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AbstractUrban expansion models (UEMs) help unfold the mechanism, future pathways, and relevant repercussions of urban landscape dynamics. Although a plethora of UEMs have been developed, the field of open-access modeling platform for urban expansion simulation still presents gaps in terms of representing urban development events, regulating multilevel urban morphologies, and reflecting underlying regularities of physical urban growth. This study develops an open-access Multiengine Urban Expansion Simulation (MUSE) platform together with software that addresses some of these limitations. MUSE employs patch-based concepts and different patch generation engines to represent urban development events of distinctive types, enabling control over spatial morphology at landscape, class and patch levels. Moreover, MUSE incorporates two general regularities on urban development waves and urban diffusion and coalescence to govern physical urban expansion processes. Experiments in two cities examine MUSE’s ability in simulating realistic urban dynamics, and a series of synthetic experiments verify the operational behavior of the patch generation engines. These experiments show that MUSE can simulate a range of urban expansion types, including infill, edge growth and leapfrog expansion, and various morphologies, such as aggregated, sprawl, fragmented and compact. MUSE can empower practitioners to better project, analyze and understand complex urbanization dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Landsat TM/OLI remote sensing images and social statistical data from 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, construction land information in Beijing's main urban area was extracted with ArcGIS 10.4.1 and other software. Based on calculations of the expansion speed, expansion intensity, fractal dimension, and elasticity coefficient, the spatiotemporal expansion characteristics of the urban area of Beijing were analyzed to reveal the laws and driving forces of urban expansion in Beijing. The results showed that the urban construction land area in Beijing expanded by a factor of 0.53 from 1995 to 2020, and its expansion speed and intensity gradually slowed. The overall expansion trend is that the central urban area remains basically unchanged, while the peripheral areas are rapidly expanding, showing a trend of rapid growth first and then stable growth, and the urban layout is basically stable. The urban expansion of Beijing has led to increasingly complex, tortuous, and unstable boundaries. Overall, the center of gravity of Beijing is moving toward the northeast, and the elasticity coefficient of urban expansion is 1.67 times that of a reasonable coefficient. The intensity and direction of urban expansion in Beijing are most significantly related to population mobility. Research on the expansion of Beijing lies the foundation for the integration and coordinated planning of resources in the various districts of Beijing and provides a basis for its sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations anticipates that by 2050, around two-thirds of the global population will reside in urban areas, necessitating a concerted effort to elevate the benchmarks guiding living standards in sustainable cities. The pursuit of sustainable urban development necessitates the identification of robust socio-ecological indicators to ensure the synchronous optimization of human well-being and environmental integrity. Therefore, the study explores the existing quality-of-life indicators grounded in ecosystem services within the urban parks of Lahore. For this, a field survey was conducted in the parks of Lahore, primarily focusing on identifying key measures to enhance living standards. The study was collected by identifying quality-of-life indicators from ecological, social, and economic perspectives and analyzed in MS Excel and ArcGIS version 10.8. The results illustrate that nearly all the examined parks contribute significantly to the quality-of-life key indicators by regulating the air quality and reducing noise and temperature. Jallo Park and Bagh-e-Jinnah have sufficient areas and are adequately maintained, which is a key indicator of the quality of life, but only Gulberg town aligns with global standards (9 to 50 m2) for per capita green space (25.523 m2). So, it is concluded that the urban parks of Lahore support sustainable living with their proper mountainous and sufficient green area. Therefore, a critical need for proactive green infrastructure initiatives is recommended, particularly addressing the shortfall in per capita green space. A strategic intervention in urban planning and green development is a key recommendation for policymakers for a sustainable future in Lahore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization research is essential for the sustainable use of regional land resources and ecological environment protection. The expansion process and driving factors of urban construction land at different scales in the middle reaches of the Yellow River (MRYR) have not been comprehensively elucidated. In this study, we explored the distribution pattern of urban construction land on different slope gradients at different scales and analyzed its influencing factors. The main findings were as follows: (1) There has been significant expansion of urban construction land in the MRYR over the past 20 years. Spatial heterogeneity was observed in the regional urban construction land expansion process among different geomorphic regions. (2) The urban construction land in the MRYR was expanded vertically to areas with slopes of >5°, particularly in 2005–2010. Significant slope climbing of urban construction land was observed in the loess hilly-gully and rocky mountain areas. (3) In MRYR, 68.45% of the counties were categorized as the slope-climbing types, including 37.38% high-slope-climbing types. (4) The regional population density and economic development level were closely associated with regional urban construction land area variability. (5) The climbing process of regional urban construction can effectively alleviate farmland encroachment and pressure on the regional ecological environment. The urban expansion of the metropolitan distribution areas in the Plain region (such as Xi'an, Taiyuan) had a relatively significant impact on the local carbon storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban expansion poses a substantial challenge to sustainable regional development, but the spatiotemporal relationship between urban expansion and human development remains unclear. This paper proposed an improved human development index (IHDI) incorporating an environmental dimension and analyzed the spatiotemporal correlation between urban expansion and IHDI growth in China from 1990 to 2020. Significant increases in both urban expansion and human development levels were observed, and environmental differences between Eastern and Western China were effectively detected based on the IHDI, which also well reflected the geographical patterns bounded by the Hu Huanyong Line. In 1990, a significant disparity existed in the IHDI between the provincial capital cities and the entire province; by 2020, this gap had narrowed, and the prioritized development of provincial capitals subsequently propelled regional growth. Although positive correlations between urban expansion and IHDI growth in China were found from 2010 to 2020, the percentage of expansive negative decoupling between urban expansion and IHDI growth gradually increased, indicating a less sustainable relationship involved in urban expansion and human development in China. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the spatiotemporal correlation between urban expansion and human development, and provides valuable insights for achieving sustainable development goals in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In this era of rapid development, environmental quality is an essential aspect of sustainable development. A healthy urban environment supports, regulates, and provides livable conditions. In urban areas, environmental quality is considerably affected by socioeconomic factors such as population expansion and economic development. For decision‐making, it is also significant for stakeholders and policymakers to understand the impact of urban expansion on environmental quality. While previous studies have examined urban environmental quality, they often focused on single cities or limited environmental parameters. This research addresses these limitations by conducting a comparative analysis of two major Asian cities with similar demographic features, utilizing a comprehensive set of socioeconomic and environmental variables. Our innovative approach combines open‐source datasets with advanced remote sensing techniques to provide a more holistic assessment of urban environmental quality over two decades. We analyzed urban environmental quality for last two decades with the selected urban environmental quality parameters: surface greenness, surface moisture, and land surface temperature. Lahore (Pakistan) and Wuhan (China) cities were selected for having approximately same demographic features. Correlation matrix has been used to assess the relationship between these environmental variables and social‐economic variables: urban expansion and carbon emission. Correlation coefficient indicated that urban expansion correlates negatively with surface greenness and