Urban Construction Land Expansion Research Articles

Analysis of the Spatial-Temporal Characteristics and Driving Factors of Cultivated Land Fragmentation Under the Expansion of Urban and Rural Construction Land: A Case Study of Ezhou City

A systematic understanding of the spatial-temporal evolution patterns of cultivated land fragmentation (CLF), its driving factors, and its relationship with the expansion of urban and rural construction land is essential for identifying strategies to mitigate CLF in rapidly urbanizing regions. This study combined landscape fragmentation with ownership fragmentation, analyzing CLF through three dimensions: resource endowment, spatial concentration, and convenience of utilization, with eight selected indicators. By comparing village-level data from 2013 to 2022, we explored the key drivers of CLF and its conflicts with urban and rural construction land expansion. The findings indicate a clear spatial variation in village-level CLF in Ezhou, characterized by low fragmentation in the northwest and northeast, and high fragmentation in the southwest and central regions. This pattern is in contrast to Ezhou’s economic development, which decreased progressively from east to north and south. Over the study period, village-level CLF in Ezhou evolved from being primarily moderately and relatively severely fragmented to predominantly severely and relatively severely fragmented, with an overall declining trend and more pronounced polarization. At the same time, the CLF within the village region demonstrated notable spatial clustering features, with a rapid increase observed between 2013 and 2022. It was also discovered that CLF is driven by various factors, with the main influences being the proportion of construction land, land use intensity, and population density. Cultivated land is the main source of both urban construction land (UCL) and rural construction land (RCL), with average contribution rates of 46.47% and 62.62%, respectively. This research offers empirical evidence for rapid urbanization and serves as a critical reference for rural revitalization and coordinated urban–rural development, with potential guidance for future policy formulation and implementation.

A Study on the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Land Cover Change and Carbon Storage in the Northern Gulf Economic Zone of Guangxi Based on the InVEST Model

In recent years, the international community has increasingly focused on the “dual carbon” issue, as human-induced land use changes significantly impact ecosystem structure and carbon cycling. This study analyzes land use changes in the economic zone of the northern Gulf of Guangxi from 1980 to 2020, utilizing the InVEST model to simulate spatiotemporal changes in carbon storage and conducting zoning studies through spatial analysis. The findings reveal that ① forest land and arable land dominate the northern Gulf of Guangxi’s land use, with notable changes observed in forest land, unused land, and construction land areas. Forest land and construction land have increased by 1761.5 km2 and 1001.19 km2, respectively, while unused land has decreased by 1881.18 km2 from 2000 to 2020. ② The total carbon storage values in the northern Gulf of Guangxi in 1980, 2000, and 2020 were, respectively, 504.91 × 106/t, 487.29 × 106/t, and 500.31 × 106/t, with the expansion of construction land and conversion of forest land being the main reasons for the decrease in carbon storage. ③ In the northern Gulf of Guangxi, there is a slight upward trend in total carbon storage values over time. Spatially, higher carbon storage values are observed in mountainous and hilly areas at high altitudes, while the central and southern coastal areas exhibit lower carbon storage values. ④ The local spatial autocorrelation results reveal that Pu Bei County exhibits high–high clustering of carbon storage, while He Pu County undergoes a transition from high–low to low–low clustering, and several other administrative areas in Beihai demonstrates low–low clustering. Due to the imperative of economic development, the expansion of urban construction land encroaches upon ecological land, resulting in a decline in carbon storage. Therefore, in the Northern Gulf of Guangxi, it is essential to implement measures such as reforestation and establish ecological protection areas such as forests, grasslands, and wetlands to develop effective carbon sequestration methods and compensate for the carbon loss caused by the expansion of construction land.

