Zoning grassland protection area using remote sensing and cellular automata modeling—A case study in Xilingol steppe grassland in northern China

Grassland degradation has become a serious environmental problem in China due to climate variability and human disturbances in the arid and semi-arid areas. Establishing grassland protection areas (GPAs) is regarded as an effective measure to protect grassland. This paper presents a new method to support the local government's effort in zoning of GPAs. It integrates a cellular automata (CA) model with geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing. The proposed method includes two major steps: 1. to extract “seed points” of candidate GPAs using remote sensing techniques and GIS; 2. to simulate the zoning of GPAs using a CA model. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated using a case study in Xilingol steppe grassland in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The results show that the integrated approach can rapidly find candidate GPAs that satisfy the zoning requirement. It has demonstrated that the proposed method of grassland protection zoning provides valuable decision support tools for government and planning agencies.     

The impact of perceived urban human settlement quality on subjective well-being: A case study using urban health examination data in the Yangtze River Delta region北大核心CSCD

城市体检是促进中国城市人居环境高质量和提升城市居民幸福感的创新举措,但却很少有研究正面关注城市体检社会评价对居民福祉的影响。论文基于2021年住建部在长三角地区8个样本城市开展的大规模城市体检社会满意度调查数据,采用主成分分析和多元回归分析相结合方法,分别探讨了长三角地区居民的城市人居环境质量感知因子及其对居民幸福感的影响,并从以人为本视角提出长三角地区城市人居环境高质量发展策略。研究发现:(1)城市体检社会满意度评价指标共提取了7个城市人居环境感知评价主成分因子,分别命名为城市管理、城市活力、城市舒适、城市宜居、城市包容、城市安全和城市便利,累计贡献率达到66.767%。(2)城市人居环境感知评价因子均对长三角地区城市居民幸福感具有显著影响,但不同城市人居环境感知评价因子的影响方向却存在差异性。其中,城市管理、城市活力、城市舒适、城市宜居和城市包容等因子显著正向影响幸福感,城市安全和城市便利等因子显著负向影响幸福感。(3)不同城市规模居民幸福感的人居环境主导因子有所不同,同时不同户口和年龄居民幸福感的人居环境影响因素也有差异。研究结果对促进长三角地区城市居民幸福感提升和指导城市人居环境建设具有重要的决策参考作用。     

Supporting the Development of Homestay Tourism in the Yangtze River Delta: A Study based on Tourists’ Perceived Value

Homestay tourism has begun to flourish throughout the country, becoming a model of tourism innovation and upgrading, and attracting increasing amounts of capital. Through the collection and analysis of tourist questionnaire data for key cities in the Yangtze River Delta, and based on the theory of tourists' perceived value,18 factors related to the perception of homestay tourism are examined. Through exploratory factor analysis, three main factors of facilities and environment perception, cultural experience perception and service value perception are extracted. Then, from the perspectives of each of these perceptions, this study determines the degree of support for homestay tourism development in the Yangtze River Delta, obtains the key factors that affect the development of homestay tourism, and constructs a structural equation model of tourist perception and the degree of homestay tourism support. By calculating the regression path of the structural equation, the standardized path coefficients of the facilities and environment perception, cultural experience perception and service value perception are found to be 0.724, 0.813 and 0.692, respectively. These three factors have a significant impact on the development of homestay tourism agglomeration. Positive facilities and environmental perception can effectively support the development of homestay tourism, while the cultural experience perception provides its basic condition, and the service value perception constitutes an important factor of homestay tourism development. To better guide the development of homestay tourism, attention must be paid to developing the tourism facilities and environment, to cultivating tourism cultural experiences, and to improving of tourism service value.     

Spatiotemporal mismatch of land use functions and land use efficiencies and their influencing factors:A case study in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River,China

Identification of the spatial mismatch between land use functions(LUFs) and land use efficiencies(LUEs) is essential to regional land use policies. However, previous studies about LUF-LUE mismatch and its driving factors have been insufficient. In this study, we explored the spatiotemporal mismatch of LUFs and LUEs and their influencing factors from 2000 to 2018 in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River(MRYR). Specifically, we used Spearman correlation analysis to reveal the trade-off relations...     

Impact of radiations on the long-range correlation of soil moisture: A case study of the A’rou superstation in the Heihe River Basin

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Analyses of the soil moisture evolution trend and the influence of different types of radiation on soil moisture are of great significance to the simulation and...     

