Urban Spatial Development Research Articles

Impact of Urban Form in the Yangtze River Delta of China on the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Carbon Emissions from Transportation

The impact of urban form on carbon emissions has become a crucial issue for sustainable socioeconomic development and the advancement of low-carbon cities. Transportation is a significant source of urban carbon emissions, highlighting the need for comprehensive research to aid China in achieving its carbon peak and neutrality goals. Currently, there is a lack of quantitative studies exploring the effects of urban form on transportation-related carbon emissions. This paper seeks to quantify the effect of urban form on the spatial and temporal patterns of transportation carbon emissions, utilizing panel data from 27 cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China, covering the years 2000 to 2020. First, CO2 emissions from transportation are estimated following IPCC guidelines, with Moran’s I utilized to analyze spatial autocorrelation. Next, urban form indicators are quantified based on landscape ecology theory. Finally, econometric models are employed for regression analysis of the panel data. The findings reveal that urban complexity, compactness, and expansion influence transportation carbon emissions to varying degrees, with urban expansion and complexity associated with increased emissions, while compactness contributes to their reduction. This study offers theoretical support and a scientific basis for low-carbon urban spatial planning and development, underscoring the importance of urban form in emissions reduction strategies.

Comparing ICT-related future development trends in shrinking cities: resident and decision-maker perceptions

ABSTRACT Digitalization and the widespread adoption of novel Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has transformed almost all aspects of society. Remote working, e-commerce and remote services have had a major impact on the lives of individuals, and they increasingly enable individuals to choose their place of residence regardless of geographical constraints. These trends also have a considerable impact on urban spatial structure and regional development. This study examines and compares the probability and desirability of how residents and decision-makers perceive the development trends influenced by ICT and digitalization in shrinking cities and regions. Based on the results the perceptions of residents and decision-makers regarding the desirability of analysed future scenarios are quite well in line, but there exists significant differences regarding the probability of these trends. The results and methodology provide valuable insights for policymakers and other decision-makers to make informed and more participatory decisions regarding future regional development.

Good intentions gone awry: Rail lines and inner‐city development

AbstractThis study explored the impact of transportation systems in urban areas on economic activity. We examined the effect of traditional Chinese railway construction fencing on urban spatial development using nighttime luminance and railway data from prefecture‐level cities. The study found that the fencing effect exacerbated uneven development on either side of the railway, especially in economically underdeveloped areas. These results were supported by different measures of development and a placebo test. The fencing effect was also found to affect the location of newly registered firms and the total factor productivity of industrial firms, leading to unbalanced growth on either side of the railway.

New cities for a ‘new Kuwait’: planning for national continuity and stability

ABSTRACT An unprecedented new city-building boom is unfolding in Kuwait, with 12 new cities currently underway. As an oil-rich country, Kuwait faces imminent challenges, including peak oil and climate change, which threaten national wellbeing, continuity, stability, and even survival. As a welfare state guaranteeing housing to citizens, Kuwait shares oil wealth, fundamentally shaping urban planning and spatial development. The current national city-building strategy aims to address housing shortages while reducing reliance on oil. Despite the resources allocated to these projects, Kuwait's city building and its relationship to national economic development strategies has received little scholarly attention. This article introduces the 12 new city projects underway, and examines the main actors driving this trend, how new cities connect to the state's development logic for future-proofing the country, and how national sustainability goals and the state's Vision 2035 for a ‘new Kuwait’ shape these projects. Finally, we reflect on the challenges these projects face.

Local government competition and centralised urban growth management policy implementation: evidence from China

Chinese central government uses top-down land quotas as a key tool for limiting urban expansion. Faced with the benefits of land development, how will local governments respond to centralised quotas? We established a framework for multidimensional local government competition to explain quota implementation. This framework includes vertical competition for fiscal revenue and quotas, horizontal competition for economic growth and political promotion, competition between former and subsequent local leaders for recognition of their leadership and temporal distribution of land finance revenue and government debt and competition with landowners as well as developers for land appreciation income and tax revenue. We argue that these types of competition and their spill-over effects drive local governments to strengthen land-centred urbanisation, resulting in the failure of quotas to restrain urban expansion. Our findings help to improve the understanding of local governments’ strategies for urban spatial development and centralised urban growth management.