Study on the spatial distribution characteristics of traditional villages and their response to the water network system in the lower yangtze river basin

Traditional villages hold significant historical and cultural value as the precious heritage of China’s agricultural civilization. Currently, against the backdrop of increasing urbanization and rapid expansion of urban construction land, the spatial patterns of traditional villages across various regions in China are being encroached upon and damaged, with protection pressures growing daily. As one of the important cradles of Chinese civilization, the Lower Yangtze River Basin (LYRB) has traditional villages closely linked with its water systems, forming a unique human-land relationship and spatial distribution pattern. However, influenced by the rapid urbanization process, the spatial patterns of traditional villages in this region also face a crisis, and the contradiction between protection and development is becoming increasingly prominent. How to balance this contradiction and ensure the reasonable protection and sustainable development of traditional villages has become an urgent issue to address. Therefore, this study focuses on the LYRB. Using ArcGIS tools and combined with mathematical analysis methods, the spatial distribution characteristics and essential influencing factors of traditional villages in this area were screened and analyzed. The objective was to examine the spatial structural relationship between traditional villages, four water system types, and nine sub-basin units, intending to reveal the unique interdependence between the water system and traditional villages in this area. This would provide scientific support for the formulation of scientific conservation strategies. The research results show that: (1) Traditional villages in The LYRB form two core clusters spatially and exhibit substantial spatial accumulation; (2) Water system characteristics are the main factors affecting the distribution of traditional villages; (3) In the LYRB, the spatial distribution of the nine sub-basins is closely related to the spatial distribution of traditional villages, resulting in typical regional spatial differentiation of traditional villages in this area. This study is based on a watershed perspective, and the results highlight the importance of the water system network in the development of traditional villages, revealing a unique spatial dependency relationship between traditional villages and the water network in the LYRB. In order to ensure the comprehensive protection of the traditional village system in this region, it is essential to adhere to the fundamental principles that govern its spatial configuration. A tripartite collaborative protection system based on the watershed should be formulated from the perspective of the overall distribution relationship between the water network and the traditional villages. This system would serve to protect the overall landscape, the water network pattern, and the traditional villages. Establishing an overall pattern view of integrating the water system network and the traditional villages is essential.

Driving the Evolution of Land Use Patterns: The Impact of Urban Agglomeration Construction Land in the Yangtze River Delta, China

The rapid increase in population and economic activities has greatly influenced land use and spatial development. In urban agglomerations where socioeconomic activities are densely concentrated, the clash between ecological protection and economic growth is becoming more evident. Therefore, a thorough quantitative assessment of spatial changes driven by land use dynamics, alongside an examination of temporal and spatial driving factors, is crucial in offering scientific backing for the long-term and sustainable growth of urban agglomerations. This paper focuses on the major urban agglomerations in China’s Yangtze River Delta region, examining the spatiotemporal evolution of land use and landscape patterns from 2000 to 2020. By employing the standard deviation ellipse technique, coupled with multiple linear regression and the geographical detector model, we conduct a quantitative assessment of the directional trends in urban construction land expansion as well as the diverse impacts of temporal and spatial factors on this expansion across various periods and regions. The findings indicate that over the past 20 years, construction land in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration expanded in concentrated patches, showing significant scale effects with relatively intact farmland and forest land being increasingly encroached upon. Landscape-type transitions predominantly occurred in cities around Taihu Lake and Hangzhou Bay, with the most significant transition being farmland converted to construction land, resulting in a greater number of patches and more pronounced land fragmentation. Throughout the 20 years, the standard deviation ellipse of construction land in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration expanded and shifted, with the predominant expansion trending from the northwest toward the southeast, and the EN orientation being the most intense expansion area, covering 1641.24 km2. The influence of temporal and spatial driving factors on the expansion of urban construction land differed across various periods and regions. This study thoroughly examines the driving factors that affect the evolution of urban construction land in the region, offering valuable scientific evidence and references for future planning and development of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, aiding in the formulation of more precise and efficient urban management and land use strategies.

Spatiotemporal characteristics and multi-scenario simulation of land use change and ecological security in the mountainous areas: Implications for supporting sustainable land management and ecological planning

