Regional assessment of pan-Pacific urban environments over 25 years using annual gap free Landsat data

Urbanization and the associated change in land cover has been intensifying across the globe in recent decades. Regional studies on the rate and amount of urban expansion are critical for understanding how patterns of change differ within and among cities with varying structure and development characteristics. Yet spatially consistent and timely information on urban development is difficult to access particularly across international jurisdictions. Remote sensing based technologies offer a unique perspective on urban land cover with the data offering significant potential to urban studies due to its consistent and ubiquitous nature. In this research we applied a pixel-based image composite technique to generate annual gap-free surface reflectance Landsat composites from 1984 to 2012 for 25 urban environments across 12 countries in the Pacific Rim. Using time series composites, spectral indices were calculated and compared using a hexagonal grid ring model to assess changes in vegetative and urban patterns. Trajectories were then clustered to further investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics and relationships among the 25 cities. Performance of the clustering analyses varied depended on the temporal and spatial metrics however overall clustering results indicated relatively strong spatio-temporal similarities among a number of key cities. Three pairs of cities—Melbourne and Sydney; Tianjin and Manila; and Singapore City and Kuala Lumpur were found to be highly similar in their urban and vegetation dynamics temporally and spatially. In contrast Vancouver and Las Vegas had no similar analogous. This work demonstrates the value of utilising annual Landsat time series composites for assessing urban vegetation and urban dynamics at regional scales and potential use in sustainable urban planning, resources allocation, and policy making.     

Contamination,bioaccessibility and human health risk of heavy metals in exposed-lawn soils from 28 urban parks in southern China's largest city,Guangzhou

The total concentrations and oral bioaccessibility of heavy metals in surface-exposed lawn soils from 28 urban parks in Guangzhou were investigated, and the health risks posed to humans were evaluated. The descending order of total heavy metal concentrations was Fe > Mn > Pb > Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Cd, but Cd showed the highest percentage bioaccessibility (75.96%). Principal component analysis showed that Grouped Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu and Zn, and grouped Cr and Mn could be controlled two different types of human sources. Whereas, Ni and Fe were controlled by both anthropogenic and natural sources. The carcinogenic risk probabilities for Pb and Cr to children and adults were under the acceptable level (<1 × 10⁻⁴). Hazard Quotient value for each metal and Hazard Index values for all metals studied indicated no significant risk of non-carcinogenic effects to children and adults in Guangzhou urban park soils.     

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.     

Geographies of energy transition: the case of high-performing commercial office space in the central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne,Australia

As a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement, Australia committed to reduce emissions significantly by 2030. In a country highly urbanised and dependent on fossil fuels as its primary energy source, one key avenue for meeting these commitments is energy transition in the built environment. Australia has emerged as a leader in the design and construction of high-performance buildings in the premium commercial office sector. In this paper, we address a significant gap in understanding the diverse mechanisms through which building energy transition is being constituted in this sector, focusing on Sydney and Melbourne. In the absence of substantive publicly available data, we draw on mixed methods comprising a database developed around high-performing CBD office buildings and qualitative interviews with a range of sectoral stakeholders. We characterise the building stock in each city, and document five trends constituting energy transitions. We demonstrate that building energy transitions are not only shaped purposefully by dominant governance regimes but also by opportunistic responses to specific material and commercial conditions and legacies in each city. Thus the urban built environment affords significant opportunity for energy transitions, but pathways towards such transitions are necessarily multiple and ultimately shaped by material as well as institutional geographies.     

Simulation of urban expansion via integrating artificial neural network with Markov chain – cellular automata

Accurate simulations and predictions of urban expansion are critical to manage urbanization and explicitly address the spatiotemporal trends and distributions of urban expansion. Cellular Automata integrated Markov Chain (CA-MC) is one of the most frequently used models for this purpose. However, the urban suitability index (USI) map produced from the conventional CA-MC is either affected by human bias or cannot accurately reflect the possible nonlinear relations between driving factors and urban expansion. To overcome these limitations, a machine learning model (Artificial Neural Network, ANN) was integrated with CA-MC instead of the commonly used Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Logistic Regression (LR) CA-MC models. The ANN was optimized to create the USI map and then integrated with CA-MC to spatially allocate urban expansion cells. The validated results of kappa and fuzzy kappa simulation indicate that ANN-CA-MC outperformed other variously coupled CA-MC modelling approaches. Based on the ANN-CA-MC model, the urban area in South Auckland is predicted to expand to 1340.55 ha in 2026 at the expense of non-urban areas, mostly grassland and open-bare land. Most of the future expansion will take place within the planned new urban growth zone.     

