Urban Land Policy Research Articles

Prediction of Land Use and Habitat Quality in Harbin City Based on the PLUS- InVEST Model

Analyzing the spatiotemporal evolution of urban land use and habitat quality can reveal the correlation between land use and habitat quality, aiding in rational urban land policies and high-quality ecological environment development. This study was based on land use transition matrices and an Intensity-Migration （IM） model to analyze the changes in land use in Harbin from 2000 to 2020. It combined the PLUS model to explore the driving factors of land use expansion for various land types and predicted land use scenarios for 2030 under natural development, ecological protection, farmland protection, and urban development scenarios. Finally, the InVEST model was used to complete the habitat quality analysis. The results indicated： ① The dominant land use types in Harbin were cropland, forest land, and grassland. From 2000 to 2020, there was a significant tendency of conversion into grassland, cropland, forest land, and artificial surfaces, with noticeable changes in land use intensity. Water bodies, bare land, and wetland types showed less conversion and tended to be restrictive. ② Elevation was the primary factor influencing the expansion of grassland, cropland, forest land, bare land, wetland, and water bodies. Socioeconomic factors were the main factor affecting the expansion of artificial surfaces. ③ Simulation of land use types in Harbin for 2030 under the four scenarios showed an increase in forest land area and a decrease in grassland area, with insignificant changes in wetland, water bodies, and bare land areas. Except for in the ecological protection scenario, the area of artificial surfaces increased, whereas cropland decreased. ④ Overall, habitat quality in Harbin improved from 2000 to 2020. ⑤ In 2030, the spatial pattern of habitat quality in Harbin remained consistent across all scenarios, showing an overall improvement in habitat quality. Under the ecological protection scenario, areas with low and medium habitat quality decreased, whereas areas with higher habitat quality increased, indicating a relatively significant improvement in habitat quality. The research results provide a scientific basis and insights for the development of ecological civilization and urban planning and construction in Harbin.

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.

Research on Post-Use Evaluation of Community Green Space Rectification Based on a Multi-Dimensional Perception System: A Case Study of Jiayuan Sanli Community in Beijing

Community green spaces (CGSs) constitute a crucial element of urban land use, playing a pivotal role in maintaining the stability of urban ecosystems and enhancing the overall quality of the urban environment. Through the post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of green spaces, we can gain insights into residents’ actual needs and usage habits, providing scientific evidence for the planning, design, and management of green spaces. This ensures that CGSs better meet residents’ needs and improve their quality of life. The POE of CGSs relies heavily on high-precision data support. However, the current POE system for CGSs faces challenges, such as limited data collection methods, incomplete indicator systems, and excessive manual involvement. To address these limitations in data collection, this study proposes a comprehensive, dynamically monitored, objective, and sustainable POE system for CGSs. This system incorporates a multi-dimensional perception system that integrates the Internet of Things (IoT) and sensors to collect data from various sources. It establishes an evaluation framework from the perspectives of policy guidance and usage needs for CGSs, utilizing neural network systems and artificial intelligence techniques to compute the evaluation results. Using the Jiayuan Sanli Community in Beijing as a case study, this paper demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed system. A comparison between the POE results obtained using the multi-dimensional perception technique and those obtained manually reveals an 87% improvement in the accuracy of the evaluation results based on the multi-dimensional perception system. This system bridges the gap between planning perspectives and user experiences, contributing significantly to future urban land planning and land policy formulation.

Arbitration and Resolution of Contending Forces of Urban Land Policy Expressed in Land Use in Metropolitan Areas of Nigeria

The beauty of a metropolitan area is efficient separation of different land uses so as to accommodate and ensure the coexistence of various land uses (residential, commercial industrial, recreational, etc.) in urban centers. This paper examines the complexities of urban land policy and land use in metropolitan areas, with a focus on Lagos. The study adopted qualitative content review to analyze existing literature. The study found that the government understands that land is a treasure; hence, there are land policies on the use of land to control the use and ownership of land in Nigeria. In spite of all these legislations, there are still existing problems and inadequacies in land use and administration of land in metropolitan areas, such as Lagos. This inadequacy are the contending forces of urban land policies expressed in land use in metropolitan areas in Nigeria. However, there are land use approaches which ensure the arbitration and resolution of these contending forces. These land use approaches include but are not limited to comprehensive urban planning, zoning and land use regulation, infrastructural development, etc.