surface moisture for both Lahore (−0.67 and −0.71) and Wuhan District (−0.5 and −0.75), respectively, while it had a positive relation with land surface temperature: 0.65 and 0.57 for Lahore and Wuhan District, respectively. These effects are more prominent within 10 km distance from the city center, where a substantial urban expansion is observed during the time window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] Taking Jingzhou City as an example, this paper discussed the relationship between urban expansion and farmland loss and its impact on economic growth. [Method] Using a 30-meter annual land cover dataset in China, the spatial and temporal patterns and regional differences of urban expansion and farmland loss during 1990-2019 were analyzed. The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis was introduced to test the relationship between urban expansion and economic growth through regression analysis of provincial panel data, and the future urban land expansion (FULE) dataset was used to predict farmland pressure under future scenarios. [Result] Urban expansion was the main cause of farmland loss, accounting for 76% of newly built urban land and 28% of farmland loss. Cities above the county level were more inclined to use farmland for construction, while cities below the county level had more farmland converted to other uses. There was an inverted U-shaped relationship between urban expansion and farmland loss, indicating that the loss of farmland increased first and then decreased with economic growth, and began to decouple after reaching an inflection point in 2012. Some coastal and large cities had entered a stage of reduced farmland loss, while some inland and small and medium-sized cities were still in a stage of increased farmland loss. It was estimated that by 2050, 0.3-0.4 million hectares of arable land in Jingzhou will be occupied by urban land, and third-and fourth-tier cities will suffer the most losses. [Conclusion] It was recommended to strengthen land planning and management, control urban expansion, optimize land use structure, improve land use efficiency, protect arable land resources, promote regional coordinated development, and achieve a balance between economy and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought monitoring is a critical environmental challenge, particularly in regions where irrigated agricultural intensification and urban expansion pressure water resources. This study assesses the impact of these activities on drought dynamics in Morocco's Oum Er-Rbia (OER) watershed from 2002 to 2022, using the newly developed Watershed Integrated Multi-Drought Index (WIMDI), through Google Earth Engine (GEE). WIMDI integrates several drought indices, including SMCI, ESI, VCI, TVDI, SWI, PCI, and SVI, via a localized weighted averaging model (LOWA). Statistical validation against various drought-type indices including SPI, SDI, SEDI, and SMCI showed WIMDI's strong correlations (r-values up to 0.805) and lower RMSE, indicating superior accuracy. Spatiotemporal validation against aggregated drought indices such as VHI, VDSI, and SDCI, along with time-series analysis, confirmed WIMDI's robustness in capturing drought variability across the OER watershed. These results highlight WIMDI's potential as a reliable tool for effective drought monitoring and management across diverse ecosystems and climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, Addis Ababa has witnessed a relentless transformation in its land use and land cover. Primarily driven by the conversion of agricultural land through extensive expropriation in the city's expansion areas. The study explores the dynamic land use land cover changes and associated land expropriations from peri-urban farmers in the rapidly growing Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study utilized a time series of global land cover and land-use change datasets (GLAD) covering the years 2000-2020. Moreover, empirical data is gathered through a household survey conducted among 349 systematically selected expropriated farmers across four sub-cities of Addis Ababa. The findings underscore a profound shift in the city's land use and land cover over the past two decades. The built-up area emerges as the predominant land cover, witnessing a substantial increase of 25.28% (13,150.30 ha) over the past two decades. Concurrently, agricultural land and vegetation cover decreased by 15.92% and 9.35%, respectively, indicating a significant outward expansion of the city. This expansive growth, driven by the city's rapid development, has resulted in extensive land expropriations primarily affecting peri-urban farmers. The expropriations were mainly for housing, investment, industrial parks, and infrastructure development. Thus, we urge the city administration to carefully manage the horizontal expansion of builtup areas at the expense of the agricultural land and vegetation cover. Finally, we recommend holistic and sustainable development strategies, developed collaboratively with local communities and planners, to safeguard the longterm wellbeing of city residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores future directions toward the conservation of the state of Arizona, aiming to preserve its multiple natural resources, including landscapes, wildlife, flora, unique ecosystems, and water resources. We evaluate the current governmental plans and laws focused on conservation, highlighting their impacts and identifying the existing gaps. Then, by analyzing such gaps, we uncover the main open conservation challenges within the state, such as urban expansion, climate change, water resource management, spreading of invasive species, and uranium mining and related activities, discussing their potential impact on future conservation efforts. Finally, the article introduces targeted strategies to enhance conservation outcomes, focusing on the importance of collaborative governance, innovative conservation technologies, multidisciplinary solutions, and law revisions. By adopting a forward-looking and multidisciplinary approach, we outline multiple prospective pathways for ensuring the long-term sustainability of Arizona's natural resources, contributing to the wide global discussion on environmental conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization in our country, urban land is influenced by various factors and exhibits different evolutionary characteristics in both time and space. This article takes the Xi'an metropolitan area as an example to construct a land use transfer matrix, and studies the urban expansion of the Xi'an metropolitan area in 2000, 2010, and 2020, depicting the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of urban expansion in the Xi'an metropolitan area. On this basis, a geographic detector is used to analyze the influencing factors of the urban spatial pattern evolution in the Xi'an metropolitan area. The research results show that: (1) The urban built-up area in the core area of the Xi'an metropolitan area has been accelerating its expansion trend for 30 years, and the expansion speed has been continuously accelerating since 2010; However, the expansion intensity first decreased and then increased. During the period of 1990-2000, the expansion intensity exceeded 100%, which was an accelerated expansion period. As the urban built-up area had already reached a large base in the early stage, the speed of urban expansion gradually declined after 2000, and the expansion intensity slowly increased from 2010 to 2020. (2) The spatial characteristics of urban expansion in the Xi'an metropolitan area indicate that the expansion of the core area of the Xi'an metropolitan area has obvious phased features: the jumping expansion stage (2001-2005); Circle filling stage (2006-2010); Comprehensive expansion stage (2011-2015); Westward Crossing Stage (2016-2020). (3) The single factor detection analysis results of the geographic detector show that the interaction explanatory power between the general budget revenue of local finance and the income gap index between urban and rural residents on the proportion of urban and rural industrial and mining construction land is the highest, at 0.677; The interaction explanatory power between local fiscal general budget revenue and other factors is the highest, all greater than 0.45. The total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery ranks second, both exceeding 0.35. The proportion of urban and rural industrial and mining construction land is mainly driven by the general budget revenue of local finance, the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, and other factors. This article provides a theoretical basis for studying the evolution process of urban spatial pattern in the Xi'an metropolitan area and revealing the impact mechanism of urban land use spatial pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To boost the high-quality integrated development in late-developing regions, an examination of the temporal and spatial patterns of urban growth and the primary drivers of urbanization in these regions is crucial. An exemplar case study of Anhui Province is presented in this research. The extraction of urban built-up areas in Anhui Province was conducted using nighttime light (NTL) data and urban statistical information. The study investigated the dynamic transformations and evolutionary features of urban expansion by utilizing measurement indexes for urban growth and center of gravity transfers. By employing