Development Of Urban Agglomerations Research Articles

The development of urban agglomeration in a pandemic

The features of the modern development of urban agglomerations should be considered from the standpoint of the changed conditions of the socio-ecological space. They are associated with the situation of a pandemic, which is especially aggravated in large cities. Since Kazan is a developing city, the possibilities of creating new conditions on the territory of expansion were considered. Two aspects of design are considered, which are associated with the study of the clinical manifestations of viral diseases and the formation of resilience in the organization of the environment for elderly people. The study highlights the main features of design approaches for centers studying human immunology and residential clusters that take into account the characteristics of the elderly. In the context of the territory, design principles were proposed, considered as infrastructure principles and residential cluster principles. The infrastructure associated with human learning is expressed in the following: isolation, planning cyclicality, polyfunctionality, accessibility for the elderly. Residential development is based on: spatial identity, human scale of the environment, continuity of communications, inclusion in the natural environment. Thus, it seems possible to work out a unique solution in terms of sustainable development of previously abandoned territories. Attentive attitude to landscape components is on a par with a humanistic attitude towards the most vulnerable groups of the population.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ И РАЗВИТИЕ ГОРОДСКИХ АГЛОМЕРАЦИЙ: ТЕОРЕТИКО-МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЙ

The article systematizes the scientific heritage of retrospective and a number of modern domestic and foreign theories of urban agglomeration. The subject of the study is the analysis of the fundamental theories of the formation and development of urban agglomerations, starting from ancient times through the modern period. The aim of the study is a comprehensive analysis of scientific schools and trends that are the conceptual platform of the theory of agglomeration, in order to develop possible directions for further promising trends related to the theory of agglomeration development. The following research methods are used in the article: methods of theoretical knowledge, general logical methods and research techniques (abstraction and generalization, induction and deduction, system approach, structural and functional method, methods of comparative analysis).The result of the study is the analysis and justification of the most promising directions of foreign and domestic theories of agglomeration processes. The scope of application of the results is that along with other works, the article expands the scientific field of fundamental research related to the theory of spatial development in the context of the theory of urban agglomerations. As a result of the analysis, conclusions are drawn about the priority trends of scientific research in the theory of agglomeration, focused on the search for reserves to improve the efficiency of spatial management by activating agglomeration processes.

Analysis on the Development of Tokyo Rail Transit and Its Enlightenment to Chengdu

With the introduction of the intensive urban development model, urban rail transit, as a rapidly developing inter-city spatial association network, has become increasingly prominent in promoting social and economic development and has an important influence on the shaping of regional spatial structure. Taking the practical experience of Japan’s rail transit development as an example, this article first combs its development history and summarizes the three organizational characteristics of its development model: diversified business entities, TOD model, and efficient use of underground space. On this basis, it summarizes Japan’s success. Experience and design techniques for the utilization of underground space, and put forward several optimized development suggestions based on the current status and problems of the development of urban rail transit hub in Chengdu, providing reference and reference for building a multi-mode, multi-level, and coordinated regional integrated rail transit system For reference, in order to better play the supporting role of rail transit network on the development and growth of urban agglomerations in our country.

Нормативно-документальное обеспечение устойчивого развития городских агломераций в РФ

