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In urban traffic systems, alleviating traffic congestion originated from left-turn/U-turn lanes at highly demanded intersections plays an important role in enhancing the traffic efficiency. For a typical intersection, the layout with double left-turn (DLT) lanes is a relatively common geometric feature. However, the effect of DLT scheme on the performance of the entire traffic system is not clear. This paper compares the performance of urban traffic system with different lane function schemes with extended cellular automaton (CA) model considering the car-following, lane-changing, intersection-traversing and route-choice behavior of vehicles. Using the flow-density relation, three macroscopic parameters (average trip completion rate, average traffic flow and average velocity) are examined to evaluate the system performance. With the wide application of DLT scheme, the vehicles can be distributed more evenly among the lanes. As a result, the traffic flow and the trip completion rate will be higher, especially at high density. Case studies of realistic Hefei city network and Sioux Falls networks are also carried out. The results show that the performance of traffic network will be better if more intersections adopt the DLT scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization in Central and Western China has attracted increasing attention in the advent of new-type urbanization in China and the age of 'Global Urbanism'. Although land urbanization is at the epicenter of Chinese urbanization, its process and driving forces in counties beyond the Eastern coastal areas are less known. This paper therefore seeks to investigate the spatial expansion and driving forces of land urbanization in Feixi county, a relatively advanced county neighboring Hefei city proper in Anhui province in Central China. Based on the land-use change survey data, remote sensing interpretation data, and statistical yearbook data of Feixi county from 2002 to 2016, it is revealed that the overall scale of urban land in Feixi county increased remarkably, though with obvious temporal and geographical variants. The year 2009 appears to be the cutting line between quantity-based land urbanization and quality-based land urbanization. Land urbanization rate is sensitive to both geographical distance and traffic accessibility to Hefei city proper. Driving forces of land urbanization in Feixi county are summarized as: (1) central city expansion, (2) government-led industrial park construction, and (3) large industrial projects along traffic corridors. A better understanding of urbanization in Feixi county cannot be fulfilled without taking into account the wider spatial process in Hefei city and the Yangtze River Delta city-region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, is located in China's central region. A city with over 2200 years of history, Hefei was still a middle-sized city at the end of 1970s. Over the past decade, however, the city had experienced a dramatic spatial expansion and economic growth. This paper discusses Hefei's history of development, its achievement in socioeconomic and spatial development, and its challenges with regard to future development. Urban researchers have largely ignored cities in China's central region; as such, this paper will serve to enrich the international literature in this field and enable readers to better understand the urbanization and industrialization efforts of a typical emerging city in inland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban resilience and urbanization have been researched wildly by urban researchers. The coupling relationship between the level of urban resilience and urbanization is a considerable reference to assess the quality of urban development. Based on the correlation of objective index data, it theoretically explains whether the urban resilience level is coupled with the urbanization level and the degree of coupling, providing advice and wisdom for the future high-quality urban development of Hefei. Objective. To explore whether there is coupling between the urbanization level and the urban resilience level and to explore what extent of the coupling is. Research Methods. The dimensionless method was mainly used to standardize the original statistical data, the entropy method can be chosen to obtain the weight of the indexes of urbanization level and urban resilience level, and the coupling coordination model was chosen to study the degree of coupling coordination. Research conclusions. From 2011 to 2013, the coupling coordinate on degree was low. The coupling coordination level of urbanization and urban resilience was moderately unbalanced in 2011, mild disorder in 2012, and primary coordination in 2013. However, in 2014 and 2015, the situation improved a lot, and the coordination degree was intermediate coordination. From 2016 to 2019, the coupling coordination degree was in the stage of advanced coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban commercial centres are the most concentrated areas of economic activity. Understanding the spatial distribution pattern and comprehensive strength of urban commercial centres is important to guide the reasonable graded allocation of urban commercial space, spatial structure optimization and sustainable development of the commercial economy. Herein, mobile phone signalling data are used to identify the functional connection between recreational and residential places and local spatial autocorrelation analysis is used to identify the 24 commercial centres in the central city of Hefei. The comprehensive strength evaluation system of commercial centres is constructed