New urban map of Eurasia using MODIS and multi-source geospatial data

Urban areas are of paramount significance to both the individuals and communities at local and regional scales. However, the rapid growth of urban areas exerts effects on climate, biodiversity, hydrology, and natural ecosystems worldwide. Therefore, regular and up-to-date information related to urban extent is necessary to monitor the impacts of urban areas at local, regional, and potentially global scales. This study presents a new urban map of Eurasia at 500 m resolution using multi-source geospatial data, including Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data of 2013, population density of 2012, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime lights of 2012, and constructed Impervious Surface Area (ISA) data of 2010. The Eurasian urban map was created using the threshold method for these data, combined with references of fine resolution Landsat and Google Earth imagery. The resultant map was compared with nine global urban maps and was validated using random sampling method. Results of the accuracy assessment showed high overall accuracy of the new urban map of 94%. This urban map is one product of the 20 land cover classes of the next version of Global Land Cover by National Mapping Organizations.     

Is remote sensing useful for finding and monitoring urban farms?

As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, the need for fresh fruits and vegetables in urban areas grows while the difficulty of bringing these perishable products to these areas also increases. Small-scale agriculture located in urban areas is a highly effective and profitable way to provide these products to communities that are far from extensive commercial agricultural areas. Here we describe how remote sensing can be used with data mining approaches to monitor urban and peri-urban farms within cities in both developed and developing countries. Using very high resolution satellite imagery together with moderate and coarse resolution imagery and information from social media and the web, we analyze the usefulness of different methods to identify farms within urban boundaries in four countries. The analysis shows how a mixed-method approach is necessary in order to identify where urban farming is occurring and to monitor its change through time. Although remote sensing-based vegetation and water indices were useful, without ancillary data they are not effective at remotely mapping the locations of urban farms. However, remote sensing is a good way to monitor vegetation condition in locations where actively managed urban farms are known to exist.     

Riparian thermal conditions across a mixed rural and urban landscape

Riparian corridors have the potential to function as thermal refuges, moderating extremes of local temperature variation. However, although demonstrated at individual sites, and over short periods, the consistency of this effect at wider temporal and spatial scales is poorly understood. The aim of this study is to assess the temperature differences between riparian corridors and adjacent non-riparian habitats and to explore the influence of environmental characteristics on these differences. Air temperature was monitored hourly at 20 paired locations (riparian and non-riparian) for two consecutive years. Urban index and canopy cover were characterised by calculating the percentage of impervious surface area and tree canopy cover within a 100 m radius from the centre of each sampling site. Canopy cover reduced summer thermal stresses in both urban and rural areas whereas high urban index tended to increase the daily thermal indices. Rivers had a significant mitigating effect on the urban riparian thermal condition, particularly in extreme hot weather. Riparian corridors were generally 1 °C cooler than non-riparian locations in summer and could be up to 3 °C cooler at some sites in extreme hot weather. Furthermore, riparian corridors at some sites were warmer than non-riparian locations in winter. These findings suggest that the proximity of rivers can modify riparian thermal environments, potentially reducing the heat stress of riparian corridors across landscapes.     

Redevelopment and the urban forest: A study of tree removal and retention during demolition activities

Though relationships between urbanization and tree cover are generally well studied, the effect of redevelopment on urban trees, at the scale of the individual property, is not well understood. Developing knowledge in this area is important in order to limit tree loss during redevelopment and thus, ensure sustained ecosystem services. Here, we explore the removal or retention of trees adjacent to building demolition in Christchurch, New Zealand. We mapped the presence or absence of individual trees on 123 properties prior to, and following, building demolition. Using a classification tree (CT) analysis, the presence or absence of 1209 trees was modelled as a function of: tree-related variables, property-related variables, and economic variables. The CT model estimated tree presence/absence with overall accuracy of 80.4%. Results show that 21.6% of all trees were removed as a consequence of building demolition, resulting in a tree canopy cover reduction of 19.7% across all 123 properties. The CT showed that tree crown area was the most important variable for predicting the presence/absence of trees, whereby trees with small crown areas (<7.9 m²) were most frequently removed, especially if they were within 0.7 m of a demolished building. Land value was also an important determinant of tree presence/absence, such that tree removal was more prevalent on properties with higher land value ($/m²). The results provide important new insights into some of the reasons for tree removal or retention during redevelopment at the scale of the individual property where most tree-related decisions are made.     

Interrogating urban experiments

The notion of the “urban experiment” has become increasingly prevalent and popular as a guiding concept and trope used by both scholars and policymakers, as well as by corporate actors with a stake in the future of the city. In this paper, we critically engage with this emerging focus on “urban experiments”, and with its articulation through the associated concepts of “living labs”, “future labs”, “urban labs” and the like. A critical engagement with the notion of urban experimentation is now not only useful, but a necessity: we introduce seven specific areas that need critical attention when considering urban experiments: these are focused on normativity, crisis discourses, the definition of “experimental subjects”, boundaries and boundedness, historical precedents, “dark” experiments and non-human experimental agency.     

