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Urban Sprawl: Spatial Planning, Vision Making and Externalities

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A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2024) | Viewed by 10954

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zotic Vasile

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Guest Editor

Department of Human Geography and Tourism, Faculty of Geography, Centre for Research on Settlements and Urbanism, Babeş-Bolyai University, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Interests: regional and urban planning; human geography; demography; territorial infrastructures

Dr. Artur Hołuj

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Spatial Management, Institute of Spatial Management and Urban Studies, College of Public Economy and Administration, Cracow University of Economics, Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Cracow, Poland
2. Centre for Research on Settlements and Urbanism, Babes-Bolyai University, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Interests: spatial planning; economic and natural external effects of spatial planning; the policy of local government in the field of spatial order and spatial development in the context of urban sprawl and spillover phenomena

Prof. Dr. Maciej J. Nowak

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Guest Editor

Department of Real Estate, Faculty of Economics, West Pomeranian University of Technology, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: law; spatial policy; spatial policy tools; spatial planning; environmental protection
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Spatial planning and spatial policy, which are directly related to the principles of land use and development, need effective instruments to serve both the users and agents responsible for spatial processes. Planning processes should be coherent because the individual approach to space limits the desired effectiveness in using the available endogenous and exogenous potentials. Flexibility and the ability to anticipate impacts are also necessary, especially in the case of planning processes. As many researchers have recognised, it is impossible to plan a given space once with no future consideration, as planning is a dynamic process. Through planning documentation, current ideas are expressed, but at the same time future changes are conceptualised (e.g., loss of natural values, landscape and climate change). As a result of planning work, fewer side effects should be ultimately generated, rather than leaving particular areas exposed to spontaneous land-use processes (e.g., urban sprawl). Therefore, it should be considered that the behaviours of different users of space generate a number of interactions and consequences. The externalities created in free market processes depend, among other things, on how scarce resources are managed. Over the years, significant changes have been observed in their positioning and valuation, where, along with the process of marked resource depletion, the value of their uses increases.
In this Special Issue, we invite authors to submit papers that address issues linking spatial planning as well as the spatial and economic effects of spatial policies and their externalities. Submitted articles may focus on a single issue, but can also cover several issues. We will accept methodological, cognitive and conceptual-theoretical papers devoted to local and regional problems.

Urban and regional planning; brownfield planning, blue-green-gray infrastructures;
Urban community and public engagement in urban planning;
Urban development policies;
Urban sensitivity and adaptability to global changes;
Spatial management and economic policies;
Spillover effects and externalities;
Economic and non-economic externalities of spatial planning;
Spatial transformations in metropolitan areas;
Urban sprawl, costs and benefits;
Urbanisation, reurbanisation and return to the city;
Suburbanisation, decentralisation in spatial and ecological policy.

We particularly welcome the submission of studies combining the issues of spatial management, urban and regional planning, and other fields related to space organisation, conservation and protection, aiming to reduce spatial chaos and create development visions for improving spatial structures. Considering externalities and spatial externalities, we expect studies that include aspects of measuring the effects of spatial development.

Dr. Zotic Vasile
Dr. Artur Hołuj
Dr. Maciej J. Nowak
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

spatial planning policy
urban planning
urban sprawl
externalities
peri-urbanisation
metropolitan areas
functional urban areas
brownfield planning
blue-green-grey infrastructure
urban community engagement
adaptable cities
urban dynamics
spatial management

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2402 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Effects of Railway Network Construction on Urban Sprawl and Its Mechanisms: Evidence from Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, China

by Yuan Yi, Fang He and Yuxuan Si

Land 2024, 13(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13010025 - 22 Dec 2023

Viewed by 848

Abstract

Urban sprawl has become a notable feature in China. Previous studies have found that railway development has a significant effect on urban sprawl. However, the detailed mechanisms of how railways affect urban sprawl have not been studied in depth. Furthermore, China’s railway system has already formed a network. The network status of cities within the railway network may affect urban sprawl, but few studies have examined this factor. In this context, to explore the effects of railway networks on urban sprawl and the mechanisms of these effects, this study applied the social network analysis (SNA) method to measure the indicators of railway network characteristics and conducted panel model regression with the above indicators using the data from 26 cities from 2011 to 2019 in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) in China. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Railway network construction has a significantly positive impact on urban sprawl through the network agglomeration and diffusion mechanisms. (2) The network agglomeration mechanism improves the location condition of the central cities on the railway network, which encourages urban sprawl as an agglomeration pattern. (3) The network diffusion mechanism enhances the integration of the peripheral cities with the central city on the railway network, which encourages urban sprawl as a diffusion pattern. The network diffusion mechanism is heterogeneous in metropolitan areas (MAs) for the different levels of central city agglomeration. The findings provide a reference for railway construction and urban planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sprawl: Spatial Planning, Vision Making and Externalities)

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29 pages, 15018 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Housing and Food Production: Resident and Grower Perceptions of Peri-Urban Food-Production Landscapes

by Shannon Davis, Guanyu Chen and Naomi Darvill

Land 2023, 12(12), 2091; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12122091 - 21 Nov 2023