Potential and Influencing Factors of Urban Spatial Development under Natural Constraints: A Case Study of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

As urbanization in China progresses, urban spatial development is transitioning from rapid expansion to more intensive and compact growth. This study examined the role of physical geography and environmental factors in shaping the urban spatial development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Based on the current natural conditions, we selected evaluation indices from topography, hydrogeology, climatic conditions, and natural disasters. These indices were used to create a carrying capacity and suitability evaluation system for development land under natural constraints. Finally, the spatial development potential of the city was finalized by taking into account the current state of the built-up area of the city. Meanwhile, we employed the Optimal Parameters-based Geographical Detector and assessed the impact of 14 natural factors on the spatial development of urban built-up areas. In 2020, the GBA had 52,168.77 km2 of land suitable for construction, of which 34,241.13 km2 was highly suitable (61.29%) and 17,927.64 km2 was moderately suitable (32.09%). At the Bay Area level, 90.15% of the development potential remains untapped; at the city level, Zhaoqing City has the highest potential at 99.56%, while Macao has the lowest at 26.83%. Key factors influencing urban development include silty sand content, annual average relative humidity, and cumulative temperature above 0 °C, with varying impacts across different urban scales. At the Bay Area level, the silty sand content, annual average relative humidity, and cumulative temperature above 0 °C are the main influencing factors on the spatial development of urban built-up areas; at the city level, the main factors are annual average relative humidity and cumulative active temperature above 0 °C. This study reveals the important influence of natural environmental factors on urban spatial development, which is conducive to promoting sustainable development of land resources in GBA.

Combining Google Earth historical imagery and UAV photogrammetry for urban development analysis

Rural-urban migration often triggers additional demand for housing and infrastructural development to cater for the growing population in urban areas. Consequently, town planners and urban development authorities need to understand the urban development trend to make sustainable urban planning decisions. Yet, methods to analyse changes and trends in urban spatial development are often complex and require costly data collection. This article thus presents a simplified method to analyse the urban development trend in an area. The method integrates Google Earth (GE) historical imagery (baseline data) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry (recent data) to quantify the changes over time. This approach can be applied to study the urban development trends in low-income countries with budget constraints. The method is discussed under four main headings: (1) background, (2) method details, (3) limitations, and (4) conclusion.•Google Earth historical image can be extracted with its associated world file.•The population of an area can be estimated by using average household size data and the number of residential buildings in the area.•The building height ratio can be used to ascertain if the land is being used parsimoniously.

How to Create Healthy, Stress-Resilient Post-Pandemic Cities

This article analyzes the correlation between the city size, population density and character of three Polish cities and the following aspects: (1) inhabitants’ subjective stress level and its change during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) sources and effects of their stress during the pandemic, (3) ways of reducing stress by residents and the role of greenery in this respect and (4) directions of changes in the structure of post-pandemic cities desired by their residents. The main research method was geo-surveys, the results of which were developed using statistical analysis and GIS methods. On the basis of the constructed scale, respondents subjectively assessed the level of experienced stress and its change during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research shows that none of the considered features of cities (including size measured by the number of inhabitants) are related to the level of pandemic stress of their inhabitants. All of them, on the other hand, are correlated with the directions of urban spatial development desired by the residents, conducive to stress reduction. Furthermore, the size of the city and its character affect the subjectively perceived change in stress levels during the pandemic (compared to the stress level before pandemic). Some of the effects of pandemic stress and ways of reducing it depend on the character of the city. The stress experienced by the inhabitants is the lowest in cities with the largest share of green areas in the spatial structure (especially with forest complexes and naturally shaped areas of river valleys), where an effective system of greenery has been adopted (the Howard’s garden city model), and at the same time with dominant single-family housing. The research results were used to indicate new directions for shaping post-pandemic cities that are more resistant to stress and thus healthier for their residents.

Towards a better psychological satisfaction: developing a mixed multi-criteria evaluation system to urban ‘Not in my back yard’ facilities siting

‘Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY)’ facilities are psychologically sensitive to urban and regional development. Multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method has been widely used for the decision-making of optimum siting of urban NIMBY facilities which aim to improve residents’ psychological satisfaction. However, the evaluation of qualitative criteria in siting analysis remains under researched, such as the insufficient focus on urban and regional spatial development, social public opinion, and psychological factors. Thus, the effective improvement of MCE method through an interdisciplinary view can optimise the decision process and advance the factor assessment system of siting, which helps to supplement qualitative criteria evaluation. The specific improvement steps are as follows. The first step is to introduce the mixed MCE method to improve the qualitative criteria evaluation method by pre-processing qualitative criteria with min–max standardisation and normalization. This process transfers all negative factors to positive ones and transforms the F function to linear functions. The second step is to optimise the existing two-phase siting decision-making including the feasibility evaluation phase and the MCE phase. The third step is to propose a modular criteria system composed of urban and regional spatial planning, social psychological factors and the corresponding improvement strategy of this system from three perspectives of composition, measure, and weight. We argue that the improved method could be broadly applied to optimum siting decision of urban NIMBY facilities and enhance the psychological satisfaction of residents.

