Percentage Of Built-up Area Research Articles

Examining the influence of the implementation of Major Function-oriented Zones on built-up area expansion in China

China had implemented the national strategies for Major Function-oriented Zones (MFOZs) to realize the goal of national sustainable development since 2010. This study analyzed and compared spatio-temporal characteristics and differences in built-up area for China’s MFOZs using a China’ s Land Use Database (CLUD) derived from high-resolution remotely sensed images in the periods of 2000–2010 and 2010–2013. To sum up: (1) The percentage of built-up area in each of the MFOZs was significantly different, revealing the gradient feature of national land development based on the distribution of the main functions. (2) Annual growth in built-up area in optimal development zones (ODZs) decreased significantly during 2010–2013 compared with the period 2000–2010, while annual growth in built-up area in key development zones (KDZs), agricultural production zones (APZs) and key ecological function zones (KEFZs) increased significantly. (3) In ODZs, the average annual increase in built-up area in the Yangtze River Delta region was significantly higher than in other regions; the average area increase and rate of increase of built-up area in KDZs was faster in the western region than in other regions; average annual area growth of built-up area in APZs in the northeast, central and western regions was twice as high as the previous decade on average; the annual rate of change and increase in the dynamic degree of built-up area were most notable in KEFZs in the central region. (4) The spatial pattern and characteristics of built-up area expansions in the period 2010–2013 reflected the gradient feature of the plan for MFOZs. But the rate of increase locally in built-up area in ODZs, APZs and KEFZs is fast, so the effective measures must be adopted in the implementation of national and regional policies. The conclusions indicated these methods and results were meaningful for future regulation strategies in optimizing national land development in China.

Effects of urbanization on the avian community in a southern Brazilian city

This paper compares the proportion of urban tolerant birds in the urban avian community and the amount of built-up areas, mostly impervious surface, as indicators of urbanization on patterns of bird species richness in a southern Brazilian city. From September to December 2013 (breeding season), bird surveys were conducted in 120 squares of 100 ha randomly select within Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. All bird species seen or heard during the sample timeframe were recorded. The extent of urban modification and disturbance was estimated directly from urban landscape data analyses through a geographic information system. Linear regressions were graphed and Spearman rank correlations were calculated to assess the relationship of overall species richness and the percentage of urban tolerant birds against the percentage of built-up areas as the predictor variable. Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric analyses of variance were performed to test if the total richness or the percentage of urban tolerant birds on the assemblages differed between categories of urbanization (low, intermediate and high). We recorded 102 bird species, including 13 urban tolerant species. As expected, urbanization significantly reduced species richness, but urban tolerant species were less affected to changes on land modifications associated to urban growth. The increase in representativeness of “urban-adaptable” species on the bird assemblages of intermediate and high-urbanized areas in Curitiba was probably favored by their broad environmental tolerance. Most urban tolerant species registered are ground foraging resident birds, use a diverse array of anthropogenic resources, and can be found occupying various types of habitat in several human-modified ecosystems.

Land quality and the city: Monitoring urban growth and land take in 76 Southern European metropolitan areas

Urban expansion determines socioeconomic and environmental changes with unpredictable impacts on peri-urban land, especially in ecologically fragile areas. The present study assesses the impact of dense and, respectively, discontinuous urban expansion on high-quality land consumption in 76 metropolitan regions of Southern Europe. Land quality indicators and land-use maps were considered together with the aim to analyze urban growth and land take processes in Portugal, Spain, Southern France, Italy and Greece. Differences in the rate of selective land take (high- vs. low-quality soils) were observed at the metropolitan scale depending on the size of urban regions, the average level of land quality and the percentage of built-up areas and cropland in the total landscape. Discontinuous residential settlements were more frequently developed on high-quality soils in respect to both dense and mixed residential settlements and service settlements. Urbanization – especially discontinuous urban expansion – consumed high-quality land mainly in Spain and Greece. The approach presented in this paper may inform joint policies for urban containment and the preservation of high-quality soils in peri-urban areas.