The acceleration of global urbanization has intensified land use activities, which threaten the ecological environment and hinder the achievement of sustainable socioeconomic development goals. With the background of continuous land use expansion, the reasonable management of land use and ecological protection has increasingly become an important issue. This study constructs an ecological security (ES) index to evaluate the ES pattern, and employs the Future Land-Use Simulation (FLUS) model for multi-scenario simulation of land use patterns in mountainous areas. The results showed that from 2000 to 2020, cultivated land and grassland showed a sharp decrease, with areas of −128.64 and −228.18 km² respectively, while forest land, urban land, and other construction land increased, with areas of 116.12, 31.21, and 120.69 km² respectively. Over time, the mountainous areas mainly exhibited low and moderate ES patterns. Furthermore, for 2020–2030, under the natural development scenario, cultivated land, forest land, and grassland will show a decrease, while urban and other construction land will show a sharp increase. In contrast, under the ecological protection scenario, ecological land will show significant increase, and the patch expansion of urban construction land will be smaller. These results confirm the positive contribution of ES protection effects to improving the land use development, and support insightful guidance for formulating policies on ecological management in mountainous areas.

Characteristics and factors influencing the expansion of urban construction land in China

As a new product of rapid urbanization, the sprawl of urban construction land can objectively reflect urban land use efficiency, which is of great significance to China's new urban construction. This study aimed to summarize the expansion patterns and utilization efficiency of urban construction land in China from the perspectives of the status, speed and trends of expansion, and to uncover the key factors that lead to the differential distribution of the expansion of construction land. It can also provide land management experience for other countries with rapid expansion of construction land. The results show the following. (1) The expansion of China's construction land presents a "point–line–plane" pattern of evolution, forming changing stages of point-like aggregation, linear series and planar spread. (2) China's construction land shows the characteristics of disorderly spread, a low utilization rate and low output efficiency. The speed of expansion presents clear characteristics of being high in the east and low in the west, mostly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration. Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou have the highest intensity of construction land use. In Shandong Peninsula and eastern coastal areas, the intensity of the construction land use is generally high. In Xinjiang and Xizang, the intensity of construction land use is relatively low. (3) The urban economic level, population size, industrial structure, foreign investment and land policies have significant effects on the spatial distribution of the expansion of construction land.

The Impact of Urban Construction Land Expansion on Carbon Emissions from the Perspective of the Yangtze River Delta Integration, China

Regional integration plays a pivotal role in the socio-economic advancement of various global regions and is closely linked with the expansion of construction land. This expansion is a major contributor to urban carbon emissions. Utilizing a geographical regression discontinuity design (GRDD), this paper estimates the impact of urban construction land expansion on carbon emissions and explores the underlying mechanisms within the regional integration process of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China. The findings reveal that urban construction land expansion significantly influences carbon emissions, displaying an inverted “U”-shaped pattern. Furthermore, this expansion affects carbon emissions through the transformation of industrial structures, shifts in consumption patterns, and enhancements in scientific and technological investments. Our findings span the performance of the Yangtze River Delta from its early development stages to a relatively mature phase. This paper also partially reveals how the Yangtze River Delta, with both megacities and large- to medium-sized cities, manages urban construction land expansion during the integration process and strives for low-carbon emissions reduction. These results can provide green growth recommendations that balance socio-economic development, low-carbon emissions, and social equity not only for other urban agglomerations in China but also for similar regions in other developing countries by altering construction land utilization patterns.

How does rapid urban construction land expansion affect the spatial inequalities of ecosystem health in China? Evidence from the country, economic regions and urban agglomerations

Identifying the adaptation mechanisms between urban construction land expansion (UCE) and ecosystem health (EHI) is a crucial aspect of sustainable management. However, there is still progress room for existing studies in distinguishing the impact mechanisms of UCE on the EHI of China's cities, different economic subregions and urban agglomerations. These gaps hinder the development of differentiated supportive frameworks for urban land management policies and ecosystem restoration initiatives across various scales in China. This study integrated multivariate satellite remote sensing data to monitor the heterogeneous evolution patterns of EHI and UCE in Chinese cities, economic subregions and urban agglomerations. A set of spatial measure models are utilized to distinguish the variability impact of UCE on China's EHI from a multi-dimensional perspective, including global and local, whole-area and sub-area, and direct and indirect influences. The results indicate that as UCE continues to grow, EHI steadily declined, reaching 0.512 with an average annual decrease of 1.507% from 2000 to 2020. A diminishing cluster pattern of EHI was observed, primarily concentrated in urban agglomerations such as BTH, GBA, and YRD. UCE exhibited a significant negative spatial dependence on EHI, and both global and local perspectives, UCE had a gradually weakening negative effect on the EHI of Chinese cities and economic subregions. However, the impacts of UCE on EHI in mature urban agglomerations (e.g., GBA, BTH, and YRD) were dominated by spatial spillovers, whereas growing urban agglomerations (e.g., MRYRU and CCU) were more affected by direct shocks from UCE. Our investigation informs site-specific ecologically sustainable management strategies in China based on cross-scale analyses, providing new perspectives into establishing cooperative mechanisms for cross-regional ecological management while emphasizing ecological risks management under the integration of urban agglomerations.