Arbitration and Resolution of Contending Forces of Urban Land Policy Expressed in Land Use in Metropolitan Areas of Nigeria

The beauty of a metropolitan area is efficient separation of different land uses so as to accommodate and ensure the coexistence of various land uses (residential, commercial industrial, recreational, etc.) in urban centers. This paper examines the complexities of urban land policy and land use in metropolitan areas, with a focus on Lagos. The study adopted qualitative content review to analyze existing literature. The study found that the government understands that land is a treasure; hence, there are land policies on the use of land to control the use and ownership of land in Nigeria. In spite of all these legislations, there are still existing problems and inadequacies in land use and administration of land in metropolitan areas, such as Lagos. This inadequacy are the contending forces of urban land policies expressed in land use in metropolitan areas in Nigeria. However, there are land use approaches which ensure the arbitration and resolution of these contending forces. These land use approaches include but are not limited to comprehensive urban planning, zoning and land use regulation, infrastructural development, etc.

Scenario Simulation of Urban Land Use and Ecosystem Service Coupling Major Function-Oriented Zoning

Simulations of land use/land cover (LULC) and ecosystem services (ES), which integrate national land policies, reflect the development of land and ecological functions under different scenarios and are crucial for accurately predicting and optimizing urban ecosystem sustainable development. To effectively characterize the urban development trend that complies with urban land policies and spatial differences, we combined major function-oriented zoning (MFOZ) and simulated LULC and ES [including water yield (WY), soil retention (SR), carbon storage (CS), and habitat quality (HQ)] within Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration under multiple scenarios. Based on the improved gray multi-objective optimization (IGMOP) model, the patch-generating land simulation (PLUS) model, and the integrated evaluation of ecosystem services and trade-offs (InVEST) model, three scenarios were designed: business as usual (BAU), economic development (ED), and ecological conservation (EC) scenarios. Results demonstrated higher accuracy with the LULC simulation coupling MFOZ. Under BAU, ED, and EC scenarios, the ecological land (EL) area was 924.99 × 10 4 , 904.45 × 10 4 , and 953.59 × 10 4 hm 2 , respectively. Compared to 2020, it increased by 0.77% and 1.95% under BAU and EC scenarios and decreased by 0.08% under ED scenario. The LULC changes under different scenarios influenced ES changes. Trade-offs occurred between WY&SR and CS&HQ under BAU and ED scenarios (WY&SR increased, CS&HQ decreased), while different ES types synergistically increased under EC scenario. Impervious surfaces and vegetation positively affected WY&SR, while forestland and impervious surfaces positively and negatively affected CS&HQ, respectively. The simulation coupling MFOZ may provide new insights for exploring more accurate ecological patterns, identifying potential sustainable spaces, and determining priority projects.

Using registry data to assess gender-differentiated land and credit market effects of urban land policy reform: Evidence from Lesotho

While well-defined urban property rights to support land and financial markets are widely considered to be essential for economic development, many studies using household-based data to study titling programs’ impact yield inconclusive results. We use a 2010–13 titling program in Maseru to argue that this may partly be attributable to a failure of using administrative data and the fact that impacts of policy change that affect treatment and control are not identified in a standard difference in differences (DID) approach. Registry data show significant and sustained changes in quality of service delivery; female land ownership; and volume of registered land sales and mortgages due to the project. Econometric analysis supports this and points to significant effects of regulatory reform. We use this as a basis to discuss ways of combining registry and household survey data to better analyze this type of interventions.

Digging in: Toward a more just urban garden land policy

Surging interest in urban agriculture has prompted cities across North America to adopt policies that give gardeners access to publicly owned land. However, if not carefully designed, these policies can exacerbate existing racial inequities. Drawing on theories of urban and environmental justice, we use a contextualized case comparison to explore the radical potential and practical constraints of garden land policies at two distinct institutions: the City of Minneapolis and the independently elected Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Based on participant observation, document review, and interviews with a range of policy actors, we argue that what appear to be minor, common-sense policy details systematically shape who benefits from the garden land policies, sometimes in surprising ways. Compared to the City, the Park Board goes substantially further in addressing racial equity. Furthermore, though both cases included public participation, we argue that the more inten­sive participation during the Park Board policy development process—particularly in determining the details—was pivotal in crafting a policy that reduced barriers to racial equity. The present study contributes to the growing scholarship on urban agriculture and environmental governance and offers concrete insights for actors working toward more just policies.

