Effects of demand estimates on the evaluation and optimality of service centre locations

Public service systems, such as emergency health care, police or fire brigades, are critical for day-to-day functioning of the society. To design and operate these systems efficiently much data needs to be collected and properly utilised. Here, we use the OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to model the demand points (DPs), which approximate the geographical location of customers, and the road network, which is used to access or distribute services. We consider all inhabitants as customers, and therefore to estimate the demand, we use the available population grids. People are changing their location in the course of the day and thus the demand for services is changing accordingly. In this paper, we investigate how the used demand estimate affects the optimal design of a public service system. We calculate and compare efficient designs corresponding to two demand models, a night-time demand model when the majority of inhabitants rest at home and the demand model derived from the 24-hour average of the population density. We propose a simple measure to quantify the differences between population grids and we estimate how the size of differences affects the optimal structure of a public service system. Our analyses reveal that the efficiency of the service system is not only dependent on the placement strategy, but an inappropriate demand model has significant effects when designing a system as well as when evaluating its efficiency.     

Influence of urban expansion on the urban heat island effect in Shanghai

The urban heat island (UHI) effect resulting from rapid urbanization is attracting increasing attention among the global scientific community. This research analyzed the relationship between urban expansion and the UHI effect utilizing an integrated approach, including urban land interpretation and retrieving land surface temperature based on remote sensing, and spatial overlay analysis for revealing the relationship for different time periods between 1984 and 2014 in Shanghai, China. The results show that (1) the spatiotemporal changes in UHI are consistent with the expansion of urban land, and rapid urban expansion leads to an expansion of the UHI, in particular along roadways. (2) The mode of urban expansion is an important factor influencing the UHI effect. Urban sprawl (urban expansion in the edge-expansion way) is a form of typical expansion that leads to the rapid increase in the UHI. When the urban compactness ratio is less than 0.15, a compact design can effectively control the expansion rate of the UHI and mitigate its range of influence and intensity. However, when the urban compactness ratio is greater than 0.15, the urban design has a marked influence on the UHI ratio index: a more compact form produces a stronger UHI effect. So, finding an equilibrium between urban compactness ratio and urban expansion rate is good for effective urban management and planning.     

Emerging Chinese Cities: Implications for Global Urban Studies

Chinese cities are emerging in multiple senses: They have created new physical spaces to accommodate the fast urbanization of the country but have also developed new properties and characteristics along with urban transformation. The novelty created by emerging cities in China is not easily covered by Western urban theory. This article examines the dynamism of Chinese urban transformation, especially political economic changes vis-à-vis so-called neoliberalism, and spatial outcomes as diverse and contrasting spaces of formality and informality. Finally, this article speculates on implications for global urban studies.     

Visualising 30 Years of Population Density Change in Australia’s Major Capital Cities

ABSTRACT

This study uses a novel spatial approach to compare population density change across cities and over time. It examines spatio-temporal change in Australia’s five most populated capital cities from 1981 to 2011, and documents the established and emerging patterns of population distribution. The settlement patterns of Australian cities have changed substantially in the last 30 years. From the doughnut cities of the 1980s, programs of consolidation, renewal and densification have changed and concentrated population in our cities. Australian cities in the 1980s were characterised by sparsely populated, low density centres with growth concentrated to the suburban fringes. ‘Smart Growth’ and the ‘New Urbanism’ movements in the 1990s advocated higher dwelling density living and the inner cities re-emerged, inner areas were redeveloped, and the population distribution shifted towards increased inner city population densities. Policies aimed at re-populating the inner city dominated and the resultant changes are now visible in Australia’s five most populated capital cities. While this pattern has been reported in a number of studies, questions remain regarding the extent of these changes and how to analyse and visualise them across urban space. This paper reports on a spatial method which addresses the limitations of changing statistical boundaries to identify the changing patterns in Australian cities over time and space.     

Measuring Urban Streetscapes for Livability: A Review of Approaches

Increasing interest in urban livability demands that geographers and planners more precisely define what constitutes a livable streetscape, a fundamental building block of urban places. Widespread examination of streetscape livability will require precise and efficient measurements of (1) physical characteristics at the spatial scale of individual streetscapes and (2) indicators of experiential quality based on revealed behavior or stated preference. This article reviews approaches to collecting both types of measurements, showing that innovative methods using geographic information systems (GIS), Internet-enabled surveys, and even social media could be useful complements to traditional qualitative methods for collecting streetscape measurements.     

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.     