Modeling the Relationship between the Gross Domestic Product and Built-Up Area Using Remote Sensing and GIS Data: A Case Study of Seven Major Cities in Canada

City/regional authorities are responsible for designing and structuring the urban morphology based on the desired land use activities. One of the key concerns regarding urban planning is to establish certain development goals, such as the real gross domestic product (GDP). In Canada, the gross national income (GNI) mainly relies on the mining and manufacturing industries. In order to estimate the impact of city development, this study aims to utilize remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to assess the relationship between the built-up area and the reported real GDP of seven major cities in Canada. The objectives of the study are: (1) to investigate the use of regression analysis between the built-up area derived from Landsat images and the industrial area extracted from Geographic Information System (GIS) data; and (2) to study the relationship between the built-up area and the socio-economic data (i.e., real GDP, total population and total employment). The experimental data include 42 multi-temporal Landsat TM images and 42 land use GIS vector datasets obtained from year 2005 to 2010 during the summer season (June, July and August) for seven major cities in Canada. The socio-economic data, including the real GDP, the total population and the total employment, are obtained from the Metropolitan Housing Outlook during the same period. Both the Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were used to determine the built-up areas. Those high built-up values within the industrial areas were acquired for further analysis. Finally, regression analysis was conducted between the real GDP, the total population, and the total employment with respect to the built-up area. Preliminary findings showed a strong linear relationship (R2= 0.82) between the percentage of built-up area and industrial area within the corresponding city. In addition, a strong linear relationship (R2= 0.8) was found between the built-up area and socio-economic data. Therefore, the study justifies the use of remote sensing and GIS data to model the socio-economic data (i.e., real GDP, total population and total employment). The research findings can contribute to the federal/municipal authorities and act as a generic indicator for targeting a specific real GDP with respect to industrial areas.

Spatial distribution of air temperature in Toruń (Central Poland) and its causes

In this article, the results of an investigation into the air temperature pattern and development (including the urban heat island (UHI)) in Torun (central Poland) are presented. For the analysis, daily mean temperature (Ti) as well as daily maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperatures for 2012 gathered for 20 sites, evenly distributed in the area of city, have been taken as source data. Additionally, in order to provide more extensive characteristics of the diversity of the air temperature in the study area, the diurnal temperature range (DTR) and the number of the so-called characteristic days were calculated as well. The impact of weather conditions (cloudiness and wind speed), atmospheric circulation, urban morphological parameters and land cover on the UHI in the study area was investigated. In Torun, according to the present study, the average UHI intensity in 2012 was equal to 1.0 °C. The rise of cloudiness and wind speed led to a decrease of the magnitude of the UHI. Generally, in most cases, anticyclonic situations favour increased thermal contrast between rural and city areas, particularly in summer. Warm western circulation types significantly reduced temperature differences in the western side of the city and enlarged them in the eastern side of the city. Eastern cold types also have a similar influence on air temperature differences. Positive and statistically significant correlations have been found between the percentage of built-up areas (sealing factor) and air temperature. Conversely, sky view factor (SVF) reveals negative correlations which are statistically significant only for Tmin.

Characterizing the physical and demographic variables associated with heavy metal distribution along urban-rural gradient

This paper describes a study of how the demographic and physical variables affected the heavy metal (HM) contamination along the urban-rural gradient in PuDong New District, Shanghai. The road density (RDi) and the percentage of built-up areas (BAi) were calculated for various widths of buffers around the soil sampling sites. Through distance allocation, the demographic values of the population change index (PCI) were assigned, with the value being associated with the nearest town. We initiated the use of the population migration rate from 2000 to 2010, i.e., PCI, to represent the urbanization rate. Regression analysis between the soil HM concentrations and the PCI, the RD, and the BA was estimated. The results indicated that the PCI significantly affected the Cd and Cu distribution (p < 0.05), while the RD of the 3-km buffer affected the Pb concentrations. The BA of 2-km buffers affected the spatial distribution of Cd, Cu, and Zn. Zn was also affected by the RD within the 4-km buffer. Using the median values of the PCI and the BA of the 2-km buffer, and the RD of the 3-km buffer, logistic analysis was performed to identify the priority areas for managing HM hazards. The two identified priority areas were the towns of Kangqiao and Zhuqiao, both of which were rapidly urbanized areas with higher PCI values. Our research demonstrated that understanding the rate of urbanization may be as important as the degree of urbanization when examining associated HM contamination patterns.