Earthquake‐induced landslide hazard monitoring and assessment using SOM and PROMETHEE techniques: A case study at the Chiufenershan area in Central Taiwan

Monitoring and assessment of landslide hazard is an important task for decision making and policy planning in the landslide area. Massive landslides, caused by the catastrophic Chi‐Chi earthquake in 1999, occurred in Central Taiwan, especially at Chiufenershan area in Nantou county. This study proposed two useful indicators coupled with the Self‐organizing map (SOM) neural network and the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) technique to quickly extract accurate post‐quake landslides from multi‐temporal Système Probatoire de l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) images. A GIS‐based system was developed to simplify and integrate the procedures such as image pre‐processing, the SOM training, the PROMETHEE calculation, landslide extraction and accuracy assessment. The evaluated result shows that the landslide area soon after the earthquake is 209.50 ha (Kappa coefficient 96.88%). Over seven years of vegetation recovery, the denudation area has declined to 112.64 ha (Kappa coefficient 90.64%). Most earthquake‐induced landslides could be restored by natural vegetation succession. The developed system is a useful decision‐making tool for landslide area planning.     

Microfirms in peripheral areas: How can evolutionary economic geography contribute in studies of diversification? A case study from Norway

The article discusses whether and how the emerging approach of evolutionary economic geography is fruitful when researching diversification among microfirms in peripheral regions. The author argues that such microfirms represent a source of heterogeneity that potentially could enrich our understanding of economic evolution. The sources of variation and mechanisms of selection operating among diversifying farmers in Norway are examined and diversifying farms are identified as both microfirms and households. The findings indicate that motivation at household level is the key to successful diversification. Further, the findings confirm that microfirms are not only able to influence their own destiny, but also institutional progress at regional level. The author concludes that the role of microfirms as actors and the possibility for the study of the agency of such actors are the major reasons why evolutionary economic geography is a fruitful approach in researching microfirms in peripheral areas.     

Effects of rural–urban migration on vegetation greenness in fragile areas: A case study of Inner Mongolia in China

Different government departments and researchers have paid considerable attention at various levels to improving the eco-environment in ecologically fragile areas. Over the past decade, large numbers of people have emigrated from rural areas as a result of the rapid urbanization in Chinese society. The question then remains: to what extent does this migration affect the regional vegetation greenness in the areas that people have moved from? Based on normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data with a resolution of 1 km, as well as meteorological data and socio-economic data from 2000 to 2010 in Inner Mongolia, the spatio-temporal variation of vegetation greenness in the study area was analyzed via trend analysis and significance test methods. The contributions of human activities and natural factors to the variation of vegetation conditions during this period were also quantitatively tested and verified, using a multi-regression analysis method. We found that: (1) the vegetation greenness of the study area increased by 10.1% during 2000-2010. More than 28% of the vegetation greenness increased significantly, and only about 2% decreased evidently during the study period. (2) The area with significant degradation showed a banded distribution at the northern edge of the agro-pastoral ecotone in central Inner Mongolia. This indicates that the eco-environment is still fragile in this area, which should be paid close attention. The area where vegetation greenness significantly improved showed a concentrated distribution in the southeast and west of Inner Mongolia. (3) The effect of agricultural labor on vegetation greenness exceeded those due to natural factors (i.e. precipitation and temperature). The emigration of agricultural labor improved the regional vegetation greenness significantly.     

Water quantity-quality combined evaluation method for rivers＇ water requirements of the instream environment in dualistic water cycle： A case study of Liaohe River Basin

In this article the meaning of the quantity and quality of environmental flows of river in dualistic water cycle is discussed, and compared with the meaning of unitary water cycle. Based on the analysis of the relationship between environmental flows of river requirements, the efficiency of water resource usage, the consumption coefficient, and the concentration of waste water elimination, the water quantity and water quality calculation method of the environmental flows of river requirements in dualistic water cycle is developed, and the criteria for environmental flows of river requirements are established, and therefore the water quantity-quality combined evaluation of natural river flows requirements are realized Taking the Liaohe River as a model, the environmental flows of river requirements for Xiliao River, Dongliao River, mainstream Liaohe River, Huntai River and northeast rivers along the coasts of the Yellow and Bohai seas in unitary water cycle are calculated, each taking up 39.3%, 63.0%, 43.9%, 43.3% and 43.5% of runoff respectively. Evaluated according to Tennant recommended flow, the results show that： except Xiliao River is ＂median＂, the rest are all upon ＂good＂, the Dongliao River is even ＂very good＂. The corresponding results in dualistic water cycle are that, the proportion of natural flows for each river is 57.5%, 74.1%, 60.8%, 60.3% and 60.4%; while the combined evaluation results show that： considering ＂quantity＂, except Xiliao River, the rest rivers can all achieve the ＂quantity＂ criteria of the en- vironmental flows of river requirements, but if considering the aspect of ＂quality＂, only Dongliao River can reach the ＂quality＂ standard. By water quantity-quality combined evaluation method, only Dongliao River can achieve the criteria. So the water quality is the main factor that determines whether the environmental flows can meet the river ecosystem demands.     