The article considers the experience of classification documents of the territorial planning and management of urban agglomerations in the Russian Federation. We have analyzed the documents of the federal level the main aim of which is regulating the processes of formation and development of agglomerations in the country. The documents developed in the regions over the past ten years, which regulate the functioning of all Russian urban agglomerations including laws, concepts, strategies, territorial planning schemes, inter-municipal agreements, and regulations on the activities of coordination councils are considered in detail. A comparative analysis of the documents allowed us to group agglomerations according to the degree of representation of the regulatory and documentary basis. There are five groups of agglomerations that differ in the number of documents and the degree of elaboration of agglomeration issues. The results revealed a significant gap between the selected groups. For agglomerations of the first and second groups we have prepared the complete sets of documentation, which reflect sufficiently the main parameters of agglomerations as integral system formations. For agglomerations included in the fourth group, there are no special documents, there are also some relevant materials in the regional documents of strategic and territorial planning which are characterized by poor elaboration. Agglomerations of the fifth group are not provided with regulatory documents at all, they are not considered as special formations. The analysis can contribute to improving the methodology of agglomeration development, understanding the need to expand and improve approaches to the management of urban agglomerations as integral objects. It is obvious that the urgent problem of sustainable development and functioning of urban agglomerations is the need to develop an innovative management model, its coordination with the regulatory framework of regional management structures, and a clear definition of conceptual and terminological and spatial-structural parameters.

Performance of special engineering and geological researches in the territories of industrial and urban agglomerations

Formulation of the problem. The article is devoted to the description of the implementation of special engineering-geological researches in the territories of industrial and urban agglomerations. The purpose of the article is to show the possibilities of special geophysical researches while studying hazardous geological processes and the determination of the physical and mechanical properties of soils under the foundations of buildings in conditions of dense urban development. Materials and methods. To achieve the main goal, special equipment was used in the work – a horizontal sounding and logging unit. It is intended for mass and most reliable research of soil properties at the base of existing buildings and structures. Using this installation, the following tasks are solved: drilling horizontal wells; selection of soil monoliths; static sounding using «Pika» equipment; radioactive logging; pressiometric researches of soils; immersion of injectors to consolidate the soil. Results. Analysis of the performed engineering and geological surveys at the site of the emergency workshop № 22 of PA «Krasitel» in the city of Rubezhnoye, Lugansk region and at the site of reconstruction of the hostel on the street Studencheskaya, 4 in Kharkov showed the possibility of using special geophysical research in the conditions of industrial and urban agglomerations. To find out the cause of the emergency deformation of the structure of the emergency workshop № 22 of PA «Krasitel», a study of soils was carried out using the method of radioactive logging. Obtained results are presented in the form of a diagram of the isodensity of the base soils. Zone of decompaction of the base soils has been identified and delineated. Based on the materials obtained, it was concluded that the main reason for the collapse of a part of the building is the additional subsidence of the foundations as a result of mechanical removal of soils into the destroyed sewer collector located below the base of the foundations. On the site of reconstruction of the hostel on the street Studencheskaya, 4 in Kharkov, the density of soils under the foundations of the existing building was determined by the method of gamma-gamma logging. It was found that under the foundations in the zone of stress development, an increase in the density of the foundation soils is recorded. Outside the stressed zone (between foundations), the density of soils is significantly reduced and corresponds to the background values. Scientific novelty and practical significance. Scientific novelty – the choice of a complex of special geophysical studies in researches of hazardous geological processes and to determine the physical and mechanical properties of soils under the foundations of buildings in conditions of dense urban development of industrial and urban agglomerations is scientifically substantiated. Practical application of the proposed results – the validity of the use of geophysical methods in the practice of exploration work on a par with the traditionally used equipment has been confirmed.

Research on the Impact of Industrial Development on Energy Utilization Efficiency under the Background of Urban Agglomeration Planning

At present, the trend of central cities leading the development of urban agglomerations and urban agglomerations driving regional development is becoming more and more significant. Based on the panel data of 16 cities in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration from 2010 to 2015, this paper uses a fixedeffect model to study the relationship between industrial development and energy efficiency in urban agglomerations, central cities, and surrounding cities. The empirical results show that for the overall urban agglomerations, central cities and surrounding cities, the scale of the secondary industry has a negative correlation with energy consumption per unit of GDP. Industrial development will increase the total energy consumption, but it also contributes to energy efficiency. In order to achieve the goal of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality", cities must find a balance in development and seek ecological protection during development.