The confrontation and symbiosis of green and development: Coupling coordination analysis between carbon emissions and spatial development in urban agglomerations of China

Chinese cities face challenges of uneven development, high carbon emission intensity, and low efficiency in urbanization processes. Achieving harmonization and equilibrium between urban development and carbon emissions is crucial for sustainable development. This paper analyzes the development trajectory from 2013 to 2021 of four urban agglomerations in China: Northeast China (NEC), Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and Pearl River Delta (PRD). It identifies and calculates the urban spatial development patterns and carbon emissions, comparing the spatial-temporal variations in carbon emissions under different urban development patterns. The study also explores the coupling coordination relationship between these two aspects at various stages. The findings suggest that urban spatial development and carbon emissions are often uncoordinated in shrinking cities. In terms of coordination within urban agglomerations, BTH and NEC show suboptimal development, characterized by overall lag and polarization; YRD exhibits the best development, being consistently stable and balanced; PRD is generally improving, though with some cities lagging. Planning departments should revise urban and environmental policies to optimize spatial structures and infrastructure, aligning with regional development and promoting synergy in urban agglomerations. This research provides theoretical and empirical support for China to formulate relevant policies aimed at green, coordinated, and sustainable urban development.

The influence of smart city policy on urban green energy efficiency -- A quasi-natural experiment based on 196 cities

Based on 196 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2021, this paper constructs a weight matrix of urban economic geography and uses the spatial differential model to verify the impact of smart city policies on urban green energy efficiency. The results show that the efficiency value of green energy fluctuates in Chinese cities. Different test results show that smart city policies can effectively improve urban green energy efficiency, but mainly from the time effect rather than the individual effect. It means the improvement in urban green energy efficiency comes more from the fast-growing of the Chinese economy and urban construction in this period than from the country's smart city pilot policy. In addition, from the spatial spillover effect result, China needs to design a better urban spatial development plan to improve the capacity of smart city energy services and vigorously develop intelligent technology represented by information and communication science.

Is urban spatial expansion on track to achieve low-carbon cities? An empirical comparative study of Xi’an and Chengdu in western China

Rapidly expanding urban areas constitute places of high-intensity energy consumption and, hence, major carbon emissions. There is an urgent need to systematically review the relationship between urban spatial expansion and carbon emissions at the city level, especially for cities in western China where development lags behind compared to other parts of the country, and differences among resource availability exist. Here, we conducted a systematic comparative analysis of carbon emissions and urban expansion indicators for urban spatial development. We introduce and apply an extension of the STIRPAT model to quantify the impact of urban spatial expansion on carbon emissions for the cities of Xi’an and Chengdu located in western China. The model findings indicate that both cities have reached the absolute and relative goal of carbon emissions, although they experienced a sprawling pattern. Moreover, population density for both cities displayed a negative relationship with carbon emissions, whereas road area per capita displayed a positive relationship. Since western cities have a later starting point for development, the empirical research on influencing variables of carbon emissions for western cities is important to local and regional urban spatial planning and governance. We propose further empirical studies regarding the gaps of existing urban spatial structure and low-carbon urban areas, in order to construct a systematic and scientifically sound approach to further low-carbon strategies in urban development.

Efficiency Improvement of Urban Spatial Economic Interaction and Regional Economic Development in the Context of Industrial Circulation

Abstract With the deepening of economic globalization, interregional connectivity is increasing, making regional economic linkages a hot topic in economics. This study draws on the principles of operations research to classify the urban spatial financial interaction structure into four primary forms: isolated scatter, line, circle, column and network. Through the social network analysis method, the economic structure of urban space is analyzed from the three dimensions of network density, network centrality and cohesive subgroups. At the same time, the distribution of the potential hierarchy of intercity economic links is explored in detail using the gravity model. The empirical Analysis of the 26 city clusters in the Yangtze River Delta reveals that the spatial correlation of the industrial circulation level among these cities is 0.331, and the mean value of the empirical distribution reaches 0.4338, which significantly indicates that the industrial circulation level is positively correlated with the regional economic development. This study provides a valuable reference for the formulation of regional development strategies and shows a unique innovation in enriching the content of economic linkage theory.