Urban forest loss using a GIS-based approach and instruments for integrated urban planning: A case study of Jo?o Pessoa,Brazil

Urban forests play an important role in the thermal comfort and overall life of local populations in large-and medium-sized cities. This study analyzes urban forest loss and maps land use and land cover(LULC) changes between 1991 and 2018 by evaluating the use of urban planning instruments for the mitigation of urban forest loss in Jo?o Pessoa, Brazil. For this purpose, satellite-derived LULC images from 1991, 2006, 2010 and 2018 and data on urban forest loss areas obtained using the Google Earth Engine were used. In addition, this paper also discusses the instruments used for integrated urban planning, which are(a) the legal sector, responsibility and nature;(b) the urban expansion process; and(c) the elements of urban infrastructure. The results show a clear shift in land use in the study area. The major changes in LULC classes occurred in urban areas and herbaceous vegetation, while the greatest loss was in arboreal/shrub vegetation. Thus, an increase in the pressure to occupy zones intended for environmental preservation could be estimated. Our results showed similar accuracies with other studies and more spatial details. The characteristics of the patterns, traces, and hotspots of urban expansion and forest cover loss were explored. We highlighted the potential use of this proposed framework to be applied and validated in other parts of the world to help better understand and quantify various aspects of urban-related problems such as urban forest loss mapping using instruments for integrated urban planning and low-cost approaches.     

Not a “forever model”: the curious case of graduation in Housing First

This article investigates how Housing First (HF) is practiced in Alberta, Canada, with a focus on the concept of graduation. The dominant HF model, Pathways, holds that client support should be time-unlimited. However, HF is highly mobile and increasingly characterized by ambiguity and drift away from Pathways principles. In Alberta, one prominent example of drift is the notion that clients can and should graduate – that is, “exit” HF programs after a certain time. Interviews conducted with 45 participants in three Alberta cities in 2014–15 revealed commonplace, but contested, graduation practices. Interviewees noted that graduation can be necessary to make room for new clients, and may be expected and encouraged by coordinating organizations. They expressed varied concerns about graduation, and the negative influence it could have on client relationships and housing stability. In particular, they emphasized clients’ ongoing dependence on rental subsidies, and the risk of relapse into homelessness.     

Spatial distribution and the scale effect of influencing factors of specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products in the Yangtze River Delta region: Based on the buffer and MGWR analyses北大核心CSCD

High-quality cultivation of specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products is an important starting point for consolidating the security foundation of China's industrial chain and supply chain. Using buffer zone analysis and the multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model, this study explored the spatial distribution of specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products in the Yangtze River Delta region and influencing factors in 2021. The study found that: 1) Spatially, Shanghai is the main area where specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products are concentrated, followed by provincial capitals and cities on the coast and along rivers; The overall composition of the industry is unbalanced, and the real economic industries such as machinery and equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing account for a relatively high proportion, but there are differences in different regions. 2) In terms of spatial agglomeration, differences between circles and the scale effect are obvious. Within each province, the spatial distribution of specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products in different cities is uneven. Region-wide, the overall spatial distribution pattern of "one pole and multiple cores" is evident. Shanghai is the main agglomeration area for these enterprises, and the provincial capital cities and cities that are the regional economic centers are the secondary agglomeration areas of these enterprises. 3) The four dimensions of influencing factors—physical geography, government, market, and society—have a scale effect on the spatial distribution of specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products. The degree of land development acts at a small scale, which is a local variable, and shows a large difference in the impact on the spatial distribution of these enterprises across the region. Factors such as elevation, government-business relationship, degree of marketization, number and scale of enterprises, degree of openness, logistics development level, and innovation environment are global variables, and except that the degree of marketization and the number of enterprises have a significant negative impact on the spatial distribution of these enterprises, the impact of all other factors is significantly positive. The research results can provide support for the optimization of the layout of new special expertise enterprise space in the Yangtze River Delta region, in order to provide reference for the formulation of new special expertise policies and industrial planning. © 2023, Editorial office of PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY. All rights reserved.     

