City Growth Patterns Research Articles

Investigating of Spatial Urban Growth Pattern and Associated Landscape Dynamics in Congolese Mining Cities Bordering Zambia from 1990 to 2023

This study investigates the spatial urban growth patterns of cities along the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia border, a region of significant economic importance characterized by cross-border trade. This activity has led to rapid but unplanned urban growth. The objective is to quantify the spatial expansion of Congolese cities (Kipushi, Kasumbalesa, Mokambo, and Sakania) bordering Zambia and to evaluate associated landscape changes. The methodology of this study includes the supervised classification of Landsat images with a spatial resolution of 30 m for the years 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2023. This classification was validated using field data. Subsequently, landscape metrics such as class area, patch number, Shannon diversity index, disturbance index, urban expansion intensity index, largest patch index, and mean Euclidean distance were calculated for each city and each date. The results reveal substantial landscape transformations in the border cities between 1990 and 2023. These changes are primarily driven by rapid urban expansion, particularly pronounced in Kasumbalesa. Between 1990 and 2023, forest cover declined from 70% to less than 15% in Kipushi, from 80% to 10% in Kasumbalesa, from 90% to 30% in Mokambo, and from 80% to 15% in Sakania. This forest cover loss is accompanied by an increase in landscape element diversity, as indicated by the Shannon diversity index, except in Kipushi, suggesting a transition towards more heterogeneous landscapes. In these border cities, landscape dynamics are also characterized by the expansion of agriculture and savannas, highlighted by an increase in the disturbance index. Analysis of spatial pattern changes shows that built-up areas, agriculture, and savannas exhibit trends of patch creation or aggregation, whereas forests are undergoing processes of dissection and patch attrition. Congolese cities bordering Zambia are undergoing substantial spatial changes propelled by intricate interactions between economic, demographic, and infrastructural factors. Our results underscore the need for sustainable development strategies to address urban sprawl through smart growth policies and mixed-use developments, mitigate deforestation via stricter land use regulations and reforestation projects, and enhance cross-border cooperation through joint environmental management and collaborative research initiatives.

Urban Growth and Transformation of Port City – A Case of Kochi

In the year 1109 AD, the princely state of Cochin was established, marking the beginning of Kochi's historical journey. Over the centuries, Kochi has undergone significant metamorphosis and transformation, experiencing changes in its historical narrative, spatial layout, and environmental context. Particularly noteworthy is Fort Kochi, characterized by its charming ambience and colonial buildings that vividly narrate the tales of centuries-old cultural and commercial interactions with Western colonial powers. This area has left a lasting impression, contributing to Kochi's identity as the commercial capital of Kerala. Studying Kochi becomes a means to comprehend the city's growth patterns and its physical expansion over time. The evolution of Kochi reflects not only its historical roots but also the dynamic shifts in its spatial and environmental dynamics, providing insights into the multifaceted development of this significant urban centre. Fuelled by rapid urbanization and an influx of entrepreneurs, Kochi has emerged as the thriving commercial epicentre of Kerala. Key Words: Kochi, Periyar River, Urbanization, Cosmopolitan Industrial Parks, Economic Landscape

City Growth Patterns Intensifying Complexities to Control Vehicular Exhaust Pollution in Pakistan

Unplanned constructions of high-rise buildings are continuing to fulfill the demand for commercialization in cities. This change in land use has overlooked to consider the associated infrastructure. Beside other problems, it thoroughly escalates vehicular movement and makes the environment more vulnerable. Symptomatic approaches from the government continue but could not succeed to avert the danger permanently. This research has examined circulation pattern and traffic flow on major roads of the city. Beside it, the performance of Vehicle Emission Testing Station is reviewed. The author found that disproportionate change in land use has intensified vehicular movement and the crammed road network spoiled all the curative measures. A professional’s interviews were carried out to understand the problem. During professional discussion many things were found missing within the management system of the city. Therefore, the researcher developed a systematic approach/model to incorporate all aspects of the missing components in order to curb air pollution effectively in cities.

How to build an eco-efficient city? Cases studies in Chinese urbanization over the past 20 years

• We propose a hybrid model to estimate city eco-efficiency and TGR, and investigate the relationship between growth and city eco-efficiency. • TGR plays a vital role in city growth patterns and China's inter-region imbalances. • City growth patterns show homogeneous within a region and heterogeneous between regions. • China's urbanization needs governments’ intervention. • Policy-makers policy-executors should pay more attention to the linkage between eco-city and city characteristics. This paper investigates disparities in the technological gap ratio (TGR) between regionally-grouped cities and the effects of urban growth on city eco-efficiency measured using eco-efficiency and TGR estimations, by applying a hybrid model to data from 30 provincial cities in China from 2000 to 2017. Estimates show that overall city eco-efficiency in China is low, although city eco-efficiency and TGR differ greatly between regions. Meanwhile, results illustrate that TGR plays a crucial role in imbalances between China's regions, by inherently affecting city growth patterns and eco-efficiency. Importantly, the patterns of city growth are homogenous within each region and heterogeneous between regions. Furthermore, results certify that policies from China's central government positively affect city eco-efficiency, but aggravate inter-region imbalances. Therefore, the findings suggest that China's eco-city building needs guidance from the central government, and that policy-makers and policy-executors should pay more attention to linkages between city TGR and development when seeking to build an eco-city in China.

