Simulating urban growth under planning policies through parcel-based cellular automata (ParCA) model

In recent decades, the cellular automata model, among the urban development prediction models, has been applied considerably. Studies show that the output of conventional cellular automata models is sensitive to cell size and neighborhood structure, and varies with changes in the size of these parameters. To solve this problem, vector-based cellular automata models have been introduced which have overcome the mentioned limitations and presented better results. The aim of this study was to present a parcel-based cellular automata (ParCA) model for simulating urban growth under planning policies. In this model, undeveloped areas are first subdivided into smaller parcels, based on some geometric parameters; then, neighborhood effect of parcels is defined in a radial structure, based on a weighted function of distance, area, land-use, and service level of irregular cadastral parcels. After that, neighborhood effect is evaluated using three components, including compactness, dependency and compatibility. The presented model was implemented and analyzed using data from municipal region 22 of Tehran. The obtained results indicated the high ability of ParCA model in allocating various land-uses to parcels in the appropriateness of the layout of different land-uses. This model can be used in decision-making and urban land-use planning activities, since it provides the possibility of allocating different urban land-use types and assessing different urban-growth scenarios.     

Land-use change and socio-economic driving forces of rural settlement in China from 1996 to 2005

While urbanization has accelerated, the rural population in China has started decreasing in recent years. However, the expan- sion of rural settlement has not been sufficiently curbed. The questions of why this has happened and who has driven the land-use change （LUC） of rural settlement in China have aroused great interests among researchers. In this paper, it is suggested that population is not always a positive driving force for the LUC of rural settlement in China. Furthermore, socio-economic driving forces other than urbanization, population and industrialization are analyzed. On a national scale, the major driving forces are the per-capita rural housing area and the cultivated land area. On a regional scale, the main driving forces in the eastern China are the house-building capacity of rural households and the per-capita rural housing area; while in the central China, the main driving forces are rural housing investment, the proportion of primary industry employees in the rural working population, and the cultivated land area. For the western China, the main driving forces are rural register population and cultivated land area.     

Beyond REDD+ readiness: land-use governance to reduce deforestation in Peru

Peru contains the fourth largest area of tropical forest in the world, yet faces a worsening net deforestation rate. In 2008, to address this threat, the national government announced its ambition to reduce deforestation to zero by 2021. Via literature review and key informant interviews, this study assess two years of REDD+ readiness preparations according to six readiness functions. A mixed pattern of outcomes emerge. Although significant advances were made by various local-level initiatives, national-level efforts continue to struggle. Three crucial challenges persist: (1) greater involvement and coordination of ministries and government agencies associated with REDD+ planning, (2) better understanding of deforestation agents and drivers, and (3) integration of REDD+ policies into national and regional plans, which includes clarification of safeguard procedures and design of incentive mechanisms. Integrated land use planning is presented as a platform to foster dialogue that helps to reconcile divergent stakeholder perspectives, coordinate changes to land use, and resolve overlapping land rights.

Policy relevance

This article presents the outcomes of a multi-dimensional assessment of the REDD+ readiness process in Peru. The six key functions in the analytical framework provide the opportunity to evaluate the process in an integrated and systematic manner and highlights the persistence of complex, transversal governance challenges across diverse economic sectors and government agencies. Research findings also reveal a need for policy change and continued investment to ensure success of the national process in Peru. Strong leadership is needed to generate consensus in cross-sectoral negotiations and to establish coordinated land governance and monitoring mechanisms.     

Landscape position and spatial patterns in the distribution of land use within the southern Appalachian Mountains

Understanding the forces that influence the distribution of land use and land-use change (LUC) is an essential step in developing effective strategies for managing these issues. We examined the influence of landscape position on spatial patterns in land-use distribution within the Little Tennessee River Basin (LTRB) of the southern Appalachian Mountains. We show that landscape position, defined with respect to both natural and anthropogenic spatial variables, provides for the identification of statistically significant differences in the distribution of common forms of land use in the study region. Using the same variables, significant differences in the landscape positions subject to land-use change in the LTRB are also examined. These results suggest landscape position exerts a strong influence on the distribution of different forms of land use and the likeliness of given area undergoing LUC. The approach presented here, of considering land use as a function of landscape position that responds to both natural and anthropogenic forces, may prove useful in aiding the development of future strategies to address the consequences of land use in many regions.     