Research on the coordination degree of ecological protection and high-quality development of urban agglomerations in the Yellow River Basin

The Yellow River Basin is ecologically fragile, the relationship between water and sand is unbalanced and water resources are scarce. This paper takes the urban agglomerations in the Yellow River Basin as the research object, based on the guidelines for the coordinated promotion of ecological protection and high-quality development in the basin, and uses the entropy weight method and the coefficient of variation method as the means to establish a quantitative evaluation system for coordinated development. The degree of synergy is between ecological protection and high-quality development of the urban agglomerations from the time dimension and the space dimension, and we give the optimization directions. The results show that the degree of synergy among urban agglomerations in the river basin is steadily increasing, but there are significant spatial differences in the degree of coordination of ecological protection and high-quality development of the urban agglomerations and the development index of its subsystems. The degree of synergy generally presents a cascade distribution pattern that gradually decreases from east to west and from downstream to upstream. The ecological destruction, economic fluctuations and water waste of the river basin urban agglomeration are the main factors hindering the improvement of synergy.

Prediction and Early Warning of Regional Coordinated Development Based on Convolution Neural Network Algorithm.

In order to respond to the regional coordinated development of the country, it is necessary to put forward a method that can predict and analyze the development trend according to the current development situation. In view of this, the research will carry on the present situation and forecast analysis to the coordinated development of urban agglomeration in Western China. Firstly, the 3E system is used to establish the regional coordination degree evaluation model, and on this basis, the ellipsoid model is introduced for better coordination degree evaluation. In addition, in order to improve the prediction ability of the model, the convolution neural network is used to realize the big data analysis of the model. The results show that the overall coordination degree of the western urban agglomeration is in a weak coordination state in 2015, but the coordination degree of the region will reach 147.35 in 2020. The results show that the overall coordination degree of western urban agglomeration will gradually show a good trend, but the change speed is slow. The above results show that the prediction model in the study has strong practicability, the calculation results can fit the current situation, and the good prediction ability can provide decision-making suggestions for many governments.

珠三角城市群生态空间分区方法与管控对策

生态空间管控是维护区域生态安全，解决区域生态供需矛盾的重要手段。生态空间分区一直是生态管控的热点问题，对促进城市群可持续发展具有重要意义。以珠三角城市群为例，基于政策目标、民众需求、专家知识等方面综合构建评价体系，开展了基于生态空间质量和生态系统健康评价的生态空间分区的探索研究。结果表明：珠三角城市群生态空间约占城市群面积的82.8%，生态空间质量好，但生态系统健康水平低。城市尺度肇庆市、深圳市生态空间质量较高，珠海市、中山市生态空间质量较低；惠州市、肇庆市生态系统健康水平较高，佛山市、中山市生态系统健康水平较低。综合生态空间质量和生态系统健康，区域尺度将城市群生态空间分为重点保护区、重点修复区、潜在修复区和生态保育区。重点保护区占生态空间总面积的10.1%，是区域生态源地，应实行最严格的环境保护制度，划定生态保护红线和自然保护地，加强生态建设和生物多样性保护，并加强生态连通性建设，提升区域整体生态系统服务；重点修复区占生态空间总面积的21.6%，以生态修复，实施生态治理工程，推进生态产业为主；潜在修复区占生态空间总面积的13.1%，以保护优先、自然恢复为主，对生态空间进行全面的养护，保护和提升品质，重点提升生态系统服务；生态保育区占生态空间总面积的55.2%，重点实施生态廊道建设，同时加强区域高标准农田建设，在保护生态空间的基础上合理开展生产建设活动。对生态空间分区管控的研究可方便决策者对生态修复空间和生态保护空间进行识别和分类管理，有效指导国土空间规划和区域生态环境管理体系的完善。;Ecological space management is an important means to maintain regional ecological security and solve the imbalance between regional ecological supply and demand. The classification of ecological space has always been a hot issue in the ecological management and plays an important role in promoting the sustainable development of urban agglomeration. This paper takes the urban agglomeration of Pearl River Delta as an example, based on the policy goals, public preferences, and expert knowledge of urban agglomeration to comprehensively construct the evaluation system. The initial study of the ecological space management zoning was conducted on the basis of the evaluation of the ecological space quality and ecosystem health. The results showed that the ecological space accounted for 82.8% of the area of the urban agglomeration. The quality of the ecological space was good, but the level of the ecosystem health was low. At the urban scale, the ecological space quality of Zhaoqing and Shenzhen was higher, that of Zhuhai and Zhongshan was lower; the ecosystem health of Huizhou and Zhaoqing was higher, that of Foshan and Zhongshan was lower. Integrated with the quality of ecological space and ecosystem health, the ecological space was divided into key protection area, key restoration area, potential restoration area, and ecological conservation area at the regional scale. The key protected areas accounted for 10.1%, which were the regional ecological source areas. The strictest environmental protection system should be implemented, ecological red line and nature protected area should be delimited, strengthen ecological construction and biodiversity protection, also the construction of ecological connectivity should be strengthened to improve the overall regional ecosystem services. The key restoration areas accounted for 21.6%, mainly focusing on ecological restoration, implementation of ecological projects, and promotion of ecological industry. The potential restoration areas account for 13.1%, mainly focusing on protection and natural recovery, comprehensive conservation and protection and improve the quality of ecological space, and focus on improving the function of ecosystem service. The ecological conservation area account for 55.2%, mainly focusing on ecological corridor construction, strengthening the construction of high standard farmland, and protecting the basis of ecological space. Therefore, the production and construction activities should be carried out reasonably. In this paper, the research on the ecological space zoning could facilitate the decision makers to identify and classify the ecological restoration space and the ecological protection space, and could effectively guide the improvement of the land space planning and the regional ecological environment management system.

