Are all cities with similar urban form or not? Redefining cities with ubiquitous points of interest and evaluating them with indicators at city and block levels in China

Urban forms reflect spatial structures of cities, which have been consciously and dramatically changing in China. Fast urbanisation may lead to similar urban forms due to similar habits and strategies of city planning. However, whether urban forms in China are identical or significantly different has not been empirically investigated. In this paper, urban forms are investigated based on two spatial units: city and block. The boundaries of natural cities in terms of the density of human settlements and activities are delineated with the concept of ‘redefined city’ using points of interests (POIs), and blocks are determined by road networks. Urban forms are characterised by city-block two-level spatial morphologies. Further, redefined cities are classified into four hierarchies to examine the effects of different city development stages on urban forms. The spatial morphology is explained by urbanisation variables to understand the effects. Results show that the urban forms are spatially clustered from the perspective of city-block two-level morphologies. Urban forms tend to be similar within the same hierarchies, but significantly varied among different hierarchies, which is closely related to the development stages. Additionally, the spatial dimensional indicators of urbanisation could explain 41% of the spatial morphology of redefined cities.     

长春市城市形态及风环境对地表温度的影响

随着城市化进程的加快,城市热岛效应越来越受到关注。然而,很少有研究分析城市形态和城市风环境对地表温度(LST)的影响。利用建筑和遥感等多源数据,基于GIS空间方法,结合迎风面指数(FAI)和地表温度,研究长春市城区迎风面指数时空差异,探索城市形态对城市地表温度影响。结果表明:①迎风面指数呈现从中心城区向外扩散的空间趋势,高密度以及高建筑对风的阻碍程度大。朝阳区北部迎风面指数最大,最大值达到15.1,各个区边缘区迎风面指数最小,最小值为0.01。②研究区昼夜地表温度温差大,范围分别是18.15℃～31.73℃、4.27℃～18.43℃。空间分布上与迎风面指数存在相同特征,城市中心城区温度高,以同心圆方式逐渐向外扩散。受城市建筑形态、人为热源等因素影响,与夜间相比,白天高温地区范围更大。③迎风面指数与地表温度在一定程度上相关,昼夜相关系数分别为0.371和0.355。建筑在垂直方向和水平方向上空间形态不同,对地表温度影响存在差异。结合城市风环境状况开展城市形态信息的定量研究,对于城市气候学家、城市规划师探寻城市潜在通风廊道、改善城市通风环境具有重要理论价值和现实意义。     

功能区视角下城市夜光与夜间“两抢一盗”犯罪的空间相关性——以H市市辖区为例

以H市市辖区为例,基于POI数据识别城市功能区,并结合NPP-VIIRS夜光遥感数据与夜间“两抢一盗”犯罪数据,构建双变量空间自相关分析模型,从整体及不同功能区角度探讨城市夜光与夜间“两抢一盗”犯罪的空间关系。结果表明：1）整体上,H市夜间“两抢一盗”犯罪形成“一主一副”的犯罪热点,且夜光与夜间“两抢一盗”犯罪存在空间异质性关系。2）大部分功能区在全局Moran’sΙ上表现为正相关。在局部LISA聚类上,只有居住用地、商业服务业用地和道路与交通设施用地呈现显著的空间异质性。商业用地的高-高聚类多数分布在一环及二环以内,低-低聚类多数分布在城市外围及边缘地带,高-低聚类与低-高聚类则零散分布在二者之间的区域;居住用地的聚类情况呈现南北区域差异;道路与交通设施用地则由于报警地点与实际案发地点可能有所出入,因而结果可信度降低。     

Self-affinity dimensions of topography and its implications in morphotectonics: an example from Taiwan

This paper discusses the self-affinity dimensions of landscape surfaces at a short-range scale and the link to morphotectonic features of the young orogenic belts of Taiwan. The variogram method is adopted to estimate such parameters as the fractal dimension (D), the ordinate-intercept (γ) and the range (R) from data subsets of the digital elevation model (DEM) in a moving-window operation. The fractal morphology expressed by D and γ is found to be useful in defining geomorphic provinces that are related to tectonic features. The mountainous terrain is characterized by high gamma values and low fractal dimensions in contrast to the coastal plains where low gamma values and high fractal dimensions are found. A zone, defined by the fractal parameters (2.4<D<2.6 and 0<γ<2.4), is found to coincide with the most tectonically active zone of Taiwan. Active faults often occur at the boundary between landscapes with contrasting fractal patterns. In the flat lowlands along the western coast, the fractal morphology displays a west-facing amphitheatric pattern, which may be related to the indentation of the pre-Miocene Peikang Basement High. The fractal morphology may reflect some subtle changes in surface textures of a landscape sculpted by surface processes, which in turn are influenced by tectonic activities. The surface roughening and diffusive smoothing may concur to shape the landscape surface at the short ranges we discuss in this study.     