A Review of “Appalachian Aspirations: The Geography of Urbanization and Development in the Upper Tennessee River Valley, 1865–1900”

This article tests the explanatory power and interactions among five alternative explanations of environmental knowledge: (1) local information availability, (2) neighborhood characteristics, (3) environmental attitudes, (4) personal empowerment, and (5) information seeking. Using random forest and conditional inference trees, the article analyzes survey responses and finds that attitudes about personal empowerment and frequent information seeking are the strongest predictors of knowledge. The study offers random forest and conditional inference trees as statistical tools for complex data sets and studies that test hypotheses generated from multiple theories. We discuss the influence of knowledge differences over inclusive sustainability discussions.     

A Review of “Motoring: The Highway Experience in America”

Pauline von Bornsdorff and Arto Haapala, eds. Aesthetics in the Human Environment

James D. Proctor and David M. Smith, eds. Geography and Ethics: Journeys in a Moral Terrain

G. Malcolm Lewis, ed. Cartographic Encounters: Perspectives on Native American Mapmaking and Map Use

Richard Symanski, Blackhearts: Ecology in Outback Australia

Donald W. Meinig, The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History

Peter J. Taylor, Modernities: A Geohistorical Interpretation

Keith Harries, Mapping Crime: Principle and Practice

Leland T. Saito, Race and Politics: Asian Americans, Latinos, and Whites in a Los Angeles Suburb

Frank McDonald, The Construction of Dublin

Lisa M. Benton, The Presidio: From Army Post to National Park

Bob R. O'Brien, Our National Parks and the Search for Sustainability

Eric Damian Kelly and Barbara Becker Community Planning: An Introduction to the Comprehensive Plan

Avinoam Meir As Nomadism Ends: The Israeli Bedouin of the Negev

David Pinder, ed. The New Europe: Economy, Society, and Environment

R. P. Misra and Kamlesh Misra Million Cities of India: Growth Dynamics, Internal Structure, Quality of Life, and Planning Perspectives. Vol 1     

Spatial-temporal change in urban agricultural land use efficiency from the perspective of agricultural multi-functionality: A case study of the Xi’an metropolitan zone

The excessive expansion of urbanized areas has resulted in haphazard land utilization, immoderate consumption of superior agricultural land and water resources, significant fragmentation of agricultural landscape, and gradual deterioration of the agro-ecological environment. Combined, these factors cause poor land use efficiency. Under these circumstances, comprehensively assessing land use efficiency for urban agriculture is a key issue in land use research. Currently, evaluation methods for agricultural land use efficiency narrowly concentrate on aspects of economic input and output. However, urban agro-ecosystems can provide diverse economic, social, and ecological services and functions. In particular, the social and ecological services and functions originating from agricultural land, which have a higher value than economic services, play a significant role in ensuring regional social, ecological, and environmental security. However, recent research has rarely taken these benefits into consideration. Therefore, land use value has been greatly underestimated, which has resulted in mishandled and poor land use policies. In this study, we apply Landsat imagery and social and economic statistical data for the Xi’an metropolitan zone (XMZ) to investigate agricultural multi-functionality. We develop an evaluation framework for urban agricultural land use efficiency and identify agro-ecosystem services and functions as important outputs from agricultural land. The land use efficiency of urban agriculture is then evaluated using ecosystem services models, providing a mechanism for assessing spatial-temporal changes in land use efficiency in the XMZ from 1999 to 2015. Four important conclusions are reached from this analysis. First, the rapid urbanization and agricultural transformation from traditional cereal cultivation to modern urban agriculture has resulted in steadily increasing costs, outputs, and land use efficiency of urban agriculture. The total output value increased 41% and land use efficiency per hectare increased by 33.13% on average. Second, the spatial patterns of comprehensive output and land use efficiency were dominated by economic outputs from agricultural land. Areas near cities, which are dominated by orchard and arable land, provide more economic functions. These areas support and regulate services due to the transformation from extensive cereal production to intensive modern urban agriculture; therefore, they have higher output value and land use efficiency. In contrast, areas distant from cities, towns, and high traffic roads, namely, remote rural areas, provide more support and regulating services, but have relatively lower economic function due to inaccessibility to urban markets and slow agricultural transformation. Therefore, these areas have lower output value and land use efficiency. The spatial change in agricultural output and land use efficiency in urban areas is strongly dependent on the degree of urbanization and agricultural transformation. Third, the total output value and land use efficiency of urban agriculture measured with our approach are much higher than evaluations using traditional methods. However, the spatial patterns measured using the two approaches are in agreement. The evaluation framework integrates ecological services and economic and social functions into a comprehensive output from agricultural land. This approach is more methodical and accurate for evaluating the comprehensive efficiency of land use based on quantities and spatial scale because they are at the pixel scale. Finally, the evaluation results have important implications for enhancing current agricultural subsidies and even implementing ecological payment policies in China. Most importantly, they can be directly applied to agricultural transformation regulations, decision- making, and guidance for rational land utilization.     