Energy-Consumption-Based Comprehensive Evaluation of Urban Green Development—Cases of 27 Cities in the Integrated Central Area of the Yangtze River Delta, China

The evaluation of urban green development from the perspective of energy consumption is an important issue of regional sustainable development. This paper takes 27 cities in the central region of Yangtze River Delta of China as samples to construct its comprehensive evaluation index system. Based on the relevant data of the sample area from 2005 to 2017, the paper adopts the combination weighting model of translation correction and preference calculation, and comprehensively uses Moran's I index analysis method to explore the time series and spatial distribution pattern of green development in the sample area. The results show the following. (1) The influencing factors of green development in the study area show that the influence degree of three factors increases, and the influence degree of one factor decreases, and the weight gap gradually decreased, which demonstrated the concept of ecological priority balanced development. (2) Xuancheng, Taizhou and Nantong are in good condition. Secondly, Wuhu, Ma'anshan, the current situation and trend of energy consumption and urban development need to pay attention. Shanghai and Zhejiang Province are in good condition, while Anhui Province is low in energy utilization efficiency and needs to be improved. (3) The sample areas showed “high-high” or “low-low” agglomeration, and Moran's I index showed a downward trend. The coordination degree of sustainable development of urban agglomeration in this region was gradually improved and the energy consumption structure was constantly optimized. The conclusion of this paper can provide decision support for the sustainable development of eco-green integration in the Yangtze River Delta region. The problem of energy consumption and urban development is global and universal. Therefore, the research perspective and method of this paper are of important reference value.

User interest in car sharing as an indicator of sustainable urban agglomeration development

The use of car sharing instead of owning a car minimises the negative impact of logistics activities on the urban environment. This research aims to show that sustainable development of densely populated cities is accompanied by an increase in Internet users’ interest in sharing services. The research of Internet users’ interest in car sharing services was based on Google Trends data on search queries originating from Russia, the United States and Canada over the past five years. In the course of this work, the hypothesis was confirmed that high user interest in car sharing is mainly observed in urban agglomerations with high population numbers and density, where the positive effects of car sharing are most noticeable. The paper emphasises the need to encourage the creation of new services in urban logistics, which will contribute to sustainable development and increase the competitiveness of cities. It also confirms the hypothesis that the growing interest of Internet users in the new service is accompanied by an increase in the market volume. User interest in established car sharing markets is at a stable level, except for the occurrence of significant events (e.g., the emergence of a new major player in the market) that stimulate an increase in interest.