新疆和田绿洲夜间灯光数据的时空分布特征及演变趋势

DMSP/OLS夜间灯光数据在城市化发展研究中起着重要作用。基于5年（1992、1997、2002、2007、2012年）的稳定夜间灯光数据,从时空角度分析绿洲区域夜间灯光数据的变化特征,揭示其演变规律,探讨绿洲城市发展趋势。结果表明：（1）时间序列的夜间灯光数据表现出分散向规则分布转变的趋势。尤其是2007年的核心区域灯光达到饱和状态（值为63）,外部边缘区域增长明显,反映出绿洲城市中心可利用空间的有限性导致城市边缘区向外扩展的范围增加和速度加快的现象。（2）夜间灯光数据在空间上呈现出单核心点状向以道路为中心的带状发展趋势,这与绿洲城市发展建设过程相一致。（3）借助非确定型决策分析方法预测2027年绿洲地区发展趋势,结果显示2027年乐观估计整个区域夜间灯光数据比2012年增加0.3倍,城镇区域将扩大约0.6倍,悲观估计整个区域夜间灯光数据增加近2倍,城镇区域将扩大约3倍。从而可以推断社会经济发展将对绿洲环境有较大的影响,在未来15年内绿洲发展应注重环境承载力与人类社会经济发展的协调性问题。     

Knowledge diffusion from GIScience to other fields: the example of the usage of weighted surface networks in nanotechnology

This article demonstrates how the generalisation of topographic surfaces has been formalised by means of graph theory and how this formalised approach has been integrated into an ISO standard that is employed within nanotechnology. By applying concepts from higher-dimensional calculus and topology, it is shown that Morse functions are those mappings that are ideally suited for the formal characterisation of topographic surfaces. Based on this result, a data structure termed weighted surface network is defined that may be applied for both the characterisation and the generalisation of the topological structure of a topographic surface. Hereafter, the focus is laid on specific issues of the standard ISO 25178-2; within this standard change trees, a data structure similar to weighted surface networks, are applied to portray the topological information of topographic surfaces. Furthermore, an approach termed Wolf pruning is used to simplify the change tree, with this pruning method being equivalent to the graph-theoretic contractions by which weighted surface networks can be simplified. Finally, some practical applications of the standard ISO 25178-2 within nanotechnology are discussed.     

A temporal analysis of seasonal start dates across 25 urban environments in the eastern United States

This research examines changes to seasonal start dates (1948–2015) across urban locations in the eastern United States. For 25 cities, percentile-specific thresholds of temperature (T_a) and apparent temperature (AT) were used to define seasonal start dates. Seasonal changes were evaluated across four time periods: 0300, 0900, 1500, and 2100 UTC. Incorporating spatial and temporal variability into seasonal delineation, this research critiques the ways in which seasons are defined and builds on existing research regarding seasonal climate change. Both T_a and AT results generally indicate earlier starts to the summer and spring seasons, while the starts to winter and autumn seasons have been delayed. On average, a forward shift of 11 days was found for summer. Larger changes were found for AT thresholds when compared to air temperature alone. Temporally, the largest and most significant changes were found for the 0300 and 2100 observations. The observed changes to seasons have significant impact on a range of processes, including phenology and human health, and may be appropriate to consider further in future climatology studies.     

基于夜光遥感影像的粤港澳地区城市发展时空格局演变

将VIIRS时间序列夜光遥感影像首次应用于粤港澳地区,结合LandScan ^TM人口分布图等辅助数据,采用夜间灯光统计、位序-规模法则以及由基尼系数构建的夜光发展指数等方法,在地市级、区县级2种尺度上对其城市发展空间格局进行分析,探究其城市规模的时空演变情况。结果发现,2012—2018年粤港澳地区所有城市的夜光总量均呈现出增长的态势,但中小城市的增速明显高于大城市,汕尾市的夜光增长率高达310.35%。在位序-规模分析中,地市级与区县级的q值在2012—2018年分别下降了16.86%和13.52%,城市规模分布趋于分散的力量大于趋于集中的力量,城市间规模发展日趋平衡。夜光发展指数同样随时间的变化逐渐降低,城市内部夜光与人口之间的分配水平差距正逐渐弥合,中小城市的发展相对更快。同时,夜光发展指数下降最为显著的几个地级市均位于粤东地区,说明粤东地区近年来正展现出强劲的发展态势。     