Comparing the driving mechanisms of different types of urban construction land expansion: A case study of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Comparing the driving mechanisms of different types of urban construction land expansion: A case study of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Evolving Urban Expansion Patterns and Multi-Scenario Simulation Analysis from a Composite Perspective of “Social–Economic–Ecological”: A Case Study of the Hilly and Gully Regions of Northern Loess Plateau in Shaanxi Province

Over recent decades, the hilly and gully regions of the northern Loess Plateau in Shaanxi province have grappled with severe soil erosion and a precarious ecological milieu. Shaped by urbanization policies, this locale has encountered a gamut of issues, including an imbalance in human–environment dynamics and the degradation of ecological integrity. Consequently, the comprehension of how urban expansion impacts the optimization of regional landscape configurations, the alignment of human–environment interactions in the Loess Plateau’s hilly and gully domains, and the mitigation of urban ecological challenges assumes paramount importance. Leveraging data from land use remote sensing monitoring, alongside inputs from natural geography and socio-economic spheres, and employing methodologies such as landscape pattern indices, we conduct an exhaustive analysis of Zichang City’s urban fabric from 1980 to 2020. Furthermore, employing the CLUE-S model, we undertake multifaceted scenario simulations to forecast urban expansion in Zichang City through to 2035. Our findings delineate two distinct phases in Zichang City’s urban expansion trajectory over the past four decades. From 1980 to 2000, urban construction land in Zichang City experienced a phase of methodical and steady growth, augmenting by 64.98 hectares, alongside a marginal decrease in the landscape shape index (LSI) by 0.02 and a commensurate increase in the aggregation index (AI) by 1.17. Conversely, from 2000 to 2020, urban construction land in Zichang City witnessed an epoch of rapid and haphazard expansion, doubling in expanse, marked by a notable escalation in LSI (2.45) and a corresponding descent in the AI (2.85). The precision of CLUE-S model simulations for Zichang City’s land use alterations registers at 0.88, fulfilling the exigent demand for further urban expansion and land use change prognostication. Under the aegis of the natural development scenario, the augmentation of urban construction land in Zichang City primarily encroaches upon grassland, farmland, and woodland, effectuating an increase of 159.81 hectares. Conversely, under the ambit of urbanization development, urban construction land contends predominantly with farmland, grassland, and woodland, heralding an augmentation of 520.42 hectares. Lastly, under the mantle of ecological protection, urban construction land expansion predominantly encroaches upon grassland, farmland, and woodland, resulting in an augmentation of 4.27 hectares. Through a nuanced analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution of urban expansion and scenario-based simulations, this study endeavors to furnish multi-faceted, scenario-driven, and policy-centric insights for regional planning, urban spatial delineation, and regional ecological safeguarding.

Remote sensing monitoring and spatiotemporal characteristics analysis of urban construction land expansion in urban agglomerations of China in the past 30 years

Remote sensing monitoring and spatiotemporal characteristics analysis of urban construction land expansion in urban agglomerations of China in the past 30 years

Identification of the critical factors in flood vulnerability assessment based on an improved DEMATEL method under uncertain environments