Medieval cities through the lens of urban economics

We draw on theories and empirical findings from urban economics to explore and explain patterns of city growth in the Middle Ages (c. 800–1500 CE). We discuss how agricultural development and physical geography determined the location and size of cities during the medieval period. We also consider the relative importance of economies of scale, agglomeration, and human capital spillovers in medieval cities and discuss how their growth was limited by disamenities and constraints on mobility. We discuss how medieval cities responded to shocks such as the Black Death and describe how institutions became increasingly important in determining their trajectories. Avenues for future research are also laid out.

Kumasi: Towards a sustainable and resilient cityscape

Kumasi is the administrative capital of the Ashanti Region of, and the second largest city in, Ghana. The city also remains the seat of the traditional Asante Kingdom with its establishment around the late 17th century. It was given the accolade the ‘Garden City of West Africa’ in the 1940s due to its greenery cityscape. Over the years, Kumasi's development and morphological trajectories have been dictated by its formidable traditional and cultural ties as well as socio-political antecedents shaped by mainstream political and traditional systems. Presently, the city is faced with rapid urban growth characterised by urban blight, contradictions in governance regimes, distortions in planning systems, and deteriorating infrastructure and services. This paper profiles Kumasi within the context of its demographic characteristics, spatial transformation and governance dynamics, while highlighting the implications of the city's growth patterns for sustainable and resilient futures. The key issue is whether city planning authority's initiatives over the years can contribute to the attainment of the sustainable development goals, particularly goal 11.

From sequential to parallel growth of cities: Theory and evidence from Canada

This paper examines city growth patterns and the corresponding city size distribution evolution over long periods of time using a simple New Economic Geography (NEG) model and urban population data from Canada. The main findings are twofold. First, there is a transition from sequential to parallel growth of cities over long periods of time: city growth shows a sequential mode in the stage of rapid urbanization, i.e., the cities with the best development conditions will take the lead in growth, after which the cities with higher ranks will become the fastest-growing cities; in the late stage of urbanization, city growth converges according to Gibrat′s law, and exhibits a parallel growth pattern. Second, city size distribution is found to have persistent structural characteristics: the city system is self-organized into multiple discrete size groups; city growth shows club convergence characteristics, and the cities with similar development conditions eventually converge to a similar size. The results will not only enhance our understanding of urbanization process, but will also provide a timely and clear policy reference for promoting the healthy urbanization of developing countries.

Sequential city growth: Theory and evidence from the US

City growth patterns are attracting more attention in urban geography studies. This paper examines how cities develop and grow in the upper tail of size distribution in a large-scale economy based on a theoretical model under new economic geography framework and the empirical evidence from the US. The results show that cities grow in a sequential pattern. Cities with the best economic conditions are the first to grow fastest until they reach a critical size, then their growth rates slow down and the smaller cities farther down in the urban hierarchy become the fastest-growing ones in sequence. This paper also reveals three related features of urban system. First, the city size distribution evolves from low-level balanced to primate and finally high-level balanced pattern in an inverted U-shaped path. Second, there exist persistent discontinuities, or gaps, between city size classes. Third, city size in the upper tail exhibits conditional convergence characteristics. This paper could not only contribute to enhancing the understanding of urbanization process and city size distribution dynamics, but also be widely used in making effective policies and scientific urban planning.

A macroscopic view of cultural history

Computational Sociology Sociologists and anthropologists study the growth and evolution of human culture, but it is hard to measure cultural interactions on a historical time scale. Schich et al. developed a tool for extracting information about cultural history from simple but large sets of birth and death records. A network of cultural centers connected via the birth and death of more than 150,000 notable individuals revealed human mobility patterns and cultural attraction dynamics. Patterns of city growth over a period of 2000 years differed between countries, but the distribution of birth-to-death distances remained unchanged over more than eight centuries. Science , this issue p. [558][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1240064

The Dube TradePort-King Shaka International Airport mega-project: Exploring impacts in the context of multi-scalar governance processes