Improving understanding of the spatial dimensions of biophysical change in atoll island countries and implications for island communities: A Marshall Islands’ case study

Using coarse-scale approaches, existing national assessments of vulnerability and adaptation highlight physical land instability as a major threat to atoll island nationhood. However, such evaluations are bereft of detailed, ground-truthed analyses of the physical impacts of climatic change on reef islands, treating islands as homogenous in both biophysical and social characteristics. The distinct geomorphic context of two proximate reef islands (Jeh and Jabat) in the Marshall Islands was examined through conventional land survey techniques. A template documenting the nuances in island topography was used to evaluate simple inundation scenarios, reflecting current and future sea-level changes under storm surge conditions. The variations in local scale community exposure to inundation were discernible. The study highlights the importance of treating coarse-scale assessments with caution and underscores the need for continued commitment to resolving variations in community experiences to environmental change. Notions of risk and exposure are complex and embedded in both the biophysical and social contexts of each island community. Despite a number of targeted urban vulnerability studies in the Pacific there remains a need for efforts to document localised differences in experience to better inform contemporary adaptation efforts.     

A Review of: “Loose Space: Possibility and Diversity in Urban Life”

Basso, Keith H. Wisdom Sits in Places: Language and Landscape among the Western Apache

Foote, Kenneth E. Shadowed Ground: America's Landscapes of Violence and Tragedy

Harries, Keith and Cheatwood, Derral The Geography of Execution: The Capital Punishment Quagmire in America

Larkham, Peter J. Conservation and the City

James, Preston E. and Martin, Geoffrey J. All Possible Worlds: A History of Geographical Ideas

Meir, Avinoam As Nomadism Ends: The Israeli Bedouin of the Negev

Ruddick, Susan M. Young and Homeless in Hollywood: Mapping Social Identities

Smith, Neil The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City     

Spatial heterogeneity and scale effect of factors influencing cultural and entertainment experience: A case study of bars in Xi’an City北大核心CSCD

随着社会经济转型发展,文娱体验逐渐成为衡量城市居民生活质量和实际需求的重要指标。科学认知文娱体验影响因素的空间异质性和尺度效应,是提高消费者文娱体验质量和促进文化娱乐业优化布局的迫切需求。论文基于美团评论数据和POI(point of interest)数据,以西安市酒吧为例,将体验分为物理体验和情感体验,运用多尺度地理加权回归模型(multiscale geographically weighted regression,MGWR)探究不同尺度上文娱体验影响因素的空间异质性和尺度效应。结果表明：(1)西安市高体验水平的酒吧主要分布在莲湖区和碑林区;雁塔区的酒吧分布数量多,但其体验水平较低。(2)商户属性、交通条件、商业环境和区位优势共同影响文娱体验的空间分布,但在不同尺度上,其影响强度和作用范围具有差异性。(3)市域尺度上,消费单价对城市北部地区物理体验和情感体验的负向影响最显著;格网尺度上,店铺评分、评论人数和到酒店的距离对城市西南地区物理体验和情感体验的正向影响最强。(4)文娱体验的影响因素存在尺度效应,评论人数、到商业区的距离以及到城市中心的距离对体验的作用尺度较小。研究结果可为城市文化娱乐业空间布局优化和消费者决策提供参考。     

A Review of “Inside El Barrio: A Bottom-Up View of Neighborhood Life in Castro's Cuba”

Social network analysis is increasingly used by geographers to better understand network phenomena. This article employs a promising analytic approach for the study of relational networks in human geography—dyadic regression analysis (DRA)—to examine labor sharing networks among peasant households. Data from a floodplain community in the Peruvian Amazon are incorporated into a relational data set that represents all reported cooperative labor flows for agriculture over one year. Matrices capturing both link and node (household) attributes are analyzed to explain the formation of cooperative labor links and the intensity (and direction) of labor flows. Results reveal that cooperative labor, which entails work predominantly done by males, is strongly shaped by relations among women, as well as by kin networks and household structure. Our findings suggest the utility of DRA for the study of other relational networks of interest to geographers.