gray relational analysis on economic, demographic, and other statistical data, the key influencers behind urban expansion in Anhui Province were scrutinized. The results revealed a steady annual increase in the urban built-up area of Anhui Province from 1996 to 2020. Furthermore, the shift of the urban built-up area's center of gravity in Anhui Province transitioned toward the east–south direction between 1996 and 2008, but gradually shifted toward the west–north direction thereafter. These alterations were mainly driven by factors such as urbanization rate. This study is expected to help decision makers take appropriate countermeasures to achieve high-quality regional development. Practical Applications: Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics and influencers of urban expansion is vital for fostering sustainable urban development, ecological conservation, and enhancing residents' quality of life. The dynamics and influencers of urban expansion vary across cities and different stages of urban development. This study aims to elucidate the dynamics of urban expansion in Anhui Province and identify the primary driving factors to assist urban policymakers and planners in making informed decisions regarding urban planning, land use, and ecological and environmental protection policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Demográficos y Urbanos is the property of El Colegio de Mexico AC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An issue of concern in landscape and urban planning, articulated in the United Nation's (UN's) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is the increase in urban land consumption over time. Indicator 11.3.1 of the SDGs is dedicated to measuring it, underlining the importance of decreasing urban land consumption per person, a strategy that is understood to contribute positively to climate mitigation and to a host of other social, economic, and environmental objectives. This article aims to explore the practical implications of the official methods for measuring Indicator 11.3.1, as well as two alternatives, and to calculate and compare the global and regional trends of these indicators for the 2000–2020 period for a universe of 3470 cities and metropolitan areas that had 100,000 people or more in the year 2020. Built-up area and population data for this universe were obtained from the Global Human Settlements Layer (GHS-BUILT-S and GHS-POP) published by the European Commission. We applied methods adapted from New York University's Atlas of Urban Expansion to map the urban extents of all cities in 2000 and 2020, and then we used these urban extents, the built-up areas, and population estimates within them to calculate values for Indicator 11.3.1 and for two alternative indicators for the 2000–2020 period. We found that the current definition of Indicator 11.3.1 of the SDGs—"Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate"—has significant limitations in conveying meaningful information and interpretability for practical applications. We suggest two alternative indicators that address these shortcomings: the rate of change of land consumption per person and the rate of density change. Our analysis found that, for the world at large, urban densities declined at an annual rate of 0.5–0.7% between 2000 and 2020, with significant variation in the direction and magnitude of density trends by world region. Additionally, we found density declines to be faster in smaller cities than in larger ones and faster in cities with slower population growth or population declines compared to those with more rapid population growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China's urbanization has accelerated, significantly impacting ecosystems and the carbon balance due to changes in urban land use. The spatial patterns of CO2 emissions from urban land are essential for devising strategies to mitigate emissions, particularly in predicting future spatial distributions that guide urban development. Based on socioeconomic grid data, such as nighttime lights and the population, this study proposes a spatial prediction method for CO2 emissions from urban land using a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model with added fully connected layers. Additionally, the geographical detector method was applied to identify the factors driving the increase in CO2 emissions due to urban land expansion. The results show that socioeconomic grid data can effectively predict the spatial distribution of CO2 emissions. In the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), emissions from urban land are projected to rise by 116.23% from 2020 to 2030. The analysis of driving factors indicates that economic development and population density significantly influence the increase in CO2 emissions due to urban land expansion. In downstream cities, CO2 emissions are influenced by both population density and economic development, whereas in midstream and upstream city clusters, they are primarily driven by economic development. Furthermore, technology investment can mitigate CO2 emissions from upstream city clusters. In conclusion, this study provides a scientific basis for developing CO2 mitigation strategies for urban land within the YREB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Built-up land has increased rapidly in recent decades, thus aggravating the competition for land between multiple uses. The increase in urban land can be decomposed into changes in population and changes in built-up land per person. Yet, it is unclear how this decomposition differs by country and how this decomposition changes over time. Moreover, we don’t know whether these changes affect the inequality in built-up land per capita. Here, we analyze the global distribution of built-up land per capita in the year 2020, as well as the changes therein between 1985 and 2020. We find that built-up land per capita in 2020 differs by an order of magnitude between countries, ranging from 15 m2 per person in Ethiopia to 734 m2 per person in Australia. Moreover, we find a wide range of different change trajectories, including both increases and decreases in built-up land per capita and in total population. As the total area of urban land increased in all countries, decreases in urban land consumption reflect a situation where the population increases faster than the total amount of urban land. We also find a large inequality in urban land consumption across countries, as indicated by a Gini index of 0.47 in 1985, decreasing only slightly to 0.45 in 2020. These findings suggest the need for a regionally differentiated approach to reduce urban land take, focusing first on mitigating further increases in those countries that already have a high urban land consumption.

Urbanization influences the social dynamics of periurban settlements, altering the sense of belonging among residents in areas conurbed by expanding cities. However, the role of the conurbing decade and settlement type in this process remains largely unexplored within the Latin American context. In this study, we analyzed the urban expansion and resulting conurbing of the urban satellites of Morelia, a medium-sized Mexican city, during the 1970–2010s. Furthermore, we conducted 120 in-person, on-site surveys in settlement types such as colonias, pueblos and fraccionamientos conurbed by the city, focusing on residents who had lived in these areas prior to their integration into the city. We employed generalized linear models to identify the relationship between the sense of belonging and the decade when the settlements were conurbed by the city, the settlement type, and repondents’ sex, age, and length of residence in the settlement. During 1990–2010s, Morelia conurbed 20 colonias, 8 fraccionamientos, and 13 pueblos. Our results show that the conurbing decade, settlement type, and length of residence were the main determinants of the sense of belonging. The inhabitants of settlements conurbed longer time ago and with a larger length of residence showed the strongest sense of belonging. This might be related to the higher number of traditions and festivities which are preserved in pueblos, which promotes local identity and social cohesion. Our findings highlight the varied levels of sense of belonging that exist within cities and emphasize how settlement type continues to shape social bonds even after having been incorporated into a larger urban conglomerate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relentless march of urban expansion has ushered in profound and transformative alterations in land-use changes and recording huge environmental decline in the domain of metropolitan areas. This current study, as a beacon of exploration, strives to unfurl the intricate nature of urban expansion and spatio-temporal mosaic of land use dynamics evolution in Kolkata Metropolitan Region. The population data was gleaned from Census of India and annals of Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority documents. Similarly, temporal satellite images have been used for this study, which were downloaded from the Landsat Archive Level 1 data products of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Explorer. Multi-temporal satellite images were analysed with the aid of Geographical Information Systems and the insightful inspection of Remote Sensing spatial data analysis methods. The maximum likelihood supervised classification methods were used for categorization of specific land cover and land use