Mega-projects aimed at enhancing urban economic infrastructure have been widely recognised as a feature of cities in which influential actors are eager to encourage economic growth. They have also been described as being central in influencing physical patterns of city growth through their direct and indirect impacts on land-uses. Whilst such initiatives are not necessarily new, it has been noted in more recent urban development experiences that these projects tend to involve crafting highly complex, mixed-use environments through a variety of forms of public-private collaboration. Furthermore, they are promoted not only in instrumental terms as facilities or infrastructure to serve a need of a particular economic process, but are also often packaged and motivated as comprehensive urban developments that can reposition the image of cities in a highly competitive global investment environment. Such processes are both influenced by and, in turn, influence multi-scalar governance processes and practices, both in the planning and motivating projects, as well as in their operations. The new King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) and Dube TradePort (DTP), located some 35 km north from the City of Durban in South Africa, were projects developed with the intention of replacing an apparently obsolete facility so as to enable the region to attract more international aviation links that could, in turn, support tourism and exports. Based on analysis of documents and a range of stakeholder interviews, the paper shows how the development of the facilities and the associated impacts, from the shaping of space to meeting of operational targets, have been influenced by and also influenced the character of governance arrangements.

A study on transformation of urban layout patterns through analysis of spatial relationships with urban street configurations

Spatial structures of large cities are typically complex and dynamic as a result of constant changes to their physical and socioeconomic characteristics. Studying both spatial and temporal forms is important for understanding their structures, as well as forecasting possible future changes in city growth patterns. In this study, we analyze structural changes of Seoul, the capital city of Korea, using physical and socioeconomic factors such as street structure, land use and population. We used 25 administrative sub-regions that have composed Seoul City for 30 years from the 1960s to the 1990s, with the analysis broken down into 10-year increments. We used the space syntax theory for the analysis of the changing structure of Seoul's street pattern in smaller resolution than existing methods that have focused on issues of accessibility based on zone levels. First, we analyze the attribute values of space syntax, population density and land uses changed in each administrative area of Seoul in each time period. Next, we examine the relationship between street networks and spatial patterns and evaluate whether development patterns are positive or not. Finally, we present the differences of spatial structures between planned areas and naturally grown areas.

Urban sprawl development around Aligarh city: A study aided by satellite remote sensing and GIS

Rapid urbanization causes disorganized and unplanned growth of towns and cities. The pressure of an ever growing population becomes a burden on the limited civic amenities which are virtually collapsing. Asymmetrical growth of urban centres consumes agricultural land adjacent to these, resulting in lower agricultural productivity. Besides taxing the groundwater resources available for an urban centre, an increase in the paved area severely reduces the groundwater recharge potential, leading to situations which may truly be potential catastrophes. An understanding of the growth dynamics of urban agglomerations is essential for ecologically feasible developmental planning. With almost a third of India’s population already having become urban, it is necessary to acquire information on growth patterns of cities and how they impact the living environment. The current trend of spatial urban growth in almost all Indian cities has a haphazard pattern, particularly along the urban-rural fringe. There is an obvious need for continuously monitoring the phenomena of growth, and mapping and analyzing its patterns, since this is of great concern to urban administrators and planners whose concern it is to provide basic amenities and infrastructure for the complex urban environment.

Russian Cities in Transition: The Impact of Market Forces in the 1990s

This paper analyses Russian city growth during the command and transition eras. Our main focus is on understanding the extent to which market forces are replacing command forces, and the resulting changes in Russian city growth patterns. We examine net migration rates for a sample of 171 medium and large cities for the period 1960 through 2002. We conclude that while the declining net migration rate was reversed during the first half of the 1990s, restrictions continued to matter during the early years of transition in the sense that net migration rates were lower in the restricted than in the unrestricted cities. This pattern seemingly came to an end in the late 1990s.

Trends in urbanization and patterns of land use in the Asian mega cities Jakarta, Bangkok, and Metro Manila

Asian mega cities have experienced rapid population growth and continue to grow. Urbanization in those areas is proceeding differently from the patterns of city growth experienced in Western countries. Understanding the characteristics of Asian urbanization will be indispensable for the establishment of a local landscape planning system. In this study, we used the Clark linear exponential model and the Newling quadratic exponential model to compare the spatial distribution of population densities in three Southeast Asian mega cities: Jakarta, Bangkok, and Metro Manila. We analyzed land-use patterns in each of the three cities by examining the mixture of urban and agricultural land use. The Clark and Newling models showed that the three cities were at different stages of urbanization. Jakarta had entered the suburbanization stage, Metro Manila was still at an early stage of urbanization, and Bangkok was at an intermediate stage between Jakarta and Metro Manila. Analysis of spatial patterns revealed areas of mixed land use within and around the city region in the three cities and that these areas of mixed land use would shift outward as urbanization proceeds. These findings indicate that planning concepts need to respect the vernacular landscape of each Asian mega cities as well as its stage of urbanization.