Urban land policy and urban land use efficiency: An analysis based on remote sensing and institutional credibility thesis

Ethiopia has an urban land lease policy in place to facilitate the transfer of land for residential, commercial and industrial purposes. Because of the lease policy, many cities have experienced significant expansion through massive conversion of agricultural land. Although the lease policy has been in place for nearly three decades, little is known about its effectiveness in promoting sustainable urban land use. This paper examines the effects of the lease policies on urban land use efficiency (ULUE). Building on the institutional credibility thesis, this paper investigated the performance of land institutions using the urban land use efficiency approach. Remote sensing data was used to investigate urban land use efficiency through spatiotemporal analysis of land use change. Analysis of satellite imagery was performed using ArcGIS. Moreover, quantitative and qualitative data from secondary sources were studied. The study findings show that in almost all study areas, urban land use efficiency is low, which is mainly reflected in the forms of land hoarding, land banking, illegal land grabbing, informal settlement, land use fragmentation and urban sprawl. A significant portion of the land transferred for various urban uses has remained vacant or underutilised for years, in direct violation of the provisions of the lease policy. This means that the lease policy has hardly been enforced to ensure efficient urban land utilization. This demonstrates the ineffectiveness (dysfunctionality) of the existing land institutions. It is concluded that some elements of the lease policy have evolved into an empty institution, i.e., a symbolic institutional arrangement that is largely ignored by socioeconomic and political actors.

A Semi-Automated Two-Step Building Stock Monitoring Methodology for Supporting Immediate Solutions in Urban Issues

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have addressed environmental and social issues in cities, such as insecure land tenure, climate change, and vulnerability to natural disasters. SDGs have motivated authorities to adopt urban land policies that support the quality and safety of urban life. Reliable, accurate, and up-to-date building information should be provided to develop effective land policies to solve the challenges of urbanization. Creating comprehensive and effective systems for land management in urban areas requires a significant long-term effort. However, some procedures should be undertaken immediately to mitigate the potential negative impacts of urban problems on human life. In developing countries, public records may not reflect the current status of buildings. Thus, implementing an automated and rapid building monitoring system using the potential of high-spatial-resolution satellite images and street views may be ideal for urban areas. This study proposed a two-step automated building stock monitoring mechanism. Our proposed method can identify critical building features, such as the building footprint and the number of floors. In the first step, buildings were automatically detected by using the object-based image analysis (OBIA) method on high-resolution spatial satellite images. In the second step, vertical images of the buildings were collected. Then, the number of the building floors was determined automatically using Google Street View Images (GSVI) via the YOLOv5 algorithm and the kernel density estimation method. The first step of the experiment was applied to the high-resolution images of the Pleiades satellite, which covers three different urban areas in Istanbul. The average accuracy metrics of the OBIA experiment for Area 1, Area 2, and Area 3 were 92.74%, 92.23%, and 92.92%, respectively. The second step of the experiment was applied to the image dataset containing the GSVIs of several buildings in different Istanbul streets. The perspective effect, the presence of more than one building in the photograph, some obstacles around the buildings, and different window sizes caused errors in the floor estimations. For this reason, the operator’s manual interpretation when obtaining SVIs increases the floor estimation accuracy. The proposed algorithm estimates the number of floors at a rate of 79.2% accuracy for the SVIs collected by operator interpretation. Consequently, our methodology can easily be used to monitor and document the critical features of the existing buildings. This approach can support an immediate emergency action plan to reduce the possible losses caused by urban problems. In addition, this method can be utilized to analyze the previous conditions after damage or losses occur.

Intensity Analysis to Communicate Detailed Detection of Land Use and Land Cover Change in Chang-Zhu-Tan Metropolitan Region, China

Quantifying the change in land use and land cover (LULC) is critical for revealing the impact of human activities on the environment of the Earth’s surface. Although some studies were conducted on the change in LULC in rapidly urbanizing areas, conventional methods could not provide a systematic understanding of the changes and their underlying causes. This study adopted an enhanced Intensity Analysis and landscape matrices to deeply explore the change information and expansion modes of LULC in the Chang-Zhu-Tan Metropolitan Region (CZTMR). This exploration was based on remote sensing images from the past 40 years and GIS tools. The results show that the overall change in the LULC accelerated during the period 1980–2020, with its intensity expanding by 16 times. The Built gain and the Crop loss were steadily active. The Built gain was derived mainly from Crop and Forest, and its mode was dominated by edge expansion. It was detected that the Built gain steadily targeted Crop but avoided Forest despite Built gaining a large area from Forest. The reason for this is because Forest initially had the largest area. The measurement results contribute to the formulation of urban plans and land policies for sustainable development in the CZTMR. Our study explained the evolution of Intensity Analysis and its analytical thought, which could be employed in other regions for the detection of land change to help decision makers develop more targeted and sustainable land management strategies.