Detecting clusters over intercity transportation networks using K-shortest paths and hierarchical clustering: a case study of mainland China

Intercity transportation infrastructures and services determine the depth and breadth of the spatial interactions among cities within an urban agglomeration, and have profound impacts on the spatial structure of the urban agglomeration. To evaluate whether the public intercity ground transportation infrastructures and services (i.e. passenger trains and long-distance buses) can support the integration and development of urban agglomerations, we propose a method for ‘transportation cluster’ detection (TCD), which has three unique features: (1) the K-shortest paths are used to quantify the proximity between cities, which is more in line with people’s travel behaviors; (2) a dendrogram is obtained through hierarchical clustering to reveal the structural hierarchies of transportation clusters; and (3) the integration of geo-modularity and hierarchical clustering assures high strength of division of transportation networks. The proposed TCD method was applied to the network of passenger trains, the network of long-distance buses, and the combined network of both in mainland China, respectively. By comparing the resultant transportation clusters with the urban agglomerations delineated by the Chinese government, cities that have weak transportation connections with other cities within an urban agglomeration were identified, and such findings could help devise transportation planning to better support the integrated development of urban agglomerations.     

Cities within cities: intra-urban comparison of infrastructure in Mumbai,Delhi and Cape Town

Comparison is now taken as vital to the constitution of knowledge about cities and urbanism. However, debate on comparative urbanism has been far more attentive to the merits of comparisons between cities than it has been to the potential and challenges of comparisons within cities—to what we call “Intra-Urban Comparison” (IUC). We argue that a focus on the diverse forms of urbanism located within cities may generate critical knowledge for both intra- and inter-urban comparative projects. IUCs highlight the diversity inherent in the category “city,” revealing dimensions of the urban that are central to how cities work and are experienced. We mobilise fieldwork within three cities: Mumbai, Delhi and Cape Town, and consider both how these cities have been historically understood as different urban worlds within a city, and discuss key findings from IUCs we have conducted on infrastructures. We find that IUCs can enhance comparative work both within and between cities: reconceptualising urban politics; attending to the varied and contradictory trajectories of urban life; and bringing visibility to the diverse routes through which progressive change can occur.     

Assembling/Worlding Cities

This article explores the assembling and worlding of cities as both aspirational and evaluative processes in which cities are assembled, compared, and “positioned.” These practices involve the global circulation of expertise, best practices, models, and technologies related to how best to develop and govern cities. From specific examples from the authors' research, it is argued that the two distinct but overlapping notions of assembling and worlding help us conceptualize the contemporary urban–global condition. Building on the article's insights, we end this Urban Pulse with some questions for future global urban studies.     

Are creative workers happier in Chinese cities? The influence of work,lifestyle, and amenities on urban well-being

This paper examines two propositions in the creative-class debate in the context of China’s large cities. The first evaluates Richard Florida’s contention that creative workers enjoy higher level of well-being and are happier than blue-collar workers. The second investigates the influence of urban amenities, lifestyle, and work on creative workers’ happiness. Both propositions are analyzed in relation to China’s post-Socialist, industrial, and mining cities. Based on data from a household survey, the results indicate that Chinese creative workers are indeed happier in post-Socialist, or service-sector oriented, cities. However, creative work does not explain their happiness. Stable social sites that reinforce authentic experience of urban cultural amenities (e.g. the teahouse rather than modern coffeehouses, bars, and theaters) are a significant factor for creative-class happiness in post-Socialist Chinese cities. However, creative work is more likely to explain creative-class happiness in mining cities. Further, our study found that blue-collar workers report a higher level of happiness in those settings with less pronounced inter- and intra-class distinctions at the workplace—in those places where power and status are more evenly distributed.     

城镇体系等级结构的分形维数及其测算方法*

文章探讨了城镇体系等级结构的分形研究方法。首先,讨论了区域城镇规模分布的Zipf模型,并通过分形退化分析将其应用范围加以拓广,从而与非分形研究接口;第二,引进了分形结构因子,以此开创了城镇体系等级结构的FSF分析;第三,提出了表征城镇体系等级差异的差异度概念和度量方法。文章给出实例说明了各种方法的应用,并比较了三种方法的异同。     

The Pedagogical Benefits of SimCity in Urban Geography Education

This article investigated the pedagogical potential of the SimCity simulation game in an urban geography course. University students used SimCity to build their own cities and applied a wide range of theories to support their urban structures. Moreover, the students critically evaluated the logic and functioning of the SimCity simulation compared to real-world contexts and urban geography principles. The students believed the SimCity activity provided them with opportunities to promote their geographic creativity, resulting in diverse, unique, and interesting cities. The findings demonstrate that the use of SimCity can be an effective tool for geography education.     