pattern. The analysis in the study identified the changes in the land-use patten and the land-cover by deploying post-classification change detection and GIS-based spatial analysis methods. After scrutinising the study outcomes, it was found that built-up areas had been drastically increased. The tapestry of fallow land, agricultural land, open space, natural vegetation cover, and wetlands have been sacrificed at the expense of the rapid growth of the built-up area. The study result shows the land use and land cover change; in 1991, the built-up area was 18.9%, and in 2021 it reached 48.5%. This study manifested that the swift surge in the built-up area and in the tendrils of urban expansion took place from 1991 to 2021. Focus Group Discussions complemented with in-depth interview results threw light on the direct correlation between urban expansion and unequivocal shifts in the pattern of land use in the metropolitan region. Kolkata Metropolitan Region's planning system should work on comprehensive framework that would be in harmony with the exacerbated vulnerability of land to environmental deterioration stemming from urban sprawl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores future directions toward the conservation of the state of Arizona, aiming to preserve its multiple natural resources, including landscapes, wildlife, flora, unique ecosystems, and water resources. We evaluate the current governmental plans and laws focused on conservation, highlighting their impacts and identifying the existing gaps. Then, by analyzing such gaps, we uncover the main open conservation challenges within the state, such as urban expansion, climate change, water resource management, spreading of invasive species, and uranium mining and related activities, discussing their potential impact on future conservation efforts. Finally, the article introduces targeted strategies to enhance conservation outcomes, focusing on the importance of collaborative governance, innovative conservation technologies, multidisciplinary solutions, and law revisions. By adopting a forward-looking and multidisciplinary approach, we outline multiple prospective pathways for ensuring the long-term sustainability of Arizona’s natural resources, contributing to the wide global discussion on environmental conservation.

[Objective] The aim of this study was to reveal the differences in the driving mechanisms of land expansion between resource-based cities and non-resource-based cities, which could provid references for the formulation of land use policies for the two types of cities. [Methods] Based on a research framework for the differences in driving mechanisms of land expansion in these two types of cities, 273 prefecture-level and above cities were selected as research samples, with data from 2003 to 2020. Comparative analysis, urban expansion intensity index, and panel regression model were used to explore the differences in the spatial expansion driving mechanisms of these cities. [Results] The results show that: (1) From 2003 to 2020, the built-up area of both types of cities showed a trend of expansion, and the average expansion speed of resource-based cities was lower than that of non-resource-based cities. From the perspective of development stage, the expansion speed of resource-based cities showed a trend of growth>mature>regenerative>exhausted type; From the perspective of resource endowment types, the expansion speed of non-metallic, non-ferrous, and oil and gas cities was faster than the average level of resource-based cities. (2) There are differences in the driving mechanisms of spatial expansion between the two types of cities. The population size, transportation development level, investment in science and technology, and environmental quality have a stronger driving effect on the spatial expansion of resource-based cities; The level of economic development, industrial structure, and resource endowment have a stronger driving effect on the spatial expansion of non-resource-based cities.(3) There are differences in the driving mechanisms of spatial expansion in resource-based cities at different stages of development. The level of transportation development and investment in technology have a stronger driving effect on growth- oriented cities; The level of economic development has a stronger driving effect on mature cities; The driving force of environmental quality on declining and regenerative cities is stronger. [Conclusion] The average expansion speed of resource-based cities in China is slower than that of non-resource-based cities; The population size, transportation development level, investment in science and technology, and environmental quality，the level of economic development, industrial structure, and resource endowment are primary factors driving the spatial expansion of cities. Different driving mechanisms are identified for the expansion of the two types of cities and among different types of resource-based cities.

Urban expansion in Ethiopia, particularly informal construction, has led to complex and dynamic changes in livelihoods and wetlands. This study examined the effects of urban expansion on the Cheleleka Wetland and the livelihood of the peripheral community in Hawassa. A mixed research design was used to quantitatively analyze Landsat imagery (1991, 2001, 2011, 2021) and socioeconomic data. Key informant interviews and focus group discussion data were narrated qualitatively. The built-up area substantially increased from 718.11 ha in 1991 to 4820.71 ha in 2021. However, agricultural and wetland areas decreased from 8807.58 ha and 8177.04 ha in 1991 to 6382.44 ha and 7030.26 ha in 2021, respectively. Water and forest areas fluctuated. Built-up areas had a significant advantage over other land use and cover classes, with agricultural, wetland, and forest areas being converted into built-up areas throughout the study period. As a result, the area of Lake Hawassa expanded. Currently, the Cheleleka Wetland has been negatively impaired by overgrazing, cutting of grass, animal dung dumps, eucalyptus plantations, agricultural expansion, and urban expansion. Urban expansion has exacerbated social and economic divisions, resulting in the concentration of poor-quality neighborhoods in the peripheral community. To protect the wetlands, alternative livelihoods and participatory land-use planning are crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research provides a brief insight into the spatial nature of urban sprawl in functional urban areas (FUAs) of European capitals, as opposed to most investigations into urban growth that focus on case studies. Its purpose is to identify European capitals that grow the most and characterize the spatial aspect of urban sprawl and dynamics of ensuing land‐cover change between 2006, 2012, and 2018. We employed open data from the Urban Atlas, which we processed with spatial analyses and the NUASI (Normalized Urban Atlas Sprawl Indicator) to quantify the scale of urban sprawl in the investigated areas. The results demonstrate the most dynamic growth for Central and Eastern European and Iberian Peninsula capitals, while it seems to be slowing down in other Western European and Balkan countries. Moreover, we found out that FUAs of European capitals differ in terms of the scale and pace of uncontrolled urban sprawl. The results of our comparative analyses are relevant to urban development because they can identify areas exhibiting various scales and paces of urban sprawl to take targeted actions depending on the needs defined by decision‐makers and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa are facing significant developmental challenges due to rapid population growth and urban expansion, this study aims to predict urban growth and assess the SDG 11.3.1 indicator in the Chambishi multi-facility economic zone (CFEMZ) in Zambia through the integration of remote sensing data and spatial cooperative simulation so as to realize sustainable development goals (SDGs). The study utilized DMSP-OLS and VIIRS nighttime light data between 2000 and 2020 to extract the urban built-up area by applying the Pseudo-Invariant Features (PIFs) method to determine thresholds. The land-use and population changes under several development scenarios in 2030 were simulated in the study using the Spatial Cooperative Simulation (SCS) approach. The changes in SDG 11.3.1 indicators were also calculated in the form of a spatialized kilometer grid. The findings show a substantial rise in the built-up area and especially indicate a most notable increase in Chambishi. The primary cause of this growth is the development of industrial parks, which act as the region's principal engine for urban expansion. Under the natural scenario, the land-use distribution in the study area presents an unplanned state that will make it difficult to realize SDGs. The results of the spatialization form of the SDG 11.3.1 indicator demonstrate the areas and problems of imbalance between urban construction and population growth in the CMFEZ. This study demonstrates the importance of remote sensing of nighttime lighting and spatial simulation in urban planning to achieve SDG 11.3.1 for sustainable urbanization in industrial cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The global population is experiencing exponential growth, resulting in a substantial increase in urbanization and subsequent urban expansion. This uncontrolled expansion, often termed urban sprawl, poses significant challenges to