基于TM遥感影像的淮安市土地利用变化分析

随着社会的快速发展,人类活动的日益频繁,地球表面发生了翻天覆地的变化。遥感技术以其独特的优势成为土地利用调查和变化研究的重要技术手段。本文以淮安市1995年和2006年的TM遥感影像为主要数据,依据土地利用类型的光谱特征,采用NDVI,NDWI,NDBI和非监督分类方法分别提取耕地、林地、草地、水体和建筑用地类型,并对提取结果从结构和变化角度进行分析。结果证明:1)依据地物光谱特征,采用不同模型分别提取土地利用类型的方法切实可行;2)淮安市是一个以农用地为主、水资源丰富、城镇化水平较低的地区;在1995~2006年间,耕地、水域和草地分布呈减少的趋势,林地和建筑用地呈不断增加的趋势。     

Regional land-use allocation using a coupled MAS and GA model: from local simulation to global optimization,a case study in Caidian District,Wuhan, China

China is facing the pressures of both rapid economic development and environmental protection, and land-use allocation optimization is an important way to manage the conflicts between these pressures and to achieve sustainable development. Optimization of land-use allocation is a nonlinear multiobjective spatial optimization problem, and a purely local simulation model or global optimization model is insufficient to solve it. It is essential to bridge the gap between the two models through the combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches. This study integrates a multiagent system (MAS) that simulates the behaviors of land-use stakeholders with regard to their choices of specific locations, with a genetic algorithm (GA) that simultaneously evaluates and optimizes land-use configurations to meet various regional development objectives. The model is expected to achieve the optimization of land use in terms of the composition and spatial configuration. Caidian District, Wuhan, China, was chosen as the study area to test the model in this paper. The results show that the performance of the coupled model is superior to a pure GA model or MAS model. The optimal configuration improves on the economic output, spatial compactness, and carbon storage of the current configuration and promotes sustainable regional land-use development from the local scale to the regional scale.     

土地利用管理信息系统的设计研究

为了对土地资源进行有效的管理,本文以ArcEngine的二次开发为工具,进行土地利用管理信息系统的设计研究,通过对该系统的开发设计模式、数据库的建设、系统的架构与功能进行研究,实现GIS在土地利用中的应用,具有一定的理论意义和实用价值。     

Urban land-use in the Core Area of Medium-sized Danish towns

Engelstoft. Sten: Urban land-use in the Core-Area of Medium-sized Danish towns. Geografisk Tidsskrift 84: 47–50. Copenhagen. January 1984.

The paper attempts to discuss the dual relationship between urban land-use changes and the social processes: examples from two medium-sized Danish towns are demonstrated.     

Leimavo Revisited: Agrarian Land-Use Change in the Highlands of Madagascar

Describing and explaining land-use change is of critical concern in Madagascar, where land transformations such as deforestation and resulting environmental degradation currently capture widespread attention. While the eastern rain forest recedes in the face of swidden cultivators, the highlands demonstrate more constructive transformations. In this paper I present a case study of land-use change in Leimavo, a small village near Ambositra studied in the 1960s by Jean-Pierre Raison. Here, the twentieth century has seen a gradual reduction in irrigated rice cultivation and cattle husbandry, and a boom in market-oriented orange, vegetable, and grain production. In the long term, a historical landscape of grassy hills has been transformed into a productive cultural landscape with woodlots, anti-erosion benching, rice terraces, fruit groves, and diverse crops. Critical factors determining the trajectory of land-use change include regional population pressure, state policies, market incentives, climate variations, and access to land and water resources. These critical factors, or explanations, are linked in the discussion by the use of a simple heuristic device—the range of choice—as a theoretical framework.     

A Local Example of Land-Use Change: Southern Illinois—1807, 1938, and 1993*

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of a wetland site in southern Illinois from presettlement to the present. The study area is part of the Cache River-Cypress Creek Wetland, which has international importance, as recognized by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Land-cover data for 1807, 1938, and 1993 were created and analyzed with a geographic information system (GIS). Land-use change by topographic setting (uplands, transitional, and bottomlands) and soil productivity was quantified and studied. Interviews with local experts informed this analysis. Results illustrate the complexity of environmental change and its driving forces. First, notable forest and swamp acreage was converted to cropland between 1807 and 1938 and, to a lesser degree, from 1938 to 1993. Second, there were land-use variations by topographic region. Between 1807 and 1938, the largest transformation occurred in the uplands, with substantial acreage converted from forest to cropland. Between 1938 and 1993, however, agriculture decreased in the upland areas as hilly areas reverted to forest cover. At the same time, agriculture expanded in the bottomlands as this land was drained for farming. Third, there are interesting patterns within these categories of land-use change, as soil productivity is an indicator of what lands were taken out of cropland and converted back to grassland and forest.