Logistical Processes Interaction Model Design in Agglomeration Development

Purpose of this study is to develop a logistics processes interaction model within the development of urban agglomeration, taking into account basic functional areas of logistics. Objectives of the study were to define the concept of "agglomeration logistics", to identify the main logistics processes of agglomeration, to calculate the logistics stability index (LSI) for the Almaty urban agglomeration
 In this paper such research methods as text analysis, logic modeling, survey method of analysis of hierarchies were used.
 The significance of the study lies in the development of a model explaining the nature of logistics processes interactions in Almaty urban agglomeration. The novelty of the research lies in adaptation and practical application of the methodology for assessing sustainability of urban agglomeration logistics and identifying most influencing factors in order to improve it.
 The main results of the research are: formulating the concept of "agglomeration logistics", identifying interaction algorithms of the main agglomeration logistics processes and calculating the logistics stability index for Almaty agglomeration.
 The following conclusions were made: there are problems of inefficient functioning of logistics processes within the agglomeration. Increasing number of road cargo and passengers has revealed the need to increase road transport network efficiency and carrying capacity; as a result of territorial structure, insufficient development of transport communications between the agglomerations ‘districts, loads on the road transport network increased, which led to violations of fundamental logistics` rules such as "just in time", "optimal route", "high delivery speed", which increases the load on logistics processes and hinders its integration; main constraints to the sustainability of logistics in Almaty agglomeration are air pollution and poor road safety.

Model Development for Optimized Land Usage in Urban Agglomeration Zone Using Bee Colony Algorithms

This research work was developed to increase the output of urban zone regions and also to bring out the best use of the space of the urban zone regions. The problems associated with the current research work is basically poor accuracy, slow convergence speed and low rationality of evaluation index. We have proposed to use Bee Colony Algorithm which optimizes the usage areas of land in urban zone regions. The work that we developed a model using the bee colony algorithm for best optimization. The various evaluation units are divided by grid method. By this algorithm principle the weighted summation method of indexes is used to calculate the evaluation units. The the evaluation model is developed by using the above calculated evaluation value of land usage spatial adaptability in the required regions. By the evaluation function of urban land suitability, the cost function and spatial coordination function of urban land usage and the spatial optimization model of land use in urban agglomeration development zone is constructed. The model is developed by the bee colony algorithm and best fitting solution of land usage in urban agglomeration development zone is obtained. The research results prove that the evaluation index of the proposed method is reasonable, the accuracy of the evaluation results is high, and the convergence speed is fast.

Influence of the Economic Efficiency of Built-Up Land (EEBL) on Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA)

Currently, an urban agglomeration is a trend in global urbanization. With the continuous development of urban agglomerations, Chinese urban agglomerations have entered an era of high-quality development. Improving the economic efficiency of built-up land (EEBL) and maintaining a good ecological environment are important for promoting the high-quality development of urban agglomerations. Urban heat islands (UHIs) are one of the major ecological environmental problems affecting urban agglomerations. Therefore, it is meaningful to investigate the influence of the EEBL on UHIs in urban agglomerations. Based on the land-use data, MODIS land surface temperature (LST) data and gross domestic product (GDP) in the secondary and tertiary industries from 2000 to 2018, and electric power consumption data in 2018, this paper analyzed the influence of the EEBL on the surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA). The results showed that most of cites in the YRDUA experienced rapid EEBL growth and a significant increase in heat island intensity from 2000 to 2018. There has been a significant positive correlation between the EEBL and the SUHII over the years, among which the EEBL had the strongest correlation (R = 0.76, p < 0.01) with the SUHII in 2000. Moreover, among the 27 cities in the YRDUA, 21 cities showed a significant uptrend of the SUHII with rising EEBL and the uptrend was significantly and negatively correlated with the electric power utilization efficiency (EPUE) of the secondary and tertiary industries (R = −0.6, p < 0.01). These results indicated that the EEBL of the secondary and tertiary industries had a significant influence on UHIs, which also reflected the significant influence of anthropogenic heat on UHIs to a certain extent. The findings of this paper can provide a scientific basis for mitigating the UHIs caused by the rapid economic development and promoting the high-quality development of urban agglomerations.