sustainable urban development. Understanding the importance of this concern, obtaining precise information about changes in Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) becomes crucial. This research examines the transformative processes of LULC and urban expansion over a 20-year period in two distinct study areas. For this purpose, built-up areas are first analysed using satellite-derived land surface temperature data, revealing temperature increase over time attributed to urban expansion. To project future trends using CA-Markov model, the suitability maps for each LULC class aggregated through the Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE) method. Subsequently, the CA-Markov simulates the LULC maps for 2017 and 2018 for each study area, with a focus on the year 2050. Model calibrated by comparing the simulated maps with the actual maps in both study areas, and the reliability is affirmed by high Kappa coefficients (> 80%). Consequently, the study predicts LULC maps for 2050, revealing that both areas will experience a continued increase in built-up areas, a decrease in forested areas, and a relative stability in agricultural zones over the next 33 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document focuses on urban dispersion and accessibility in the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico and its influence on the university student population. This is achieved through the analysis of three groups of data: mobility surveys of the student community, school performance monitoring data provided by the University, and data from Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) on the location of main transportation in the city. The research provides results on the geographical dispersion of students, their dependence on the public transportation system, and how this situation is related to accessibility and academic performance, particularly in the case of students with greater lag. Finally, the importance of implementing these studies in businesses and schools that will contribute to the development of transportation and urban planning policies that reduce social disparities and improve mobility in the urban environment is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North China Plain is the core region of China's economic development, and exploring the impacts of its land use and cover change (LUCC) and different urbanization regional drivers on carbon stocks is conducive to promoting sustainable development and carbon balance within the region. In the study, the North China Plain was selected as the study area, and the Patch-Generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model were comprehensively applied to set up three land use policies, predict land use changes in 2030, and calculate carbon stock changes. Meanwhile, the Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithm was used to analyze the degree of influence of different drivers on the supply of carbon stocks in different urbanization regions. Studies show that if the North China Plain prioritizes economic development, the area of farmland and forests will significantly decrease, leading to a substantial decline in carbon stocks. If ecological protection is the development focus, the reduction in farmland and forests will be less, and carbon stocks will remain relatively stable. If farmland protection is the development focus, the reduction in farmland will be minimal, but there will still be some impact on carbon stocks. The driving forces of carbon stock supply vary significantly across different regions. In underdeveloped regions, population density and vegetation cover have a greater impact on carbon stocks. In developing and urban–rural combined regions, vegetation cover and population migration have a greater impact on carbon stocks. In developed regions, the area of artificial land and gross domestic product (GDP) have a greater impact on carbon stocks. The study results provide scientific evidence for regional land use planning and policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use conflicts (LUCs) have become a significant global issue. Accurately identifying potential LUCs is crucial for mediating these conflicts, optimizing land use structure, and enhancing land use function. The necessary conditions of LUCs are land use multi-suitability (LUMS), land resource scarcity (LRS), and diversity of demands (DD). However, few studies have approached LUC identification from these three dimensions simultaneously. In addition, when assessing the diversity of demand, only human needs are considered and wildlife needs are ignored. In order to address this gap in the research, this paper constructs a novel framework for LUC identification and proposes an induction-oriented governance path. LUMS was evaluated from three aspects: construction suitability, cultivation suitability, and ecological suitability. LRS is measured from three dimensions: construction land, cultivated land, and ecological land scarcity. The DD is expanded into human and wildlife demand diversity. By analyzing the combination of LUMS, LRS, and DD, LUCs are classified using the potential LUC identification Rubik's cube model, and corresponding governance paths are suggested. In Shandong Province, potential LUCs are relatively high, with strong, medium, and weak conflicts accounting for 27.39%, 57.10%, and 13.06%, respectively. Potential strong conflicts are mainly distributed in the metropolitan suburbs and in the western plain of Shandong Province. Cultivated land is the main potential land use conflict space. The new framework of LUC identification proposed in this paper can effectively identify potential LUCs. Our research provides scientific reference for sustainable land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid expansion of urban land has altered land use/land cover (LULC) types, affecting land surface temperatures (LSTs) and intensifying the urban heat island (UHI) effect, a prominent consequence of urbanization. This study, which focuses on Harbin, a representative city in a cold region, employs the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model to predict LULC changes and a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) model to predict LST. The PLUS model exhibits a high prediction accuracy, evidenced by its FoM coefficient of 0.15. And the Bi-LSTM model also achieved high accuracy, with an R 2 value of 0.995 and 0.950 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.199 and 0.390 for predictions in winter and summer, respectively, surpassing existing methods. This study analyzed the trends in LULC, LST, and the urban thermal field variance index (UTFVI) to assess the relationships among LST, LULC, and UTFVI. The results show that urban land increased by 27.81%, and woodland and grassland decreased by 61.07% from 2005 to 2030. Areas with high temperatures increased by 40.86% in winter and 60.90% in summer. The proportion of the medium UTFVI zone (0.005–0.010) in urban land increased by 50.71%, and the proportion of areas with medium UTFVI values and above (>0.005) decreased at a rate of 84.70%. This finding suggests that the area affected by the UHI has decreased, while the UHI intensity in some regions has increased. This study provides a technical reference for future urban development and thermal environment management in cold regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon is concurrently influenced by urban expansion and climate change. However, the individual impacts of land use/land cover (LULC) changes and climate change remain unclear. In the present study, a high-resolution numerical Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with a single-layer urban canopy model (UCM) is implemented for Hefei to assess the influences of LULC and climate change simultaneously. The comprehensive increase in UHI intensity (UHII) was 0.76 K from 2003 to 2019 in the study area. The overall influence of LULC changes on the UHI effect was a 0.33 K increase in intensity and a 190 km² expansion in coverage. The results also show that the emergence of new high-intensity urban areas developed from farmlands had the strongest impact on UHI development compared to other types of LULC changes. The overall contribution of climate change to the UHII increased by 0.27 K from 2003 to 2019. The change in the storage heat flux was found to be responsible for the nocturnal UHII variation and long-term increase in the UHII, while the sensible heat flux was responsible for the diurnal UHII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imphal city and its surrounding regions have been experiencing a wide range of changes in land use and land cover (LULC) over recent years. However, there is a shortage of comprehensive studies that specifically examine the long-term dynamics in general and driving factors behind these changes in particular. This study provides a detailed analysis of LULC changes in Imphal city and its surrounding regions from 1991 to 2021, using advanced geospatial techniques to investigate underlying dynamics and driving factors behind urbanization. Multi-spectral datasets from Landsat 7 and 8 were utilized for four distinct time periods (1991, 2001, 2011, and 2021). The supervised classification method, employing the maximum likelihood classifier method, was used to generate the classified LULC maps in the ERDAS 2014. The classified images produced by this technique were evaluated for accuracy through matrix union using the