Bargaining for nature: treating the environment in China’s urban planning practice

ABSTRACT

In much of the contemporary academic inquiry and political discourse on Chinese cities, urban entrepreneurialism and environmentalism often appear to be analyzed disjointedly and unreflectively. They are portrayed as two conflicting interests. Commentators also view urban planners as a homogenous group of professionals and/or state agents being forced to give up environmental goals to pursue economic value of space. Using the case of Tianjin Eco-City planning, this article interrogates the bargaining process between the “ecological value” and “commodity narrative”. It offers three major arguments. First, even though the discourse of environmental sustainability has been used to legitimize economic transformation, ecological demands are creating new pressures on entrepreneurial urban governance. Second, rather than treating Chinese planners as a fully constituted, internally coherent, organizationally-fixed, and operationally-consistent group, they should be viewed as hybrid, and diverse entities that represent divergent and sometimes contentious state interests. Third, planners, though still under tremendous pressure from landed interests, can become active players to positively influence urban transformation toward more environmental care.     

哈大巨型城市带要素集聚程度与生态环境水平关系演变

基于耦合模型和象限图法,从整体和内部分异2个角度对2000~2012年哈大巨型城市带要素集聚程度与生态环境水平演变及其关系进行分析,结果表明：哈大巨型城市带要素集聚程度呈波动上升的演变特征,生态环境则“先波动上升,后缓慢下降”,城市带整体要素集聚程度与生态环境水平间关系趋于协调,产业结构演变、资源消耗水平、经济密度是导致城市带要素集聚程度与生态环境水平协调度提高的主要驱动因子,其中产业结构演变的影响作用更加明显。城市带内部要素集聚的“四城市”格局已经形成,呈现出“核心-边缘”结构,要素集聚程度与生态环境水平可分为高级协调、要素集聚滞后、低级协调、生态环境滞后4种类型。4个区域中心城市要素集聚程度与生态环境水平关系趋向不协调,中心城市周边地区主要向要素集聚滞后型转变,资源型城市和重工业城市要素集聚程度与生态环境水平多表现为低级协调。     

辽宁中部城市群城市体系中规模与距离关系的研究

以城市人口规模、城市间距离为指标,通过多元回归模型,定量分析辽宁中部城市群中城市规模与空间距离的关系,以及城市与“最近城市”的距离和“距离位序”之间是否存在类似“城市位序-规模律”的定量关系。研究发现：① 城市i的规模P_i与“最近城市”n的规模P_n、距离D_i-n以及区域中心城市c的距离D_i-c有关,与首位城市的规模和距离无关,其中P_n、D_i-n为正向影响,D_i-c为负向影响。就影响力而言,区域中心城市c的影响大于“最近城市”n,这一点区别于国内其他城市群。② 城市群中存在“城市距离-位序律”的定量关系。③ 利用城市规模与距离的定量关系可以测算理论人口规模和影响范围,为辽宁中部城市群的人口预测和空间结构划分提供有益参考。     

哈大巨型城市带空间开发-经济发展-环境演变的耦合分异机制

通过构建空间开发、经济发展、资源环境水平的评价指标体系,引入耦合度概念,并应用变异系数、趋势面分析、回归分析等定量模型研究2000~2014年哈大巨型城市带空间开发-经济发展-环境演变的耦合分异特征及其影响机制,主要得到以下结论：① 2000年以来哈大巨型城市带各城市空间开发-经济发展-环境演变的耦合度均处在不同程度失调状态,且整体表现为“西高东低-南高北低”的空间格局,但耦合度水平总体趋于上升。哈长次区域和辽中南次区域以及哈大巨型城市带整体的耦合度波动性均先升高后下降,总体趋势不断向好;② 政府投入强度是2000年影响哈大巨型城市带各城市耦合度差异的重要作用因素,资本投入强度与科技投入规模是2007年、2014年2个阶段的主导影响因素,且城市发展能级差异与2007年各城市间的耦合度差异表现出一致性;③ 在政府投入强度、科技投入规模、资本投入强度等因素的共同作用下,哈长次区域空间开发-经济发展-环境演变的耦合程度出现空间分异。辽中南次区域耦合度分异的影响因素由人力资本效率和行政等级逐渐演变为以资本投入强度主导。     

长株潭地区农业功能的时空变化特征及发展策略研究

以长株潭地区23个县市区为研究区域,分别从农产品供给功能、就业和社会保障功能、生态保育功能、文化传承和休闲功能构建评价指标体系,综合运用熵值法、多指标综合评价法和农业功能变化的时空差异诊断模型等方法对长株潭地区1998~2014年农业功能的时空动态变化特征进行研究,根据各地区功能特征提出农业功能发展调控策略。研究结果表明：① 长株潭地区农产品供给功能有大幅提升,其重心有向外进一步扩散趋势;长株潭地区核心区域劳动力就业与社会保障功能下降幅度较大;大围山、罗霄山脉等山地丘陵区生态保育功能优势进一步凸显;文化传承和休闲功能部分区域获得进一步发展,但空间变化差异较小。② 研究发现不同区域农业主导功能不同,根据各地区农业功能不同优势特征,结合自身特色因地制宜发展优势农业并提出相应的优化调控对策,从而为长株潭地区农业多功能发展与功能特征的识别及确定提供理论依据。