Abstract
Urban sprawl is a worldwide phenomenon happening particularly in rapidly developing regions. A study on the spatiotemporal characteristics of urban sprawl and urban pattern is useful for the sustainable management of land management and urban land planning. The present research explores the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban sprawl in the context of a rapid urbanization process in a booming economic region of southern China from 1979 to 2005. Three urban sprawl types are distinguished by analyzing overlaid urban area maps of two adjacent study years which originated from the interpretation of remote sensed images and vector land use maps. Landscape metrics are used to analyze the spatiotemporal pattern of urban sprawl for each study period. Study results show that urban areas have expanded dramatically, and the spatiotemporal landscape pattern configured by the three sprawl types changed obviously. The different sprawl type patterns in five study periods have transformed significantly, with their proportions altered both in terms of quantity and of location. The present research proves that urban sprawl quantification and pattern analysis can provide a clear perspective of the urbanization process during a long time period. Particularly, the present study on urban sprawl and sprawl patterns can be used by land use and urban planners.
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Acknowledgment
This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41101155), Chongqing High School Foundation of Middle-aged Backbone Teacher (2011), and the Science Research Foundation of Chongqing Technology and Business University (No. 20105610). We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to CIGSNRR for its valuable assistance during our primary data preparation. Any critiques and comments by the reviewers are much appreciated.
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Lv, Zq., Dai, Fq. & Sun, C. Evaluation of urban sprawl and urban landscape pattern in a rapidly developing region. Environ Monit Assess 184, 6437–6448 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2431-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2431-x