statistical kappa coefficient and overall accuracy measures. Change detection for the periods 1991–2001, 2001–2011, and 2011–2021 was conducted using matrix union (intersection) to identify apparent changes in various LULC classes. The findings reveal a significant increase in built-up areas, expanding from 2440.35 hectares in 1991 to 8205.98 hectares in 2021, at an annual rate of 192.19 hectares/year. In contrast, agricultural lands decreased from 7484.13 hectares in 1991 to 3585.42 hectares in 2021, declining annually by 129.96 hectares/year. The study utilizes classified supervised images from various years, alongside seven independent spatial variables, to analyze urban growth and expansion using the method of random forests regression technique in Python, validated through receiver operating characteristic curve. Analysis of these seven variables, including distance to roads, proximity to the city centre, and infrastructure development, identifies them as primary drivers of urban expansion. The study concludes that rapid urbanization is significantly reshaping LULC dynamics, underscoring the urgent need for sustainable urban planning and management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving urban land use efficiency and greenness is essential for achieving sustainable urban development and improving the well‐being of urban settlements. Using satellite‐based land use data, socioeconomic data, and sustainable development goal (SDG) indicators, we quantified the changes in the urban land use efficiency and greenness under rapid urban expansion in provincial cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 1990 to 2020. Over this period, urban area increased significantly, by 254.57%, at a rate of 191.41 km2 per year in the YREB, as national macro‐policies shifted the center of urban expansion westward. Nevertheless, the urban land use efficiency and greenness have both increased. The ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate increased from 0.55 in 1990–2000 to 0.83 in 2010–2020 in the YREB, accompanied by an increase in the investment output ratio of fixed assets. In addition, the population‐weighted greenspace exposure increased by 5.31%, due to an 8.16% increase in the urban greenspace coverage, which improved the urban living environment amidst substantial urban population growth. We emphasize the importance of fostering coordinated development between central and western cities in the YREB. The results provide an important reference for the rational allocation of land resources, improving land use efficiency, and building resilient cities within global urbanization hotspots under the SDG framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban planners study development patterns along with the rate and type of urban expansion to formulate policies and schemes for planned and integrated future development of the cities. This study aimed to explore the dynamics of urban sprawl in the metropolitan region of Kolkata by using Gini--Simpson's diversity index. It was used on the generated decadal maps to understand the degree of spatial concentration or dispersion of the built areas. It revealed that the urban sprawl was increasing in the outskirts of the Kolkata metropolitan area (KMA) with gradual dispersion and increased heterogeneity. A better understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the city's growth, provided by this study, forms the basis for better planning and effective spatial organization of urban activities for the future development of KMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of urbanization necessitates effective analytical methods to address its complexities. Peri-urbanization, the expansion of settlement boundaries and urban spread, is a critical aspect of this phenomenon. This study introduces a quantitative method to analyze peri-urbanization, providing a peri-urban index (PUI) for medium-sized cities based on peri-urban dynamics. Utilizing the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), the weight values of influencing dynamics are calculated, establishing a peri-urban scale (PUS) ranging from one to five based on rural and urban characteristics. Applied to a medium-sized case study city, the method assesses the peri-urbanization from 2007 to 2022. Four main dynamics—socio-demographics, economic-employment, land use-accessibility, and building-texture patterns—and fourteen sub-dynamics were identified and weighted using AHP. The city's PUI values over different years reveal a 41.6% increase, indicating significant peri-urbanization. This quantitative approach, which innovatively integrates multiple numerical analysis methods, not only highlights the peri-urbanization trends of the city but also provides a comparative analysis framework for other cities. The method's ability to track changes over time and compare different urban areas supports the development of sustainable urbanization strategies, ensuring balanced growth and resource allocation. This method offers urban planners, policymakers, and architects a powerful tool to manage and guide future urban expansion effectively through interdisciplinary collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is one of the most significant features of current social progress. Using Landsat TM/OLI images from 1995, 2005, and 2018, the land-use change, vegetation coverage, and land surface temperature retrieval of Hefei are studied, and the driving force of Hefei's expansion is analyzed. The influence of urban expansion and vegetation coverage on the intensity of the urban heat-island effect is discussed. As the city develops, various factors, such as natural conditions, economic growth, demographic changes, and policy decisions, are driving the expansion of construction land in Hefei. The overall performance shows expansion to the southwest of the main urban area, the surface temperature rises as the city expands, and the area of the heat-island effect also increases, showing the trend of multi-center distribution. There is a clear negative correlation between land surface temperature and vegetation coverage. Therefore, increasing the city's green infrastructure can effectively alleviate the severe heat-island effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various types of protected areas (PAs) are important for biodiversity conservation and essential for the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity. Rapid urban expansion affects the effectiveness of PAs in many ways. However, we still lack a clear understanding of the spatial relationship between urban expansion and different types of PAs in China during the last 30 years. Here, we analyzed the spatiotemporal changes in such relationship based on the boundaries of 2622 terrestrial PAs, as well as local Moran's and the Kruskal-Wallis H test during the period of 1992–2020 at the national, regional and provincial scales. The results showed that the number of PA threaten by urban expansion at the national scale fluctuated over time (10 to 80), while the median of the nearest distances between PAs and urban built-up areas decreased from 80.4 km to 2.6 km. At the regional scale, the PAs in east China were more affected by urban expansion than the ones in west China, with higher number of threatened PAs and closer distance between PAs and urban built-up areas. More importantly, non-national PAs were more severely affected by urban expansion than national PAs, and the proportion of threatened non-national PAs is 92.5% in 2020. Thus, future planning and management should place more attention to the non-national PAs that are severely affected by urban expansion. We investigate spatial relation between urban expansion and 2622 protected areas in China. Rapid urban expansion in recent years has posed a serious threat to PAs. Non-national PAs are more severely threatened than the national PAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main determinants of climate change, forest dynamics, land alteration, heat stress, ecological disturbances, and urban expansion. Addressing challenges posed by increasing anthropogenic activities due to population growth and rapid urbanization requires implementing appropriate solutions and fostering greater awareness, leading to improved, healthier livelihoods. Significant changes in urban expansion have occurred in the central and south Changde and the north, south, northwest, and central Chongqing. Significant urban expansion is observed, with a notable increase of 703.19 km2 in built-up land (Chongqing) and 93.88 km2 (Changde). Cropland has decreased by 103.36 km2 in Changde due to urban expansion, while Chongqing has seen an increase of 395.45 km2 in cropland. Notably, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values have undergone considerable changes, The average normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) increased by an average of 0.07 between 2017 and 2021, going from 0.85 in 2017 to 0.79 in 2021. Average temperatures increased by 0.45 °C in Chongqing and 0.51 °C in Changde, with noticeable effects on urban thermal features and UHIs. These research findings contribute to a more insightful vision for future disaster management, smart city development, environmental protection awareness, and adaptation policies in both cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land is an important carrier of resource elements, and improving land green use efficiency (LGUE) is the key to achieving "smart growth" in cities. This