FORMATION OF AGLOMERATION AS A FACTOR OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION

The article analyzes the possibilities and factors influencing the formation and further development of urban agglomerations using the example of Severodonetsk-Lisichansk. The Severodonetsk-Lisichansk agglomeration was formed in the late 1950s - early 1960s, when an attempt was made to unite Lisichansk, Rubezhnoe and Severodonetsk into one city called Mendeleev. They were united by the proximity and presence of a developed chemical industry in all cities. The formation of the agglomeration took place in two directions: "from the district" and "from the city". Of the three phases of urban agglomeration development, the Severodonetsk-Lisichansk agglomeration is in the first phase, that is, Severodonetsk, as the core of the agglomeration, is developing, its population is increasing, and the periphery (the cities of Lisichansk and Rubezhnoe) is decreasing. According to the spatial model, this urban agglomeration is polycentric: the agglomeration has three cores - Severodonetsk, Lisichansk and Rubezhnoe - cities of regional subordination. The location of agglomeration settlements in different districts of the Luhansk region (settlements of the Severodonetsk and Lisichansk city councils, the western part of the Novoaydarsky district, the southern and eastern parts of the Kremensky district, the northern and eastern parts of the Popasnyansky district) complicates the coordinated development of the agglomeration as a single urban entity. In 1989, the population of the agglomeration was 443 190 people, in 2001 - 394 223, in 2015 - 345 941, in 2020 - 329 351 people. Population growth rates in the period 1989-2020 accounted for 74.31%. Attracting investments in the development of the cities of Severodonetsk, Lisichansk and Rubezhnoye, increasing their industrial production capacities will concentrate economic, financial, administrative and human resources and will make it possible to predict the further sustainable development of both the urban agglomeration and the region as a whole.

Comprehensive evaluation and influencing factors of urban agglomeration water resources carrying capacity

Appropriate water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) is important for the sustainable development of urban agglomerations. It is of great significance for the coordinated development of urban agglomerations to accurately evaluate WRCCs. This study calculates the WRCC index of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration (BTHUA) based on the pressure-support, destructiveness-resilience, and degradation-promotion (PS-DR-DP) theoretical framework. First, the evolutionary characteristics and spatial distribution characteristics of WRCC were analyzed. Then, a geographically temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model was employed to investigate the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the factors affecting WRCC. The results show that (1) from the perspective of time, the WRCC in the BTHUA is increasing, but the carrying capacity index is not high. At present, nearly 50% of the cities are still in an overloaded state. (2) From the perspective of space, the spatial distribution pattern of WRCC in the BTHUA gradually changed from northeast–southwest to south–north, and the WRCC center of gravity shifted to the west. (3) Urban public water use intensity, agricultural water use intensity, population density, groundwater resources per unit area, industrial wastewater discharge, water conservation investment intensity, and soil erosion control have a notable impact on WRCC. (4) The factors affecting WRCC showed notable spatiotemporal heterogeneity. The study is conducive to comprehensively understand the current situation of the BTHUA WRCC. It can provide a reference for the formulation of a scientific and sustainable water resource development strategy.