Determinants of tree frog calling ponds in a human-transformed landscape

Facing increasing human demands on Earth, understanding how endangered species may survive in isolated remnants of natural habitat within heavily transformed landscapes is key to contemporary conservation biology. Against this background we here investigate the factors affecting pond occupancy in the endangered European tree frog (Hyla arborea L.) within an urban landscape, being located in north-eastern Germany where the species is still fairly common. Our survey revealed that 58 out of 122 ponds were occupied by H. arborea. Ponds with a higher percentage of floating vegetation, being deeper and surrounded by higher percentages of crop fields and forests were more likely to be occupied, while factors associated with urbanization such as the percentage of built-up area were strongly detrimental. Habitat requirements of H. arborea were complex as occurrence was simultaneously affected by different spatial scales, including the landscape scale, the immediate surroundings of ponds and the ponds themselves. H. arborea avoided highly urbanized areas, but occurred frequently in agricultural areas surrounding the city. The latter suggests that this species is fairly tolerant towards human-induced transformations, and that vast arable fields yielded positive rather than negative effects on H. arborea occurrence. We conclude that the most important conservation issues for supporting H. arborea populations at the periphery of urbanized areas are (1) maintaining an open (agricultural) landscape structure, (2) providing undisturbed overwintering habitats, and (3) maintaining pond quality by halting shrub and tree encroachment.

Change Detection of Land cover and Urban Heat Islands using Multi-Temporal Landsat Images, application in Tanta City, Egypt

The rapid urbanization coupled with tremendous growth in population and built-up areas in cities, lead to problems associated with global climate change impacts such as urban heat islands. The current study is concerned with mapping the dynamics of urban growth and the urban heat island (UHI) in Tanta city, Nile Delta, Egypt using remote sensing data and techniques. The thermal bands of five multi-temporal Landsat5 TM and Landsat7 ETM+ images covering Tanta city, Egypt acquired in summer season were analysed for the spatio-temporal identification and mapping of UHIs. First, Landsat multiple bands were used to classify the landcover and to detect the changes in built-up areas. Second, the thermal bands were used to retrieve the land surface temperature (LST) in the city and outskirts. Third, The urban heat islands (UHI) intensity was identified for each image and mapped using the mean temperature and standard deviation. Finally, a regression analysis was conducted to study the relationship between LST and green areas and built-up areas. The results revealed the enormous urban growth and reduction of the green areas in Tanta during the study periods. This was accompanied by an increase in urban heat islands intensity. The results revealed that the relationships between the percentage of built-up areas, green areas and the land surface temperature in the city.

The Use of Remote Sensing Technique to Predict Gross Domestic Product (GDP): An Analysis of Built-Up Index and GDP in Nine Major Cities in Canada

Abstract. City/regional authorities are responsible to design and structure the urban morphology based on the desired land-use activities. One of the key concerns regarding urban planning is to establish certain development goals, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In Canada, the gross national income mainly relies on mining and manufacturing industries. In order to facilitate new city development, this study aims to utilize remote sensing and GIS techniques to assess the relationship between the industrial area and the reported GDP in nine major cities in Canada. Free archive multi-temporal Landsat TM images and land use vector data were obtained for year 2005 and 2010 during the summer season, where the socio-economic data, such as GDP, population, and total employment are obtained from Metropolitan Housing Outlook for the same duration. The Landsat TM images were first atmospherically corrected and the built-up values were computed using the Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the Landsat images. The high built-up values within the industrial areas were acquired for further analysis. Finally, a correlation analysis was conducted between the GDP, Population, and Total Employment with respect to the built-up areas. Preliminary findings show that the R2 between the percentage of built-up areas and industrial area within the corresponding city is 0.82. In addition, the R2 between the built-up areas and GDP ranges from 0.73 to 0.78. Consistent findings are observed in the similar correlation between the built-up areas and population, as well as the built-up areas and the employment, where the R2 is within 0.72 to 0.73. With the correlation found, we believe that results can be used as a generic indication for the federal/municipals authorities, which are aiming or target for a specific GDP with respect to the planned industrial area.