study takes 269 cities in China from 2008 to 2020 as the research object and integrates multisource remote sensing data, GIS spatial analysis, and spatial econometric models to explore the evolutionary characteristics of LGUE and the spatiotemporal effects of urban expansion on LGUE. The results show that (1) urban LGUE increases over time and has certain gradient distribution and spatial dependence characteristics; (2) urban expansion has a significant inverted U-shaped relationship with LGUE, indicating that maintaining reasonable urban expansion is the key to improving LGUE, but excessive urban expansion has a strong negative spatial effect on LGUE. In terms of spillover effect, for every 1% increase in the square term of urban expansion, the LGUE of the local city decreases by 0.0673%, but the neighboring city increases by 0.2283%; and (3) urban expansion has significant spatiotemporal heterogeneous effects on LGUE, and spatial development boundaries must be reasonably determined to achieve "smart growth". Currently, some cities in China are expanding rapidly, and we hope to provide key support for promoting the "smart growth" of cities and improving LGUE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Iraqi Journal of Physics is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study presents an in-depth analysis of land use and land cover change on the Kerch Peninsula over a period spanning three decades. Convolutional neural networks were employed in conjunction with satellite imagery analysis to map and quantify the changes in land use and cover. This revealed significant trends and transformations within the peninsula's landscape. The analysis revealed a notable increase in urban expansion, particularly at the expense of natural ecosystems. Furthermore, there was a notable reversion of agricultural lands to grasslands, driven by economic downturns and reduced agricultural activity. These land cover changes underscore the urgency of implementing sustainable land management policies. The study recommends the establishment of conservation easements to protect remaining natural ecosystems, the initiation of reforestation programs to restore degraded lands, and the development of comprehensive water management strategies to address the peninsula's hydrological challenges. Furthermore, the study underscores the pivotal importance of integrating change analysis and predictive modeling to anticipate future land cover scenarios and inform effective land management strategies. The model developed through this research, which employs advanced remote sensing and GIS technologies, provides a robust framework for understanding and managing land use and land cover change. This model can serve as a reference for similar regions globally, offering insights that can inform sustainable land use practices and policy decisions. The findings of this study have implications that extend beyond the Kerch Peninsula. They provide insights that can inform the management of land use changes and the conservation of natural landscapes in regions facing comparable socio-economic and environmental challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of ESTOA: Revista de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la Universidad de Cuenca is the property of ESTOA Revista de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la Universidad de Cuenca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Urban heat islands (UHIs) are a significant environmental problem, exacerbating the urban climate and affecting human health in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. The need to understand the spatio-temporal dynamics of UHI in the context of urban expansion is crucial for sustainable urban planning. The aim of this study was to quantify the changes in land use and land cover (LULC) and urbanization, assess the expansion process of UHI, and analyze its connectivity in order to develop strategies to mitigate UHI in an urban context over a 30-year period from 1990 to 2020. Using remote sensing data, LULC changes were analyzed with a random forest model. LULC change rate (LCCR), land cover intensity (LCI), and landscape expansion index (LEI) were calculated to quantify urbanization. The land surface temperature for the study period was calculated using the mono-window algorithm. The UHI effect was analyzed using an integrated radius and non-linear regression approach, fitting SUHI data to polynomial curves and identifying turning points based on the regression derivative for UHI intensity belts to quantify the expansion and intensification of UHI. Landscape metrics such as the aggregation index (AI), landscape shape index (LSI), and four other matrices were calculated to assess UHI morphology and connectivity of the UHI. In addition, the LEI was adopted to measure the extent of UHI growth patterns. From 1990 to 2020, the study area experienced significant urbanization, with the built-up area increasing from 69.40 to 338.74 km2, an increase of 1.923 to 9.385% of the total area. This expansion included growth in peripheral areas of 129.33 km2, peripheral expansion of 85.40 km2, and infilling of 3.80 km2. At the same time, the UHI effect intensified with an increase in mean LST from 40.55 to 46.73 °C. The spatial extent of the UHI increased, as shown by the increase in areas with an LST above 50 °C from 36.58 km2 in 1990 to 133.52 km2 in 2020. The connectivity of the UHI also increased, as shown by the increase in the AI from 38.91 to 41.30 and the LSI from 56.72 to 93.64, reflecting a more irregular and fragmented urban landscape. In parallel to these urban changes, the area classified as UHI increased significantly, with the peripheral areas expanding from 23.99 km2 in the period 1990–2000 to 80.86 km2 in the period 2000–2020. Peripheral areas also grew significantly from 36.42 to 96.27 km2, contributing to an overall more pronounced and interconnected UHI effect by 2020. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of urban expansion and its thermal impacts. It highlights the need for integrated urban planning that includes strategies to mitigate the UHI effect, such as improving green infrastructure, optimizing land use, and improving urban design to counteract the negative effects of urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Currently, 56% of the global population, resides in cities, and this urbanization trend is predicted to result in more than doubling of the urban population by 2050. Similarly, mid-sized Indian cities have exhibited rapid urban growth in recent decades. However, a holistic study focusing on the temporal dynamics of urban growth in all the mid-sized Indian cities is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the urban growth pattern across eighty-eight mid-sized Indian cities with the help of Census data from 1971-2011. METHODS: This research, utilizing a quantitative approach, investigates the relationship between economic growth and urban expansion in selected cities. The cities are categorized based on the Gross State Domestic Product of respective states, and the study evaluates changes in municipal areas and demographic growth patterns through the decadal urban expansion rate and decadal population growth rate. The urban growth character is further analyzed by dividing the population growth rate by the decadal urban expansion rate, with a value less than 1 indicating inefficient land utilization. This comprehensive methodology aims to provide insights into the dynamics of urban growth and its correlation with economic development. FINDINGS: The results revealed that inefficient land utilization for urban growth during 1971-2011 had occurred in thirteen cities from the states with higher Gross State Domestic Product and three cities among the states with lower Gross State Domestic Product. Overall, the midsized Indian cities, such as Ajmer (0.65), Solapur (0.67), Asansol (0.79), Mangalore (0.83), Jhansi (0.84), Nellore (0.85), Belgaum (0.86), Thrissur (0.86), and Bareilly (0.89) exhibited the lowest PU values during 1971-2011. The major drivers for urban growth in mid-sized Indian cities are government policies and schemes, industrial growth, rise in Gross State Domestic Product, climatic conditions and terrains, social profile, transportation, and infrastructure. CONCLUSION: Overall, there has been inefficient land utilization in several cities, particularly those from states with varying levels of Gross State Domestic Product. Noteworthy cities like Ajmer, Solapur, and Belgaum consistently demonstrated efficient land utilization, reflected in their lower Population-to-Urban Expansion values. The study emphasizes the intricate influences shaping urban growth, encompassing government policies, industrial development, economic factors, climate, social dynamics, and infrastructure. Future research endeavors could further delve into the specific impact of these factors on urban expansion, employing longitudinal analyses, and exploring the socio-economic ramifications of efficient or inefficient land utilization, contributing to more informed urban planning and policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To comprehend environmental changes and develop sustainable land management plans, it is crucial to thoroughly understand the complexities involved in land use change. This study investigated land use changes in Mae Sot district, Tak province, Thailand, in the years 2003, 2013, and 2023 using pixel-based supervised classification