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Volume 15
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Correction published on 4 January 2024, see Remote Sens. 2024, 16(1), 206.
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Article

Spatial Diffusion Waves of Human Activities: Evidence from Harmonized Nighttime Light Data during 1992–2018 in 234 Cities of China

by
Jianxin Yang
1,2,
Man Yuan
1,
Shengbing Yang
1,
Danxia Zhang
1,
Yingge Wang
1,
Daiyi Song
1,
Yunze Dai
3,4,
Yan Gao
1,2 and
Jian Gong
1,2,*
1
Department of Land Resource Management, School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
2
Key Labs of Law Evaluation of Ministry of Land and Resources of China, 388 Lumo Road, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430074, China
3
Collaborative Innovation Center for Emissions Trading System Co-Constructed by the Province and Ministry, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan 430205, China
4
School of Low Carbon Economics, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan 430205, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(5), 1426; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051426
Submission received: 28 December 2022 / Revised: 17 February 2023 / Accepted: 26 February 2023 / Published: 3 March 2023 / Corrected: 4 January 2024
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Abstract

This study investigates whether the intensity of human activities conducted by urban populations and carried by urban land follows a wave-shaped diffusion rule using a harmonized DMSP-like NTL dataset during 1992–2018 in 234 cities of China. The results show that variations in the intensity of human activities are diffused in a wave-shaped manner from the urban center to the periphery in cities of different sizes and structures. The results demonstrate that variations in the intensity of human activity also exhibit a wave-shaped diffusion pattern, which is best modeled by a Gaussian function with an average R2 of 0.79 and standard deviation of 0.36 across all fitted functions. The outward movement of these waves in monocentric cities with an urban population <8 million occurred at a pace of ~0.5–1.0 km per year, reaching an average distance of ~18 km from the urban centers. While the pace decreased to ~0.2–0.6 km per year in larger or polycentric cities, the average distance of the waves from the urban centers increased to ~22–25 km in these larger cities. In addition, a process-pattern link between the distance-decayed rule and the wave-shaped rule of human activity dynamics was established. Moreover, a spatiotemporal Gaussian function was further discussed to enable modelers to forecast future variations in the intensity of human activities. The disclosed wave-shape rule and model can benefit the simulation of urban dynamics if integrated with other simulation technologies, such as agent-based models and cellular automata.
Keywords: human activities; wave-shaped diffusion; nighttime light; Gaussian function; urbanization human activities; wave-shaped diffusion; nighttime light; Gaussian function; urbanization

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Yang, J.; Yuan, M.; Yang, S.; Zhang, D.; Wang, Y.; Song, D.; Dai, Y.; Gao, Y.; Gong, J. Spatial Diffusion Waves of Human Activities: Evidence from Harmonized Nighttime Light Data during 1992–2018 in 234 Cities of China. Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 1426. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051426

AMA Style

Yang J, Yuan M, Yang S, Zhang D, Wang Y, Song D, Dai Y, Gao Y, Gong J. Spatial Diffusion Waves of Human Activities: Evidence from Harmonized Nighttime Light Data during 1992–2018 in 234 Cities of China. Remote Sensing. 2023; 15(5):1426. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051426

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yang, Jianxin, Man Yuan, Shengbing Yang, Danxia Zhang, Yingge Wang, Daiyi Song, Yunze Dai, Yan Gao, and Jian Gong. 2023. "Spatial Diffusion Waves of Human Activities: Evidence from Harmonized Nighttime Light Data during 1992–2018 in 234 Cities of China" Remote Sensing 15, no. 5: 1426. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051426

APA Style

Yang, J., Yuan, M., Yang, S., Zhang, D., Wang, Y., Song, D., Dai, Y., Gao, Y., & Gong, J. (2023). Spatial Diffusion Waves of Human Activities: Evidence from Harmonized Nighttime Light Data during 1992–2018 in 234 Cities of China. Remote Sensing, 15(5), 1426. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051426

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