based on this validation. A fuzzy CA has been used in urban growth modeling of Maraghe. The final scenario shows that Maraghe will growth on the east side, where the land demand for built up area and government facilities plays the significant role.