employing the Random Forest (RF) algorithm. The findings revealed that a substantial portion of the area is dedicated to agricultural purposes, accompanied by a decrease in forest areas and an increase in urban development. Furthermore, five spatial factors—elevation, slope, distance from the city center, distance from the main road, and population—were integrated as explanatory variables in training the cellular automata-artificial neuron network (CA-ANN) model to construct a land use change simulation for 2023. A comparison of the projected and actual land use maps for 2023 demonstrated a high level of agreement, with a kappa coefficient of 0.81, confirming the reliability of the model’s predictions. Subsequently, the CA-ANN model was used to forecast future land use for the year 2033. The projection suggested a significant expansion of built-up areas, primarily originating from the core of Mae Sot sub-district and spreading towards Tha Sai Luat, Mae Pa, and Mae Tao, and potentially extending northward along the national highway to Mae Kasa sub-district. Additionally, forested areas are anticipated to diminish, transitioning into agricultural zones, while certain existing agricultural regions are expected to be converted into urban spaces. These findings underscore the imminent expansion of urban areas within Mae Sot, emphasizing the necessity for well-thought-out planning to ensure long-term development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban expansion in developing countries has proven to be a controversial topic among scholars and researchers. This study aimed to measure spatiotemporal patterns of urban expansion in three cities in AlQassim Province: Unaizah, Ar Rass, and Al Mithnab. The research employed various methods used in urban expansion analysis and measurement. Four satellite images from 2013 to 2023 were used to monitor changes in urban expansion using the support vector machine algorithm in geographic information systems, considered an essential and standard technique for understanding and measuring urban land use patterns. Land use classifications (urban land, non-urban land, and agricultural land) were extracted using this method. The study used three methodological approaches to help measure urban expansion: the urban expansion intensity index, the Shannon entropy index, and landscape metrics. The study found that all three measures can contribute to detecting different patterns of urban expansion. Therefore, the results are as follows: First, the three study cities experienced urban expansion based on the increase in the urban expansion intensity index, with their development rate ranging from moderate to high speed. Second, the study revealed that the Shannon entropy index for expansion exhibits a highly compressed development distribution. Third, the results of the landscape metrics measurements using the FRAGSTATS program indicate that urban expansion generally exhibits an irregular distribution. The study emphasizes the necessity of considering environmental, social, economic, and cultural factors, as this significantly improves the understanding of relationships between causes, characteristics, and changes resulting from urban expansion in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia has several expanding metropolitan regions, such as the Joglosemar Urban Region. The Joglosemar Urban Region includes three major urban growth centres – the Semarang Metropolitan Region (SMR), the Surakarta Urban Region (SUR), and the Yogyakarta Urban Region (YUR) with three urban growth corridors connecting them. Urban growth corridors cover areas crossed by the main road network linking urban growth centres. Rapid and uncontrolled urban development can endanger environmental sustainability along the corridors. This study compares the three urban growth corridors within the Joglosemar Urban Region – the SMR-SUR, the SUR-YUR, and the SMR-YUR. It examines the spatiotemporal variations of urban compactness and urban vegetation degradation. This study uses Landsat Satellite Imagery from 2001, 2008, 2015, and 2022. The index-based calculation was employed to obtain the built-up area change, urban compactness, and vegetation degradation. The most dispersed urban areas observed had the greatest vegetation degradation. Among the three urban growth corridors, the SMR-SUR corridor recorded the highest vegetation degradation of −0.21, with an increase in compactness index of 0.02. Vegetation greenness is significantly reduced along urban expansion corridors with high spatial dispersion. Our assessment offers new insight to inform the government in enacting policy changes to control urban growth and its sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Seeking development through land” elucidates the contribution of the land system to the rapid growth of China’s economy, and is also considered an inherent driving mechanism of urbanization. The allocation of land resources affects economic development, and incremental planning and stock planning are planning schemes that adapt to different stages of development. To study the alternation law between incremental planning and stock planning in the process of economic development, and explore the focus of future national spatial planning and governance, through induction, deduction, and theoretical analysis, the study found that the mechanism of urban The inverted “U-shaped” theory and decoupling theory explain the changes in the relationship between urban expansion and economic growth. Whether from the perspective of supply and demand or input-output, incremental planning will gradually decrease, and the optimization of urban stock space will become the focus of future national spatial governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Rapid urbanization has brought substantial changes in structure and function of ecosystems, significantly impacting ecosystem services (ESs) supply and demand, and thereby landscape sustainability. Objectives: Revealing differences impacts of urbanization on ESs supply and demand across old, new and non-urban areas. Methods: First, we quantified the supply and demand of four ESs, namely food production (FP), water retention (WR), carbon sequestration (CS), and habitat quality (HQ) within the ChangZhuTan urban agglomeration from 2000 to 2020. Then impacts of urbanization on ESs supply–demand ratio (ESDR)were investigated by OLS linear regression, alongside assessing sensitivities with Random Forest models. The differences in these impacts and sensitivities were compared across old, new, and non-urban areas, utilizing the proportional cover of construction land (CLP), population density (PD), and GDP density (GDPD) as urbanization indicators. Results: (1) Urban expansion resulted in the increase of areas with low ESs supply but high demand, and thereby increased ESs deficits in urban edges. (2) CLP, PD and GDPD mostly had negative associations with ESDRs, especially in non-urban areas. Notably, they had positive impacts on ESDRs of CS and WR in old urban areas. (3) The sensitivity of ESDRs to urbanization differs in three areas. ESDRs were sensitive to GDPD and CLP in old and new urban areas, with only CLP emerging as the most sensitive indicator in non-urban areas, indicating the necessity for place-based strategies. Conclusions: Urbanization exerted diverse impacts on ESDRs across old, new, and non-urban areas, and showed significantly negative impacts in new urban areas. This underscores the need for enhanced landscape management to balance ESs and urbanization. Results from this study can enhance understanding of relationships between urbanization and ESs, and provide insights for landscape sustainability in an increasingly urbanizing planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of the urban environment is a crucial area of interest for the international community, particularly for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Achieving environmental sustainability is among the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. Riyadh has recently witnessed urban expansion due to population growth, which can cause negative environmental effects unless this growth is accompanied by the development of appropriate environmental regulations and controls. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the city of Riyadh's urban environment and its relationship to urban expansion over time. The Thermal Environmental Index (TEI), consisting of five indicators (vegetation index, urban index, moisture index, dry index, and temperature index) was constructed utilizing geospatial techniques. Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to determine the relationship between urban expansion and urban environmental conditions. The main results show that the size of Riyadh's urban clusters doubled by 2022, increasing by 106% compared to in 2000. The results also show that, in 2000, 2013, and 2022, areas of poor environmental conditions were mainly distributed in urban areas, whereas areas with excellent and good environmental conditions were located outside of urban areas in the northern and western parts of Riyadh. Areas with good environmental conditions continued to decline, whereas areas poor environmental conditions increased from 4%, or 240 km2, in 2000 to 11% in 2022, reaching 658 km2. The correlation analysis clearly showed a very strong relationship between urban expansion and the deterioration in urban environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]