北京百年地质调查的传承与发展——《北京市区域地质志》修编

北京是中国地质调查的"摇篮",1913年成立地质调查所。1916年开始北京西山地质调查,1920年出版第一部地质调查专著《北京西山地质志》,民国时期"燕山运动"的提出和"北京猿人"的发现为影响世界的地质调查成果。解放后,北京率先实现1∶5万区域地质调查的全覆盖,1991年出版《北京市区域地质志》。2013—2015年修编第二版《北京市区域地质志》,为了突出北京的城市地质特色,增加"城市地质"篇章和"北京市基岩地质图",为京津冀协同发展服务。今后,北京的地质调查将以天安门为中心部署展开,建立8个监测预警预报系统,实现从地质找矿为中心向地质环境调查为中心转变,从资源调查向多参数调查转变,从平面地质调查向三维地质调查转变。     

基于多源遥感影像的长春市城市建成区提取

夜光遥感影像记录的城市灯光与人类活动密切相关,已广泛应用于城市信息提取。珞珈一号作为新一代夜光遥感数据源,比以往的夜光数据具有更高的空间分辨率和光谱分辨率,可以更清晰地表达城市建成区范围和内部结构。本文利用珞珈一号夜光遥感影像,通过人类居住指数（human settlement index, HSI）、植被覆盖和建筑共同校正的城市夜光指数（vegetation and build adjusted nighttime light urban index, VBANUI）及支持向量机（support vector machine, SVM）监督分类3种方法对长春市城市建成区进行提取,并与利用NPP/VIIRS（suomi national polar-orbiting partnership/visible infrared imaging radiometer suite）夜光遥感影像、采用同样方法得到的结果对比。结果显示：本文提出的VBANUI提高了传统植被覆盖校正的城市夜光指数（vegetation adjusted nighttime light urban index, VANUI）的提取精度,使用珞珈一号夜光遥感影像通过VBANUI提取的城市建成区结果最优,其Kappa系数为0.80,总体分类精度为90.74%;使用珞珈一号和NPP/VIIRS夜光遥感影像通过HSI按最佳阈值提取城市建成区的Kappa系数分别为0.75和0.72,总体分类精度分别为88.27%和86.54%;复合数据的SVM监督分类法中Landsat-NDBI、Landsat-NDBI-VIIRS、Landsat-NDBI-LJ和Landsat-NDBI-LJlog的Kappa系数分别为0.602、0.627、0.643和0.681,总体分类精度分别为81.11%、81.52%、82.25%和84.48%。研究结果表明：3种提取方法下,均为使用珞珈一号夜光遥感影像的结果优于使用NPP/VIIRS夜光遥感影像的结果,证明相比于NPP/VIIRS夜光遥感影像,珞珈一号夜光遥感影像更适用于城市尺度的建成区范围提取。     

基于地学规律的科尔沁沙地土地整治与生态修复规划方法

内蒙古科尔沁沙地历史上曾是科尔沁大草原,现在是农牧交错区,该区的土地利用关系到生态安全、国家粮食安全和农民生计。该区域“坨甸相间”地貌特点造成不同地形部位土壤含水量存在差异,降水量年际变化大。通过卫星影像数据解译出土地利用/覆被类型图与土壤图进行叠加,获得了显性沙地和隐性沙地数量与分布信息。首先保留耕地以外的其他地类,再利用卫星影像数据反映不同降水年型耕地的归一化植被指数(NDVI),将偏欠水年NDVI低于平均值的耕地退耕还草,消除这些耕地的冬春沙化风险,以进行土地利用布局调整。这种直接利用遥感数据获取土地利用/覆被类型和耕地的NDVI进行土地利用空间布局调整的方法,十分简单实用。本文还根据地貌和沙地降水入渗快的特点,提出了与高标准农田建设模式不同但与区域地理环境相吻合的农田整治模式,即利用自然沙丘作为区域风沙防护工程,土地开发不做大平整,不修建灌溉系统,发展雨养农业。以上根据区域地理环境条件进行土地利用布局和确定农田开发建设模式,可将农业生产与荒漠化防治和谐结合在一起,实现土地可持续利用。     

冲-洪积平原1:5万区域地质调查技术方法探索

首都地区规划建设工作主要分布于平原松散地层之上,第四纪地质研究显得尤为重要。依托近几年来在北京地区开展的平原覆盖区1:5万区域地质调查和活动断裂专项调查项目成果,系统总结了平原区第四纪区域地质调查与评价的主要工作手段和技术方法,及其在解决第四纪基础地质问题及生态环境中所起的作用。通过平原区区域地质调查工作,可查明第四纪精细地质结构、含水层分布特征,精确厘定活动断裂位置及其活动时限,探讨自然环境演化序列与人类活动关系等,为城市规划、重大工程建设和应急水源地水资源合理开采提供基础地学数据。研究成果对首都城市减灾防灾、生态环境演变研究具有重要地学支撑作用。