The role of landowners in the transformation of land affected by the metropolitan city, “Corlu”

This study develops a theoretical framework for exploring the growth patterns and forms that cities bordering on metropolitan cities take. The ‘leapfrog’ growth patterns of cities that are neighbours to metropolitan areas will be investigated through a case study focusing on the role of landowners’ behaviour. This framework is based on the neo-classical theories of the urban land market (Location and Land Use, Toward a General Theory of Land Rent, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1964; Cities and Housing the Spatial Pattern of Urban Residential Land Use, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1969; J. Urban Econom. 10 (1981) 201) and some models of the urban-fringe land market. This work contributes to this literature by modifying several assumptions of these models in such a way as to engender a decentralised city form shaped by landowners’ behaviour. The theoretical framework of the model will be used to investigate the growth pattern and the land transformation process of a neighbourhood city (Corlu), and the ways in which these are affected by the metropolitan city of Istanbul.

Russian Cities in Transition: The Impact of Market Forces in the 1990s

This paper analyses Russian city growth during the command and transition eras. Our main focus is on understanding the extent to which market forces are replacing command forces, and the resulting changes in Russian city growth patterns. We examine net migration rates for a sample of 171 medium and large cities for the period 1960 through 2002. We conclude that while the declining net migration rate was reversed during the first half of the 1990s, restrictions continued to matter during the early years of transition in the sense that net migration rates were lower in the restricted than in the unrestricted cities. This pattern seemingly came to an end in the late 1990s.

Urbanization Transition Types and Zones in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefectures

Spatial and temporal patterns of urbanization in Tokyo and Kanagawa were analyzed based on changes in administrative type from village to town to city to ward. Using a GIS, changes in these units between 1889 and 1995 were recorded from historical maps, half-decade censuses, and other sources. Many areas had sequential change (on a progression from village to town to city to ward), others had nonsequential change, skipping one or more steps, and some remain unchanged. There was an expanded core-city zone of nonsequential transition (from village or town directly to ward), an inland/coastal suburb zone of sequential transition (e.g., villages became a town, then towns became a suburban city), a foothills zone of nonsequential transition (e.g., villages and a town joined to become a city), and a mountain-towns zone of sequential transition (villages formed a town). These four zones form an alternating pattern of nonsequential, sequential, nonsequential, and sequential transition types. Areas adjacent to the core cities of Tokyo and Yokohama had nonsequential transitions, annexed as wards from villages or towns in the 1920s and 1930s. The next zone had gradual, sequential formation of mid-sized suburban cities, with most conversions to city occurring in the 1950s through 1970s. The third zone comprised satellite cities formed by nonsequential consolidation of villages and towns to form large mountain-edge cities, at various times during the century. The final zone had sequential change from mountain village to town. These urbanization transition zones reflect the differences in core, suburban, and satellite city growth patterns.

Mobility where mobility is illegal: internal migration and city growth in the Soviet Union.

This paper examines an important anomaly in the internal migration history of the former Soviet Union (FSU). While many cities were closed in the sense of explicitly limiting growth of city population from migration, it was difficult to assess the effectiveness of these controls. We analyze a sample of 308 Soviet cities to isolate the impact of closure regulations controlling for city size. We find that while there are pervasive patterns of city growth, the rate increasing through the 1960s and declining thereafter, there are also pervasive differences between controlled and uncontrolled cities, the later growing significantly faster in almost all cases, controlling for city size.

Discrimination in mortgage lending: The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

There exists a long history of legislation at the national and state levels in the United States designed to have an impact on the home mortgage lending market. The present research makes use of data available through one national legislative act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, to ascertain if some census tracts in Memphis, Tennessee are experiencing lower than expected rates of mortgage lending from conventional and governmental sources due to the percent of their population which is black. The data indicate that even after instituting objective controls, i.e., income, neighborhood conditions, and two dimensions of demand, the percent of the population which is black significantly affects (negatively) lending rates. These results are discussed in regard to (1) the implications for patterns of city growth and development, and (2) further legislative action required to make the study of such dis-crimination easier for a public charged with that responsibility.

Continuity in the Rebuilding of Bombed Cities in Western Europe

In the rebuilt cities in western Europe the whole pattern of urban reconstruction shows strong evidence of continuity and persistence. No case of abandonment is on record. The economic bases and growth patterns of cities have not changed significantly. With few exceptions, cities and towns have been rebuilt on the same site, and the new city centers occupy the same area as before the war. There are few massive land-use changes. No effort has been made to create a new urban pattern designed for protection against future war.