A global perspective on the value of multi-level analysis as an enabler for achieving SDGs

With more than 50 percent of the global population living in urban areas, Sustainable Development Goal 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities provides a critical lever for us to realise all other SDG goals. This calls for tracking urban spatial development at various levels to facilitate a better understanding of the role, amongst others, of remote sensing data in the field of sustainable urban development and services of general interest to be provided by authorities. Urbanisation patterns may thus be retraced, but also modelled in order to provide evidence for decision makers. Without proper planning, the spatial impacts of urbanisation and subsequent spatial inequalities are more likely to affect disadvantaged groups most. In the last decade of the SDGs, the use of data to inform policies is very critical, and such evidence needs to be anchored in multi-level analysis and ensure vertical and horizontal applications at all governance levels.

The role of building violations on urban spatial development in Iran: an emphasize on Tehran metropolis socioeconomic factors

Building code violations have negatively affected Tehran’s spatial development significantly over the last three decades. This study was carried out to answer the question of what the status and factors of building violations and spatial changes were in Tehran’s districts in the first decade 1990s and 2000s, when rapid urban development was at its peak. This study’s statistical population included all buildings in the 22 districts of Tehran. In addition, the data and information for this study were gathered through library and documentary research. Furthermore, descriptive statistical methods were used to explain and interpret the data, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to represent the results. According to the findings, financial incentives were the most important motivators for committing these violations. One of the most important spatial developments in the Tehran metropolis during this time is the conflict between the Master Plan for the city and population growth, per-capita residential, commercial, and military land use. As a result, areas 1 to 7 and residential structures accounted for 56% of Tehran’s total area of residential buildings and 41.8% of the city’s population in 2001, respectively, a rise of 2.9% and 34.8%. Additionally, other public institutions increased the area of residential buildings and the population of this area by 46.5% and 42.5% during this time period, respectively, by violating building codes, particularly in area 4 of the city.

EXPLORING URBAN FUNCTIONAL ZONES BASED ON MULTI-SOURCE SEMANTIC KNOWLEDGE AND CROSS MODAL NETWORK

Abstract. The refined identification of urban functional zones can provide important basic data and decision-making basis for the formulation of urban spatial development planning, effective relaxation of urban spatial development planning, effective relaxation of urban functions, and optimal allocation of resource space. The multi-source spatiotemporal data represented by multi-source geographic data, social perception data, and thematic data have been widely used in various fields, providing new data sources for the refined identification of urban functional areas. However, there are significant differences in the data generation sources, collection methods, and storage organization formats of multi-source data. In this paper, we propose a method for exploring urban functional zones based on Multi-source Semantic knowledge and deep Coupling Model (MSCM). Our approach integrates information from multiple sources and incorporates the semantics of urban functional zones into a knowledge graph, enabling effective fusion and mining of multi-source data.This method can improve the credibility and precision of the results, providing a richer research perspective for refined urban functional zoning. The results of this paper have important theoretical value and practical significance for the construction of identification, labelling, and monitoring tools for engineering smart cities.

Study on the Evolution and Adaptability of the River Network System under Rapid Urbanization in the Xiangjiang River Basin, China

The research focuses on the difficult problem of quantifying the adaptation state of river network system development under rapid urbanization. Based on the river network system data and remote sensing image data of the past 30 years, this study discusses the evolution of the river network system and its adaptability. The geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model was used to reveal the response of the river network system in the Xiangjiang River Basin to urbanization. The results suggest that the Xiangjiang River Basin has experienced a significant increase in urban land due to the strong disturbance by human activities in the last 25 years. The number indicators of river network system such as overall water surface rate and river network density have decreased by 10.04% and 13.99%, respectively. Drainage structure indicators such as tributary development coefficient and structural stability decreased by 6.89% and 4.40%, respectively. The influence of three-dimensional urbanization on the intensity of river network density change is spatiotemporal heterogeneity during 1995–2020. It shows that population factors have a significant negative impact on the upstream area. The regression coefficient between river network density and per capita GDP in the basin is positive. The regression coefficient of urban land is negative, indicating that urban expansion has a significant negative effect on river network density in Xiangjiang River basin. The analysis of the relationship between urbanization and river network system evolution by using the coordination degree model shows that: in the early stage, the level of urbanization is low, the adjustment capacity and carrying capacity of river network are strong, and the coordination degree of urbanization and river network system is small. The level of urbanization has reached a new height, especially in the upstream central cities such as Chang-Zhu-Tan from 2015 to 2020. At this time, the increase of coordination degree is characterized by the mutual promotion of urbanization and river network development, and the improvement of their adaptive development requirements. This study quantitatively reveals the changing characteristics and influencing factors of the adaptability of river network systems and urban spatial development, which can provide scientific support for regional human–water harmony, flood prevention and mitigation, and green urbanization development.