With accelerated urbanization, the expansion of urban construction land and the increase in concrete pavement have led to a continuous decline in the natural permeability of the urban surface. This makes it difficult for rainwater in urban areas to infiltrate quickly into the ground, which may lead to urban flooding disasters in cases of heavy rainfall. In recent years, the frequency of urban flooding disasters has been increasing, posing a great safety threat to communities and residents as well as property damage. Therefore, it is important to build a scientific and reasonable community flooding vulnerability assessment system to improve the community emergency response capacity and reduce the losses caused by flooding disasters. In this paper, 94 indicators for community flooding vulnerability assessment are collected by combining literature research and field surveys. The newly proposed fuzzy language expression method based on pentagonal fuzzy numbers (PFN) and the proportional two-tuple linguistic representation (P2TLR) are used as the first step of indicator evaluation and screening, and PFN-P2TLR with the two-step DEMATEL method are combined as the second step of indicator screening. Finally, 23 representative evaluation indicators belonging to the dependent variable are selected. Following a thorough investigation, it was found that “resident characteristics”, “regional economic strength”, “community precipitation status” and “institutional soundness” are the four most influential factors for community resilience to flooding, and these indicators have a significant impact on other indicators. The research results provide a reliable basis and specific guidance suggestions for community flooding vulnerability assessment, which is crucial for further reducing the occurrence of flooding disasters and mitigating the social and economic losses caused by them.

Study on the Spatial and Temporal Evolution of Regional Green Space Morphology Outside Built-Up Areas based on the Google Earth Engine and Biophysical Component Modeling

The spatial pattern of regional green space is an important dimension to describe and quantitatively express the characteristics of regional green spaces outside the built-up area of a city. With the expansion of urban and rural construction land, regional green space has been continuously encroached upon. This leads to a decline in regional ecological well-being and the loss of biodiversity. Based on the remote sensing data of Shanghai city from 2000 to 2020, we quantitatively studied the spatial morphological change characteristics of regional green space outside the built-up area of Shanghai city. Firstly, with the help of the GEE platform, the optimal decoding accuracy classification method was selected through machine learning (random forest, support vector machine, classification regression tree); then, based on the biophysical component (BCI) and CA binarization, the built-up area ranges for up to five time nodes were obtained; finally, through GIS spatial data analysis and processing technology, the regional green space dynamic data of Shanghai for five time nodes were extracted. Based on the above data, an analysis index system was constructed to quantitatively analyze the spatial morphology characteristics of the regional green space outside the built-up area of Shanghai. The results show that (1) the area of regional green space outside the built-up area of Shanghai had a fluctuating growth pattern of “decreasing and then increasing”. The arable land and water areas in Shanghai decreased, and the woodland area increased steadily, while the wetland and grassland areas showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. (2) The regional green patch fragmentation shows a fluctuating development trend of increasing, decreasing, and increasing. (3) The change in the spatial center of gravity of the regional green space in Shanghai had a high degree of consistency with the overall green space change. The center of gravity of the grasslands in the regional green space moved substantially to the northwest, while the center of gravity of the other types remained basically unchanged. This study reveals the spatial morphology characteristics of regional green spaces and provides a research method to study the dynamic changes in regional ecological resources. The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for the identification, protection, and development of regional ecological resources.

A Comparative Analysis of the Interaction between Urban-Rural Construction Land Transition and Population Flow: Dominant and Recessive Perspectives

Population flow caused by rapid urbanization has driven the urban-rural construction land transition. A systematic recognition of their interaction is essential for achieving coordinated and sustainable urban-rural development. We chose Hangzhou, one of the most urbanized cities in China, as the study area to analyze this interaction from the perspectives of dominant morphology and recessive morphology during the period of 2010 to 2020. From the perspective of dominant morphology, a structured analysis method is applied to assess the variation in the internal components. A dynamic land utilization efficiency index is proposed and combined with an original static land utilization efficiency index to comprehensively portray a complete periodicity of urban-rural construction land transition and population flow from the perspective of recessive morphology. Results demonstrate that the path dependence of rural industrialization leads to a seemingly stagnant urban-rural construction land transition in Hangzhou. Meanwhile, the rapid increase in the demographic urbanization rate has been supported by the massive inflow of external migrants. Based on the more stringent dynamic land utilization efficiency index and the more comprehensive combination of static and dynamic indices, the moderate expansion of urban construction land increases the proportion of township-level units of the intensive land utilization pattern while, instead of population loss, the general non-intensive land utilization pattern in rural areas has been driven by the overexpansion of rural residential land.