Формирование городских агломераций как фактор обеспечения "связанности" экономического пространства России

The work is devoted to the modern development of urban agglomerations as one of the potential mechanisms for rational use of the territory and the best form of settlement. A study of the spatial development of three agglomerations in Russia was conducted: Volgograd, Novosibirsk, and Vladivostok regions, selected based on the comparability of the average distance from the core to the agglomeration border and representing different Federal districts, using the comparative analysis method. The study allowed us to determine at what stage of formation the selected agglomerations are located in order to further strengthen the competitive advantages of a particular territory in order to preserve or improve the quality of life of the population. It is assumed that the insufficient number of economic growth centers in Russian agglomerations and their lagging behind in key socio-economic criteria is due to the lack of a developed transport network, social infrastructure facilities and insufficient level of comfort of the urban environment outside the agglomeration core.

Research on spatial resilience characteristics and response mechanism of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration based on power-law

Urban agglomeration is the spatial organization form of urban development and the main carrier of population, economy and information gathering to promote regional coordinated development. Therefore, it is important to research the sustainable development of urban agglomeration. Focus on the scientific issue of the relationship between power-law distribution structure of spatial elements and spatial resilience of urban agglomeration; using the number of urban permanent population and urban built-up area size as the key spatial elements of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, firstly, we discussed the spatial-temporal evolution law of power-law characteristics of key spatial elements of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration. Secondly, we revealed the response mechanism of spatial resilience to power-law distribution of key spatial elements of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration. The conclusions as following: (1) The spatial resilience of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration characterized as “concentration” dominated by large cities. (2) The spatial resilience and Pareto distribution of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration have a remarkable and stable response relationship. (3) In order to maximize the spatial resilience of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, it is urgent to control the number of urban permanent population and built-up area scale of large cities.

DEMOGRAPHIC GROWTH AND URBANIZATION IN MEDIUM- SIZED MUNICIPALITIES: CHANGES IN THE REGIONAL URBAN DYNAMICS OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL

The medium-sized municipalities and their cities having been drawing attention lately due to their population growth and the new functions they perform, especially as articulators of the deconcentration of economic activity and population dispersion, as they contribute to the development of urban agglomerations of the urban network of non-metropolitan regions. This study presents an analysis of the medium-sized municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), introducing the debate about the processes of urbanization and population concentration in a regional context. Demographic data of the municipalities of RS were analyzed, with emphasis on population growth from 2000 to 2010. A process of population concentration was identified in urban agglomerations and in larger cities. In addition to the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, with the largest population concentration, there is a polarization of urbanization over the territory, whose spatial distribution is largely due to the non-metropolitan medium-sized municipalities. The data analyzed indicate that the medium-sized municipalities have obtained a considerable population contribution in the last decades, which leads us to reflect on the transformations of the urban space that they experience, considering that the demographic size provides greater intensity and complexity in the socio-spatial dynamics of the intra-urban spaces of these cities. The demographic, economic and urban growth experienced by these medium-sized municipalities has also contributed to changes in the regional urban dynamics of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, as well as in the dynamics of organization and functioning of its urban network.

Impacts of Urbanization on the Ecosystem Services in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China

Unprecedented urbanization has occurred globally, which has converted substantial natural landscapes into impervious surfaces and further impacted ecosystem services and functioning. In this study, we quantified the spatiotemporal patterns of urbanization and investigated the impacts of urbanization on the ecosystem service value (ESV) in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) of China from 1980 to 2018. The results show that the GBA has experienced extensive urbanization, with the urban area increasing from 2607.4 to 8243.5 km2 from 1980 to 2018. Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Shenzhen, and Foshan exhibited the top five highest urban expansion rates. Throughout the study period, edge expansion was the most dominant growth mode, with a decreasing trend, while infilling increased in the GBA. The total ESV loss induced by urban expansion in the GBA reached 40.5 billion yuan over the past four decades. The ESV loss due to the water body decrease caused by urbanization was the largest. Our study suggests that decision-makers should control new urban areas and protect water bodies, wetlands, and forests with high ESVs to promote the sustainable development of urban agglomerations.