Urban Regeneration under National Land Use Control: Guangdong's “Three-Old” Redevelopment Programme

AbstractIn 2009, Guangdong province initiated a programme of regenerating its blighted urban neighbourhoods, outdated industrial plants and dilapidated villages (also known as “three-old redevelopment”), which continues today. While the academic attention focuses mainly on the city and project levels, few studies give a full and up-to-date account of the overall programme. This paper documents the background, purpose, scope, policy framework, project types, implementation modalities and initial outcomes of the programme. Unlike most urban regeneration projects around the world, the Guangdong programme – the largest coordinated effort in the global history of urban regeneration – is primarily driven not by the potential increases of land value but by an urgent need to find solutions to the conflict between the local demand for urban land and the rigid national land use control. The expected land value increases are harnessed to attract the participation of market players at the project level. The Guangdong experience opens up a new way for urban spatial development in China, especially at a time when China further strengthens national land use control under the newly established national territorial planning system.

Discovering the long-term effects of COVID-19 on jobs–housing relocation

Jobs–housing relocation plays a crucial role in urban spatial restructuring and development. As the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the form of human mobility, it is likely to have affected individual relocation patterns. This study uses mobile phone signalling data from 2018 to 2022 in Beijing to examine and compare intra–urban jobs–housing relocation behaviours among commuters before and after the pandemic. This study captures the pandemic’s long–term effects via an event study design. Despite prevalent negative impressions of the pandemic, this study found that it may have unexpected positive influences on our cities. The pandemic decelerated suburbanisation in young middle–income home relocators but encouraged suburbanisation in relatively older high–income home relocators, which may have helped to preserve inner city vitality. The pandemic accelerated the decentralisation of spatial distribution of employment, which may have helped to further break the monocentric city structure. The pandemic also accelerated inverse jobs–housing separation and improved jobs-housing balance, which may have made the city greener. It is suggested that policy makers seize this opportunity to guide cities towards structural improvement and sustainability.

Spatial-Temporal Evolution Characteristics and Mechanism Analysis of Urban Space in China’s Three-River-Source Region: A Land Classification Governance Framework Based on “Three Zone Space”

In China’s new era with a territorial spatial governance framework, the delineation of the “Three Zones and Three Lines” is a crucial step in establishing a comprehensive and vertically integrated spatial control system. The changes in the “Three Zone Space,” including ecological space, production space and living space, derived from land use abstractions, reflect the extent and manner of the impact of human activities. It serves as an important link between the macroscale (main functional zones) and the microscale (land use planning). The Three-River-Source Region is an important ecological security barrier and a demonstration area for ecological civilization in China. It is also considered one of the least suitable areas for human habitation in China. This region encompasses extensive protected natural areas, and human settlement space is scarce and valuable. The urban space, as an important spatial component of human habitation, often gives rise to significant conflicts between human activities and the environment during the implementation of development and conservation policies for remote areas in China. However, there is currently insufficient attention given to the human settlement space in this area. Therefore, it is necessary to study the evolution and driving mechanisms of urban spatial development from the perspective of the holistic and systematic nature of the “Three Zone Space”. To achieve this, the article first analyzes the characteristics of urban spatial changes from 1992 to 2020. Then, it utilizes the optimized parameter Geodetector to analyze the driving mechanisms behind these changes. The results show that: (1) urban spatial expansion has continued to grow over the past 30 years, with an increase of 774.56%; (2) agricultural space is the main source of conversion for urban spatial expansion; (3) natural factors have limited influence on urban spatial expansion, while human factors play a significant role with evident spatiotemporal heterogeneity. This study is significant for the governance and protection of river sources, the conservation of ecosystems in ecologically fragile areas, and the sustainable development of cities. It can also provide scientific references for decision-making in ecological environmental protection and the formulation of land use and spatial planning at various levels in pastoral areas.