A water quality monitoring network design using fuzzy theory and multiple criteria analysis.

A proper water quality monitoring design is required in a watershed, particularly in a water resource protected area. As numerous factors can influence the water quality monitoring design, this study applies multiple criteria analysis to evaluate the suitability of the water quality monitoring design in the Taipei Water Resource Domain (TWRD) in northern Taiwan. Seven criteria, which comprise percentage of farmland area, percentage of built-up area, amount of non-point source pollution, green cover ratio, landslide area ratio, ratio of over-utilization on hillsides, and density of water quality monitoring stations, are selected in the multiple criteria analysis. The criteria are normalized and weighted. The weighted method is applied to score the subbasins. The density of water quality stations needs to be increased in priority in the subbasins with a higher score. The fuzzy theory is utilized to prioritize the need for a higher density of water quality monitoring stations. The results show that the need for more water quality stations in subbasin 2 in the Bei-Shih Creek Basin is much higher than those in the other subbasins. Furthermore, the existing water quality station in subbasin 2 requires maintenance. It is recommended that new water quality stations be built in subbasin 2.

Influence of local and landscape characteristics on the distribution and diversity of fish assemblages of streams in the Ivinhema River basin, Upper Paraná River

OBJECTIVES: Among the most relevant issues in community ecology is the influence of different ways of addressing the pattern of diversity and distribution of species, and based on this, the present study sought to evaluate the influence of landscape and local characteristics on the richness and composition of fish assemblages in the Ivinhema River basin. METHOD: In the present study, we used data of distribution of fish species in 25 stretches of streams of the Ivinhema River basin, Upper Paraná River, aiming to know the role of local characteristics and land use on fish assemblages. RESULTS: We identified 113 fish species, and those sampled in a greater number of sites were: Astyanax altiparanae and Serrapinnus notomelas. The richness varied between 4 and 65 species. The regression tree allowed explaining 89.3% of richness variation, and permitted to identify that altitude is the main predictor of richness. According to the canonical correspondence analysis, variables that most influenced the species distribution were: altitude, depth, width, velocity, conductivity and percentage of built-up areas. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that factors that most influenced fish assemblages in the Ivinhema River basin were physiographic and limnological characteristics, followed by land use.

Variations of urban greenness across urban structural units in Beijing, China

Urban structural units (USUs) are work (or similar) units in urbanized areas. In this study, USUs based on urban land use and land cover were used to explain and compare urban ecological conditions within Beijing. This study focused on the spatial pattern of land use for different USUs in urban areas. The results showed that 453 USUs belong to 12 primary USUs and to 38 different secondary USUs. The percentage of built-up area was highest in those regions with hotels, and lowest in areas with cemeteries. The percentage of woodland area was highest in primary and middle schools, and the lowest in entertainment plazas. The percentage of grassland area was highest in farmland or orchards, and lowest in Siheyuan (courtyards). The percentage of green space is highest in lands dedicated to middle and primary schools, and lowest in areas with museums. There is no significant linear relationship between construction period and green space percentage in Colleges/Universities (R=0.045, p=0.806>0.05) and Parks (R=0.13, p=0.43>0.05). However, there was an inverted-U curve relationship with the relevant housing price in the residential area, a relationship that can be described by the equation: f=17736.45+348.21x−4.15x2, p=0.0022<0.05. This relationship implied that the socio-economic factors like housing prices may be a factor in determining the green space pattern of urban ecosystems in Beijing.