Spatial Efficiency and Socioeconomic Efficiency in Urban Land Policy and Value Capturing: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Land policies are commonly used to contribute to the implementation of the public policy of land-use planning (or spatial planning). In this sense, a spatially efficient land policy must allow the planning systems to achieve the land uses promoted by strategic planning. In addition to their role in land-use planning, land policies also contribute to public finance policies. From this perspective, a socioeconomically efficient land policy must allow public authorities to capture land value. The research presented in this article aimed to contribute to planning theory by initiating a reflection on the interactions between spatial and socioeconomic efficiency in land policy. In our view, to consider those two dimensions in a more integrated way can help in the development of the growing research field on land value capture. Our research is based on the general assumption that there are processes of mutual strengthening and blockages between spatial efficiency and socioeconomic efficiency in land policy. In order to test this assumption, an international comparison methodology was developed. In order to develop a robust methodological approach, our exploratory comparative approach is based on a theoretical framework that depicts an ideal planning system. This ideal planning system serves as a benchmark for two empirical case studies on Norway and Belgium. Through our research, we find evidence of the interdependency of spatial efficiency and socioeconomic efficiency. The results of the two case studies therefore indicate that our initial assumption is generally confirmed. However further investigations are needed to deepen our exploratory discussion of the topic.

Correction to: Urban bias, migration control and rural land policy: the case of Hukou in China

Correction to: Urban bias, migration control and rural land policy: the case of Hukou in China

Urban land policy in San Carlos de Bariloche (2001-2019). Contributions for a critical balance.

This article addresses urban land policies as a key element to guarantee habitability conditions for the working class. With this in mind, the article analyzes the urban land policy developed in the city of San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, in the post-crisis period of 2001, in particular after the housing crisis of 2006-2008, until 2019, in order to make a critical balance of the lots with utilities production policy. Starting from a documentary and qualitative methodological approach, the different operations initiated by the municipal State are examined, taking into account the modalities of land acquisition, the forms of infrastructure financing, the recipients, and their form of organization, among other variables. The results of the research show an effort by the local government of San Carlos de Bariloche to provide utilities to 140 hectares of urban land, but they also show the limitations in its implementation. The work attempts to contribute to the discussion on the causes of urban informality and its relationship with housing and urban policies implemented by local governments in Latin America. The production of lots with utilities is a fundamental pillar of urban policy, but its research has been limited. As such, the article also tries to account for this gap in the literature.

Urban bias, migration control and rural land policy: the case of Hukou in China

Abstract Urban-biased politics often drives distortionary policies in many countries. We develop a political economy model in which the government faces a trade-off between retaining urban support and expanding its industrial rent base. The model shows that while an increase in urbanization strengthens the government’s incentives to adopt rural land reform and to encourage rural–urban migration, an increase in urban productivity has the opposite effect. These effects are mediated by the income share of labor in the rural sector, the political power of urban residents and the labor elasticity of urban output. Using China’s context, we illustrate that the model’s predictions are consistent with the observed policies on land ownership and rural–urban migration.

Does China's increasing coupling of ‘urban population’ and ‘urban area’ growth indicators reflect a growing social and economic sustainability?

Over the last four decades, China has experienced rapid parallel economic development and urbanization, leading to internal mass -migrations of its people from increasingly marginalized rural areas to urban centers where job opportunities and wealth are now concentrated. We compare the relative temporal growth trends in population-related and land-(i.e., area-) related urbanization systems to evaluate China's urbanization in the context of the ‘New-Type’ Urbanization Program (2014–2020). Based on coupling coordination models, we observed that the two systems were overall slightly decoupled since spatial urban expansion commonly outgrew urban population growth, but the degree of coordination between the two parameters was increasing. Employing exploratory spatial data analysis, we revealed that a high degree of coupling coordination has spread from Eastern to Western provinces. Urban planning and land policies have contributed to an increasing urban vegetation cover and the control of excessive urban land expansions. While China's urbanization appears to have become increasingly sustainable due to the increasing degree of coupling coordination between its subsystems, ongoing urban expansions require strong oversight to limit the environmental impacts of the country's sprawling mega-cities.

