Urban spatial expansion characteristics are the responses of urbanizationacts onthe geographical space. Analyzing the characteristics can reveal the process of urban expansion and mechanismwhich is one of useful methods to find out the sustainable land use strategy balancing development and protection. In this paper, two main methods have been deployed in analyzing the spatial expansion characteristicsof rapid urbanization region.One is the expansion index method and the other is fractal dimension method.And the results show that town-level urbansprawl has increased in a non-linear way since 1985, and even the incrementsof the urban expansion intensity are fluctuated. Morphologytransformation from scatter to concentrationis common phenomenon
References
[1]
X. W. Liu, D. X. Zhang and B. M. Chen, “Characteristics of China’s Town-Level Land Use in Rapid Urbanization Stage,” ActaGeographicaSinica, Vol. 63, No.3, 2008, pp. 301-310.
[2]
B. L. II. Turner, W. C. Clark, R. W. Kates, J. F. Richards, J. T. Mathews and W. B. Meyer, “The Earth as Transformed by Human Action: Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere over the Past 300 Years,” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990.
[3]
Y. S. Liu and R. Yang, “The Spatial Characteristics and Formation Mechanism of the County Urbanization in China,” ActaGeographicaSinica, Vol. 67, No. 8, 2013, pp. 1011-1020.
[4]
X. D. Ma, “Comparative Study between Urbanization Process and Spatial Pattern with ESDA Framework,” Southeast University Press, Nanjing, 2007.
[5]
A. S. Minale, “Retrospective Analysis of Land Cover and Use Dynamics in Gilgel Abbay Watershed by Using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques, Northwestern Ethiopia,” International Journal of Geosciences, Vol. 4, 2013, pp. 1003-1008. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2013.47093
[6]
R. H. Ma, C. L. Gu, Y. X. Pu, X. D. Ma and C. G. Zhu, “Urban Spatial Sprawl Pattern and Metrics in South of Jiangsu Province along the Yangtze River,” ActaGeographicaSinica, Vol. 62, No. 10, 2007, pp. 1011-1022.
[7]
X. D. Ma, C. G. Zhu, R. H. Ma and Y. X. Pu, “Urban Spatial Growth Pattern and Its Evolution in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China,” ActaGeographicaSinica, Vol. 63, No. 4, 2008, pp. 405-416.
[8]
Q. J. Che, X. J. Duan, Y. Guo, L. Wang and Y. H. Cao, “Urban Spatial Expansion Process, Pattern and Mechanismin Yangtze River Delta,” ActaGeographicaSinica, Vol. 66, No. 4, 2011, pp. 446-456.
[9]
P. L. Knox, “Urbanization: An Introduction to Urban Geography,” Englewood Cliffs Press, New York, 1994.
[10]
M. Batty, “Cities and Complexity: Understanding Cities with Cellular Automata, Agent-Based Models, and Fractals,” MIT Press, Cambridge, 2005.
[11]
Y. X. Pu, R. H. Ma, X. D. Ma and C. L. Gu, “Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of City-Size Distribution in Yangtze River Delta,” Geographical Research, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2009, pp. 161-172.
[12]
C. W. Li, X. L. Zhang and W. Wu, “A Study on Urban System along the Yangtze River Based on Fractal Theory in Jiangsu Province,” Resources and Environment in the Yangtze Basin, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2010, pp. 1-6.
[13]
L. J. C. Ma, “Urban Transformation in China, 1949-2000: A Review and Research Agenda,” Environment and Planning A, Vol. 34, No. 9, 2002, pp. 1545-1569. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/a34192
[14]
R. H. Ma, W. Chen, X. H. Chen and X. J. Duan, “Town and Construction Land Growth of Changshu City,” Acta-GeographicaSinica, Vol. 59, No. 3, 2004, pp. 418-426.
[15]
B. B. Mandelbrot, “The Fractal Geometry of Nature,” Freeman Press, San Francisco, 1982.
[16]
T. Isabelle, F. Pierre and B. Dominique, “Comparing the Fractality of European Urban Neighbourhoods: Do National Contexts Matter?” Journal of Geographical Systems, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2012, pp. 189-208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10109-010-0142-4
[17]
T. Isabelle, F. Pierre, F. Benoit, et al., “Clustering Patterns of Urban Built-Up Areas with Curves of Fractal Scaling Behavior,” Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, Vol. 37, No. 5, 2010, pp. 942-954. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/b36039
[18]
M. Batty, “Cities and Complexity: Understanding Cities with Cellular Automata, Agent-Based Models, and Fractals,” MIT Press, Cambridge, 2005.
[19]
I. Thomas, P. Frankhauser and C. Biernacki, “The Fractal Morphology of the Built-Up Landscape,” Landscape of Urban Plan, Vol. 84, No. 2, 2008, pp. 99-115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.07.002
[20]
I. Thomas, P. Frankhauser and M. L. De Keersmaecker, “Fractal Dimension versus Density of the Built-Up Surfaces in the Periphery of Brussels,” Regional Science, Vol. 86, No. 2, 2007, pp. 287-307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1435-5957.2007.00122.x