Content of heavy metal compounds in bottom sediments of the Suchedniow water reservoir

Water reservoirs become silted at various intensity levels. Within the reservoir bowls, both allochtonic (built up outside the sedimentation area) and autochtonic (built up in the sedimentation area) matter is accumulated. As a result, reservoirs need desilting after a while. Then a problem arises how to manage the sludge removed from the reservoir bottom. The chemical properties of the bottom sludge, and particularly the content of heavy metals, decide whether it will be possible to use the sludge, and in what way. The chemical properties of the bottom sludge depend, to a far extent, on the character of the reservoir basin, the level of its urbanisation, and also on the climatic conditions. The paper presents the results of investigations into the content of heavy metals in the bottom sediments in the Suchedniow water reservoir. This water body is characterised by small mean depth of 1.05 m and mean annual flow across the dam profile of 0.63 m 3 · s -1 . Forests dominate in the reservoir basin covering 45 % of its area, arable land constitutes 18 %, and the percentage of built-up area does not exceed 5 %. In recent years (2009-2011), the water reservoir has become much silted because of storing large soil masses near the local watercourses during the construction of S7 expressway. The amount of stored soil is estimated at 7.8 thousand m 3 . For investigations, nine bottom sediments samples were collected, in which the content of the following heavy metals: Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn, Fe, and Mn was determined. Quasi-undisturbed sludge was taken into transparent cylinders with Eijkelkamp sampler, which made it possible to conduct analysis in sediment layers 20 cm in height. In order to evaluate the sediment pollution with heavy metals, the geoaccumulation index, the pollution coefficient and level were calculated. On the basis of admissible soil chemical pollution tables, the possibility of the sludge use in agriculture after extracting it from the reservoir bowl was assessed.

Applied GIS system in environmental planning at Nagytétény bay

In the densely populated part of Nagyteteny bay Metallochemia factory has been operating as a pollution source resulting from stack emission as early as since the beginning of the 1900’s. The nearby residential properties were impacted by significant concentrations of heavy metals, which found their way also to the deeper strata of the soil. Our task was to perform the detailed environmental state investigation of the nearly 1,400 impacted properties located in an area of 3.5 km2 and to prepare a technical remediation action plan. For the execution of the task a complex GIS system was developed, to take the numerous design aspects (such as technological and horticultural condition of the objects on the properties, presence of public utilities, current and planned land use, percentage of built-up area, archaeological, cultural, protected natural and other restricted areas, objects, and morphologies, as well as pedological, geological and hydro-geological conditions) into consideration. For the work three series of aerial photographs, taken at different times, and approximately 20 thematic maps with different scales and projections had to be integrated into the system. Data processing was executed by ArcView GIS programme. This system made us possible to manage and evaluate the territorial relationships between the data, as well as to make design calculations, and to thematically represent the results by using previously developed logical functions. On the basis of the design considerations, environmental technical and horticultural remediation action plans were developed for each property. This study presents the main steps of fieldwork and the building of the GIS system without analysis of the collected data.

Nocturnal urban heat island in Lisbon (Portugal): main features and modelling attempts

In recent years, several studies have examined the Lisbon urban climate. A central conclusion is the existence of a nocturnal urban heat island (mean ΔTu−r = 2.5 °C). The aim of this paper is to summarise several attempts carried out in the last decade to interpolate nocturnal air temperatures across Lisbon, in order to be able to draw thermal maps as accurately as possible. This study refers only to clear nights. Stepwise multiple regression and a Geographic Information System were used to model the relation between air temperature and parameters related to land-use and topography. The different regression models (coefficients of determination between 0.68 and 0.92) show that canopy layer air temperature depends on sky-view factor, building height and percentage of built-up area, but also to a great extend on mesoclimatic geographic factors such as altitude, topography and distance from the Tagus River. Examples of four frequently encountered nocturnal air temperature patterns are presented, each corresponds to a different weather type. This method employed could prove useful in drawing climatic maps that may be of use in master plans of urban municipalities.