Simulation and analysis of ecological early-warning of urban construction land expansion based on digital sensing feature recognition and remote sensing spatial analysis technology

To improve the analysis effect of the simulation and prediction of the expansion effect of urban construction land, this paper combines the digital sensing feature recognition and remote sensing analysis technology for the earth's surface, and uses Artificial-neural-network-based cellular automaton (ANN-CA) Markov model and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to study and analyze the expansion effect and trend of urban construction land, and subdivides the spatial and temporal characteristics of land cover. In addition to that, multi-based sensing data is used to generate urban construction land expansion effect drivers. The multi-source sensing data and InVEST model are used to conduct spatial information analysis and ecological early-warning. The research shows that combining digital sensing feature identification and remote sensing analysis technology, using the analysis model of ANN-CA-Markov model and InVEST model can effectively improve the analysis effect of urban construction land expansion effect prediction, and carry out ecological early-warning of construction land expansion on this basis. Overall territorial spatial planning stage of Xuzhou city, the designated ecological space area accounts for 20% of the whole land area. There is a sharp contradiction between constructive land expansion and ecological security in the whole region, so it is appropriate to conduct precise intervention and efficient management of constructive land expansion according to ecological early-warning.

Exploring the urban–rural gradient effects of construction land expansion processes on land use function trade‐off/synergy in rapidly urbanizing areas

AbstractConstruction land expansion greatly affects the supply and interaction of distinct land use functions, particularly in rapidly urbanizing areas. However, existing research rarely focuses on the urban–rural gradient role of different construction land expansion processes in affecting the interactions between land use functions, which limits the refined high‐quality development of territorial space. Using the main urban area of Hangzhou as an example, this research analyzed the spatiotemporal transmission process of trade‐offs/synergies among distinct functions between urban and rural regions from the living‐production‐ecological function perspective, and probed the differences in the impact of distinct urban and rural construction land expansion processes on them across different urban–rural gradients, thereby proposing the urban–rural spatial development pathways for promoting synergistic territorial spatial patterns. The results showed that the changes in different functions had an obvious urban–rural gradient difference. During 2000–2020, the trade‐off between living function and other functions increased continuously, and regions with a higher trade‐off primarily shifted from urban development areas to urban–rural transition areas. The infilling and edge‐expansion of urban construction land were more favorable to the increased synergy between distinct functions; the infilling and edge‐expansion of rural construction land in urban development and urban–rural transition areas greatly reduced the functional trade‐off level, while its leapfrogging in rural development areas strongly affected the synergy between distinct functions. These findings can help to restrict unreasonable urban and rural construction land expansion processes as well as promote synergistic territorial space patterns in rapidly urbanizing regions.

Strategies for Green Space Management in Mountain Cities Based on the Habitat Suitability for Urban Birds Breeding

The reproduction suitability of urban birds reflects the health status and service level of urban ecosystems. Therefore, studying the relationship between the nest density of urban birds and environmental factors has certain reference significance for guiding green space management. In this study, 67 green spaces of Liupanshui city in the Wumeng Mountain Area were selected as study sites. Through the statistics of the number of bird’s nests in the plots in 2020, a stepwise regression analysis was conducted on 10 environment-influencing factors. The results show that the nest density of birds in urban green space is not significantly correlated with the plot size, noise, light pollution, vegetation diversity, proportion of paved land, proportion of native plants, or distance from water body, but is significantly correlated with the canopy coverage of arbor, spatial openness, and distance from non-artificial environment to plot. The research identified the environmental factors affecting nest density, and frames a method to compare the density of bird’s nests in urban green space. Based on this, strategies for the construction and management of green space are put forward, so as to provide reference for ecological city construction and alleviate the correlation between the expansion of urban construction land and the deterioration of bird habitats.