基于多源遥感数据的区域生态系统服务价值年际动态监测 ——以中原城市群为例

通过对多源遥感数据在生态系统服务价值（ESV）遥感模型中的尺度效应分析,选择满足最佳空间分辨率和长时间序列的遥感数据,对中原城市群区域2001~2013年的ESV实现了逐年逐像元水平的动态监测。结果表明：该区应用于遥感模型输入数据的最适空间分辨率为30~1 000 m,相对于30 m尺度,其他尺度估算结果的相对偏差均小于0.4%;结合年际动态监测的需求,选择了MODIS数据产品（空间分辨率500 m,时间尺度1 a）作为遥感模型的最佳数据源;研究区ESV总值在研究期内整体上呈显著增长趋势,增速约为8.6亿元/a,但在持续增长过程中经历了3次波动,且表现得越来越剧烈;在空间上,研究区ESV多年均值呈现出明显的不均衡性,表现为从西南向东部递减的趋势。研究表明此方法简单易行,初步实现了区域ESV年际动态监测遥感模型的准业务化运行。     

绍兴镜湖生态旅游开发与保护

以绍兴镜湖国家城市湿地公园为案例,简要分析了镜湖开发与保护中存在的城市发展、原住居民生产生活、生态系统保护与游客利益四者之间的博弈关系,重点对其生态旅游开发与保护模式进行了总结,认为绍兴镜湖生态旅游开发与保护是"B"模式 "国家公园"模式的融合.文章还总结了镜湖生态旅游开发主要从分级保护、旅游项目开发生态性、湿地生境恢复、旅游交通组织、客流量控制及生态农业模式等方面协调开发与保护的关系.提出了今后城市湿地旅游开发与保护的研究方向.     

不同指标下的穗港城市走廊潜在通达性及其空间格局

本文以最短时间距离以及加权平均出行时间两种指标,其中后者以未来人口数为其加权因子,在对广州至香港之间廊道状区域的陆路交通网络现状通达性数据进行计算的基础上,对其潜在通达性及其空间格局进行预测分析。由此得出,穗港走廊内部的陆路网络潜在通达性呈现出同心环状态分布的空间格局,其潜在通达性水平以环心为最优,逐渐往外层递减;两种指标换算成通达性系数进行对比,发现利用未来人口数作为加权因子之后,走廊南部在整个网络的通达性地位得到了提升,但走廊北部的通达性地位却受到了削弱;穗港走廊潜在通达性空间格局比现状更加收敛,整体通达性水平得到提升,初始通达性水平越低的地方,提升的幅度越大。     

渤海海峡跨海通道建设对城市经济联系的影响分析

渤海海峡跨海通道建设将极大改变环渤海乃至整个东部沿海的交通格局,势必对其目标城市大连、烟台带来直接的经济影响,同时也会对辽东半岛、山东半岛乃至东北、华北和华东不同尺度地区的经济联系产生深远影响。文章选取山东省17个和辽宁省14个地级市的地区的生产总值、城市人口以及城市间的最短时间距离等指标,测度渤海海峡跨海通道建成前后,对山东、辽宁两省区域城市经济联系的影响。研究表明:渤海海峡跨海通道建成后,对大连、烟台间的经济联系强度有显著提高,各城市经济联系度的平均增幅明显不同;同时,受距离衰减规律的影响,两省的城市分别以大连、烟台为中心,根据距离远近及城市自身发展程度分为4个层次,经济联系强度由内向外逐层次减弱;从整体上看,渤海通道的建设对带动两省城市之间的经济联系度都有大幅度提升。