A study on functional and structural traits of the nocturnal flowers of Capparis spinosa L.

Functional and structural traits of the Capparis spinosa flower were studied in order to understand the mechanisms that allow this species to flower during the dry summer in the Mediterranean. Stomata were found on the abaxial surface of sepals, and on both the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of petals. Filaments and style were densely packed with small cells, exhibiting an increased density of cell wall material that provides strength. Petals possessed vacuolated parenchyma cells with large intercellular space. Turgor of petals was sustained mainly due to a decline in solute potential during the night and to a rise in water potential and solute potential at sunrise, concomitantly with a decrease in solute accumulation. Estimates of total sugars made in floral tissues of nine successive flowers along newborn stems were 100-fold higher than those of proline accumulation. Unsaturated fatty acids were identified as major components of lipids in petals, thereby influencing the fluidity of membranes.     

夜间灯光遥感数据应用综述和展望

在遥感应用研究中,夜间灯光遥感作为发展活跃的一个重要分支,近年来受到越来越多来自自然科学领域和社会经济领域的关注。与传统的光学遥感卫星获取地物辐射信息不同,夜间灯光遥感是获取夜间无云条件下地表发射的可见光-近红外电磁波信息。相比于普通的遥感卫星影像,夜间灯光遥感所使用的夜间灯光影像记录的地表灯光强度信息更直接反映人类活动差异,因而被广泛应用于城市化进程研究、不透水面提取、社会经济指标空间化估算、重大事件评估、生态环境评估等领域。目前,虽然基于夜间灯光数据的应用研究成果正在不断积累,但对成果的系统性总结、整理的研究目前存在着覆盖面不全、时效性不强等不足。基于此,论文通过对近几十年来有关夜间灯光数据的研究成果的详细梳理,从数据处理与技术方法、应用研究等方面进行归纳总结。最后,文章从多源数据融合、应用领域拓展和短周期地表灯光监测3个方面指出了未来的研究热点。     

基于航空网络的中国城市体系等级结构与分布格局

航空运输已成为客货流动的重要交通工具和影响城镇体系的重要因素,城市在全球或国家航空网络中的地位直接反映了城市在全球或国家城市体系中所处的等级。由结点(航空港)和连接线(航线)所组成的航空网络代表了城市的空间可达性,直观地反映出国家城市体系的等级结构与分布格局。 本文收集了目前中国14家主要航空公司的航线数据,经相关分析证明航空网络中城市的航线数量与城市体系的规模等级基本上呈正相关趋势;在此基础上,通过基于航线图的航空网络分析,运用图表判别和聚类分析的方法,将中国128个通航城市划分为全国性中心城市、区域性中心城市、次区域中心城市和一般地方性中心城市四个等级,从航空网络的独特视角揭示了开放条件下中国城市体系等级结构与分布格局。     

Mapping urban Māori: A population‐based study of Māori heterogeneity

Urban Māori is a term that describes indigenous people in Aotearoa New Zealand living in urban environments. It includes Māori who hold traditional authority over land (mana whenua) and Māori who have moved away from their traditional homes (mātāwaka). This article describes the heterogeneity of the urban Māori population through the spatial analysis of iwi (tribal) census data for four urban centres. The results show complex variation in the distribution of mana whenua and mātāwaka populations and help to inform a discussion about the rights and interests of all urban Māori in the development and planning of cities, and subsequent policy responses.     

基于文献数量的中国城市规模分布研究

本文通过对中国知网（www.cnki.net）数据库中的论文进行题名检索,从而获取对不同城市进行研究或关注的论文数量,并通过论文的数量对中国地级及其以上的城市规模分布进行研究。本文的基本结论是基于文献数量的中国城市规模分布基本符合捷夫法则。具体结论如下：其一,由于对上海和北京进行研究的文献数量相差较小,中国城市文献规模分布呈现出较低的首位度,而习惯意义上的“北上广”处在两个完全不同的等级体系。其二,Zipf维数q整体水平小于1,表明学者对城市的研究较为分散。其三,Zipf维数q从2000年到2012年整体上呈现出不断下降的趋势,表明学者对城市的研究呈现逐步分散的过程。其四,中国地级及其以上城市文献规模的等级体系整体上呈现出从金字塔式向纺锥形结构演变,中等文献规模的城市在数量上占据多数。