from their basic conditions and customer consumption behaviours, and their comprehensive strength indices are accordingly measured and graded. The spatial distribution characteristics of commercial centres at all levels are analysed, and optimisation suggestions are made for the whole area and region. The following conclusions are drawn from the results of this study. (1) Compared to traditional single-perspective evaluations, the developed comprehensive strength evaluation system considers supply and demand perspectives for commercial centres, providing a more holistic and accurate portrayal of the strengths of various centres within a region. (2) The current commercial centres are characterised by 'large dispersion and small concentration' in spatial and hierarchical distribution. (3) The commercial centres in Hefei have formed a relatively complete 'first, second, and third level' commercial centre system, with the first level as the core and relying on the urban road system to form a network spatial connection. (4) Most of the commercial centres are concentrated in the First Ring Road, Swan Lake in the Government Affairs District and Binhu Century Town Estate, while most areas north of the Second Ring Road and Binhu New District still lack large-scale commercial centres. This study provides a technical reference for analysing urban commercial spatial structure patterns and provides decision support for optimising the spatial layout of urban commercial service functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of urban land development, as well as the conservation and optimization of agricultural land and urban green space, is crucial for sustainable urban development. China has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization since 1978, which brought unintended negative social and environmental consequences. Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province in eastern China, is identified by the Economist Intelligence Unit as one of the top 20 emerging cities in China. Its urbanized area grew from to , an 824% increase, between 1980 and 2005. This paper reviews Hefei's urban growth management since 1987. It then analyzes in detail the construction expansion regulation zone, an innovative measure proposed by the Ministry of Land and Resources China (MLRC). The regulation zone includes four types of zones: a permitted expansion construction zone, a conditionally permitted expansion construction zone, a restricted expansion construction zone, and a prohibited expansion construction zone. The suitable land-use types for each zone are identified and these measures are compared. Finally, the application of the construction expansion regulation zone to manage Hefei's urban growth is illustrated. The findings would be useful for researchers and local authorities and as a reference for the study of urban planning or to support land resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the population census data, this paper analyzed the influencing factors and urbanization effects of the floating population in Anhui Province using ArcGIS spatial analysis, factor analysis, multiple liner regression, and spatial autocorrelation, and reached the following conclusions: ➀ From 2000 to 2010, the floating population in Anhui Province was concentrated in cities dotted the Huai River and the Yangtze River, and Hefei City absorbed the most inter-provincial floating population and intra-provincial floating population. ➁ The overall economic strength had the greatest impact on attracting floating population, while the income level factor has less impact on attracting floating population. The overall economic strength and the strength of science, education, culture, and health of prefecture-level cities in Anhui Province were more attractive to the intra-provincial floating population and less attractive to the inter-provincial floating population. ➂ Population mobility promoted urbanization. Large cities could attract more migrants from counties. The urban population system in Anhui Province was generally developing towards the concentration of laige cities, while the proportion of the county population in the total population was decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper carries out calculation and analysis of various kinds of ecological footprint and 104 yuan GDP in Hefei City during the period 2005-2010, and the results show that in recent years, the industrial economic development in Hefei City is accelerated, people's living standards are improved, and the momentum of urbanization is gathered. At the same time, as the resource utilization rate is increased year by year, the city's economic development has already begun to be resource-intensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an environment of rapid economic development with rising incomes, escalating motorization, and growing urbanization, it is natural that government policies focus on solving congestion-related problems caused by increased car ownership and usage. The mobility needs of the urban poor have traditionally been neglected in policy and in practice, particularly in developing countries. This article addresses the mobility challenges facing the urban poor and is based on a household travel survey in the city of Hefei in China. First we present the travel behaviors, transportation costs, and commuting problems of the urban poor. Then we discuss urban transportation-policy implications and examine the prevailing trends of urban transportation policies and plans in Chinese cities. Policy recommendations are suggested to improve the mobility needs of the urban poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]