Characteristics and Driving Mechanism of Urban Construction Land Expansion along with Rapid Urbanization and Carbon Neutrality in Beijing, China

Escalating urban issues in Beijing call for comprehensive exploration of urban construction land expansion towards the goal of carbon neutrality. Firstly, urban construction land in Beijing during the period 2005–2020 was accurately detected using Landsat images and impervious surface data, and then its expansion characteristics were revealed. Finally, the driving mechanism of urban construction land expansion was explored using geographically and temporally weighted regression from the input–output perspective. The results showed that the expansion speed and intensity of urban construction land in Beijing showed an overall tendency to slow down, and the center of urban expansion shifted to the new urban development zone and ecological function conservation zone. Urban construction land expansion in the central urban area was first scattered and then compact, while that in the new urban development zone and ecological function conservation zone primarily followed an outward pattern. The permanent population, per capita GDP, and per capita retail sales of social consumer goods were the primary driving factors of urban construction land expansion in Beijing, the impacts of which varied significantly among different districts of Beijing. All these results can provide a solid foundation for improving land use policies towards the goal of carbon neutrality in highly urbanized areas.

Dynamic analysis of correlation patterns between urban population and construction land at different administrative levels: The case of Hangzhou megacity

Understanding the urban human-land interaction at multiple administrative levels comprehensively plays an important role in the refined governance and thus provides critical references for urban planning and management. This paper analyzes the relationship between urban population and urban construction land in Hangzhou from perspectives of equilibrium, intensification and coordination at the multi-level during 2010 and 2020. Meanwhile, the underlying mechanism among the urban construction land expansion, population flow and land utilization efficiency with different demographic migration pattern is defined by Kaya identity and further quantitatively deconstructed by the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI). Regraded with the multi-level evaluation of human-land interactions, the prefectural-level analysis reveals significant reduction in both internal difference and absolute value of per capita urban construction land area, and the growth rate of urban population is 2.24 times faster than that of the urban construction land. At the county-level, the proportion of balanced and intensive county-level units increase by 15.38% and 38.46% respectively. The proportion of the county-level units under coordinated status reaches up to 92.31%. At the township-level, the proportion of intensive township-level units increases by 16.84% and the proportion of the township-level units under coordinated status is up to 64.74%. Furthermore, analysis of the multidimensional combination characteristics of urban human-land interaction is performed with six combination types at the county-level and four combination types at the township-level, which are useful for managers to develop categorized and refined urban development guidance. The driving mechanisms demonstrated that 47% of the townships with net population inflow and 41% of the townships with net population outflow are mainly influenced by the increase of permanent resident population, while the deterioration degree of land utilization efficiency in the former is significantly lower than that in the latter. This result implies that the townships in the core urban areas present the better performance in the improvement of land utilization efficiency than those in the western areas of Hangzhou. The exploration will provide references for coordinating the rational allocation of land resources and optimizing the regional human-land relationship.

Optimization of rural settlements based on rural revitalization elements and rural residents’ social mobility: A case study of a township in western China

Rural settlements are spatial carriers of rural social and economic activities. The optimization of rural settlements is of great significance to comprehensively promote rural revitalization. Considering that the optimization of rural settlements is a systematic engineering of the optimal allocation of rural revitalization elements and a social engineering of rural residents’ willingness, this paper explores the optimization of rural settlements based on the elements of rural revitalization and rural residents’ social mobility. After constructing the theoretical framework of the internal relationship among rural revitalization, rural residents’ social mobility and optimization of rural settlements, we evaluate the development vitality of rural settlements from the perspectives of industry, talent, culture, organization and ecology, and measure the network centrality of rural settlements based on rural residents’ social mobility. Moreover, we measure the coordination level of development vitality and network centrality to identify rural settlements’ optimization types. The level of the talent element is the lowest among the five revitalization elements. The rural settlements with high development vitality and network centrality are mainly distributed around the central town and near the traffic trunk lines. The rural settlements within the boundary of the expansion of urban construction land are classified as suburban integration, and the rural settlements with the characteristics of cultural relics or ethnic minorities are determined as characteristic protection. The remaining rural settlements are classified into three types (i.e., agglomeration and upgrading (high coordination), maintaining status quo (basic coordination), relocation and evacuation (endangered coordination)) according to the coordination level. Relocation and evacuation rural settlements are not suitable for villagers’ production and living and we encourage these villagers migrate to rural settlements that are more strongly connected in the residents’ social mobility network. Based on these findings, this paper provides a decision-making basis for rural planning and proposes an analytical framework for the optimization of rural settlements.