How entrepreneurialism influences HSR-driven land development: Case studies of Anhui province, China

Since 1980s, impacted by globalization and economic decentralization, Chinese local governments are well-known for its urban entrepreneurialism. However, after the 2008 economic crisis, state direct intervention was re-iterated and became one of the main strategies applied worldwide to tackle development challenges. The high-speed rail (HSR) development has been known as one of many state-led mega-projects that China committed to delivering, aims at stimulating the domestic economy and urbanization under this backdrop. By comparing two cases of HSR lines and new zones development in Anhui province, the study revealed that not only the central power directly intervened local land markets and achieved further consolidation of state power while the entrepreneurial central state power has incurred an increasingly intricate relation that produces a far-reaching impact on Chinese urban land policies and urban governance. This study, therefore, argues that the top-down intervention critically affected the local development through large-scaled infrastructures driven land development while the opportunities and risks have coexisted. Also, the land market, if not the market in general, has considerable influence over institutional structures and, in this case, resulted in governance transformation – central power entrepreneurialism. The empirical insights enriched the ‘entrepreneurialism’ and the urban governance transition resulted from it to an unexplored context and dimension.

Government Land Supply and Housing Prices in Hong Kong: The Political Economy of Urban Land Policy

With the government owning all land in Hong Kong, public land sales have been an important channel for developers to acquire land for property development, apart from private-led urban regeneration. For the colonial time before 1997, land was supplied to the market via a supply-oriented model, in which the government determined how much land to sell and when. The situation changed in 1997 when the administration found that they were being unresponsive to market conditions, and switched to a demand-oriented model that allowed developers to reveal their demand for land. In any case, there is a general expectation in the society that government urban land policy in supplying land plays a pivotal role in making housing affordable by the general working class. By applying a modified Granger Causality test, we find this expectation unrealistic as there is no evidence supporting the claim that changing the quantity of land supply via government land sales would impact housing prices, even when the demand-oriented model was used. This suggests that changing the model per se did not solve the affordability problem. Further analysis based on other sources of land supply reveals that land sales are too trivial to have any observable impact on the housing market. Yet, the political economy of the urban land market prohibits the government from selling more land to build housing, as most of the land she owns has no or restricted development rights.

Detailed Mapping of Urban Land Use Based on Multi-Source Data: A Case Study of Lanzhou

Detailed urban land use information is the prerequisite and foundation for implementing urban land policies and urban land development, and is of great importance for solving urban problems, assisting scientific and rational urban planning. The existing results of urban land use mapping have shortcomings in terms of accuracy or recognition scale, and it is difficult to meet the needs of fine urban management and smart city construction. This study aims to explore approaches that mapping urban land use based on multi-source data, to meet the needs of obtaining detailed land use information and, taking Lanzhou as an example, based on the previous study, we proposed a process of urban land use classification based on multi-source data. A combination road network dataset of Gaode and OpenStreetMap (OSM) was synthetically applied to divide urban parcels, while multi-source features using Sentinel-2A images, Sentinel-1A polarization data, night light data, point of interest (POI) data and other data. Simultaneously, a set of comparative experiments were designed to evaluate the contribution and impact of different features. The results showed that: (1) the combination utilization of Gaode and OSM road network could improve the classification results effectively. Specifically, the overall accuracy and kappa coefficient are 83.75% and 0.77 separately for level I and the accuracy of each type reaches more than 70% for level II; (2) the synthetic application of multi-source features is conducive to the improvement of urban land use classification; (3) Internet data, such as point of interest (POI) information and multi-time population information, contribute the most to urban land use mapping. Compared with single-moment population information, the multi-time population distribution makes more contributions to urban land use. The framework developed herein and the results derived therefrom may assist other cities in the detailed mapping and refined management of urban land use.

Pattern of decision making of urban land policies in the physical development (case study: SARI)

Pattern of decision making of urban land policies in the physical development (case study: SARI)