Viewed by 926

Abstract

The loss of productive soils and food-producing landscapes on the edges of cities is an increasing issue facing Aotearoa New Zealand. Like many countries globally, New Zealand’s largest cities are facing rapid expansion because of increasing urbanisation, with high levels of low-density residential sprawl into the productive peri-urban hinterlands and increasing rates of ‘reverse sensitivity’. Food production, as a result, is being pushed further away, disconnected from the communities it serves, and often onto less productive soil. This paper explores the perceptions and attitudes of both peri-urban residents and food producers living and working within the peri-urban zone of Ōtautahi Christchurch. Conducting two surveys, one with residents and another with producers, respondents’ perceptions of food growing within this peri-urban landscape are explored to better understand the enablers and barriers of growing food close to cities. Overall, the results indicated that peri-urban residents appreciate food being produced close to where they live, with over 90% of residential respondents feeling either ‘mostly positive’ or ‘extremely positive’ towards food being grown close to their homes. Of greatest concern for peri-urban residents were issues relating to negative impacts on the environment and human health, with particular concern for water quality. The lack of accessibility to locally produced food was also identified as an area of concern to residents. Food producers felt less positive towards operating their food-production enterprises within the peri-urban zone, identifying a range of issues impacting their experience. The information rendered from these surveys provides a base for future land-use planning consideration within the peri-urban zone, where both food production and housing can co-exist. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sprawl: Spatial Planning, Vision Making and Externalities)

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21 pages, 11082 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Development Boundary Setting Versus Ecological Security and Internal Urban Demand: Evidence from Haikou, China

by Luoman Pu and Qi Xia

Land 2023, 12(11), 2018; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12112018 - 05 Nov 2023

Viewed by 749

Abstract

Amidst rapid urbanization, the conflict between urban population and land is intensifying due to ecological degradation and imbalanced supply and demand of land resources in and around cities. Demarcating the urban development boundary is a specific measure to regulate the scale and form of urban expansion while considering internal urban demand as well as ecological security. This study took Haikou City, China, as the study area, exploring a new way to take into account the external constraints and endogenous mechanisms of urban expansion, constructing a comprehensive ecological security pattern (ESP) using the MCR model, demarcating recent rigid development boundaries, and demarcating future elastic development boundaries using the CA–Markov model. The results were the following: (1) By identifying the current urban boundary in 2020, the urban land area of Haikou City was found to be 261.64 km². (2) Using the MCR model to construct comprehensive ESP and demarcate a rigid development boundary revealed that the total area within the boundary was 398.37 km², with an additional growth potential of up to 136.73 km². (3) Demarcating elastic boundaries for Haikou City in 2030, 2040 and 2050 using the CA–Markov model while considering natural and socio-economic driving factors and constraints showed the internal areas within these boundaries to be calculated at 451.80, 489.46 and 523.37 km², respectively, which were higher than that in 2020 by 190.16, 227.82 and 261.73 km². (4) Some suggestions, such as establishing a comprehensive technical system, ensuring robust policy support and legal protection, and improving the responsibility management system, were proposed in the implementation of urban development boundaries. Scientifically and reasonably demarcating the recent rigid urban development boundary and future elastic urban development boundaries can ensure sustainable urban development while preserving the ecological environment and satisfying urban development demand. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sprawl: Spatial Planning, Vision Making and Externalities)

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21 pages, 2309 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Evolution of High-Quality Economic Development Levels: Regional Differences and Distribution in West China

by Jinhuang Mao, Zhenyu Wang and Tianyang Ma

Land 2023, 12(11), 1975; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12111975 - 26 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1006

Abstract

A comprehensive and scientific system for measuring the quality of economic development will provide the basis for and guarantee high-quality economic development (HQED) in China. In this paper, we constructed an indicator-evaluating system for the high-quality development of the western region’s economy according to a new development concept and the relevant requirements of western development and measured the composite index and sub-dimension index of its HQED from 2000 to 2020 using the entropy method; revealed the regional differences and sources of western HQED using the Dagum Gini index (GI) decomposition method; and analyzed the evolution of HQED using kernel density estimation and the Markov probability transfer matrix. The study showed that western HQED was on the rise year by year, but there was a large gap between the 11 provinces, characterized by “high in the middle and low on the edge” values in general; inter-regional differences constituted the main source of overall differences; and western HQED showed “club convergence” in a steady state, with upward shifts more likely than downward shifts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sprawl: Spatial Planning, Vision Making and Externalities)

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16 pages, 2014 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Construction of Chinese Metropolitan Area from the Perspective of Politics of Scale: A Case Study of Nanjing Metropolitan Area, China

by Jie Yu, Wei Zhao and Junjun Zhu

Land 2023, 12(7), 1320; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071320 - 30 Jun 2023

Viewed by 847

Abstract

The spatial political logic of the construction of Chinese metropolitan areas (CMAs) is unique and complex, involving the interaction of power, spatial production, and the construction of political rationality between multiple scales. Taking the representative Nanjing metropolitan area as an example, we use the “material–organizational–discursive” analytical framework of politics of scale theory to analyze the construction logic of CMAs. This study finds the following: (1) In general, the CMA is a high-quality spatial construction resulting from multi-city negotiation, inter-provincial collaboration, and central–territory linkage, and has generally undergone a process of increasing the power of subjects, nested power relations, frequent scale interactions, and complex interest games; among them, planning is not only a scale tool for competing for power, but also an important representation of the results of multiple power games. (2) In terms of the construction of material space, both the delineation of boundaries and the cross-border connection of infrastructure represent rational thinking and stand as two-way choices of the two power subjects in the MA based on the maintenance and expansion of their own spatial development rights. (3) In terms of organizational space construction, CMAs mainly adopt flexible means, with bilateral and multilateral cooperation at the horizontal level, while there is a certain power inequality at the vertical level. (4) In the construction of discursive space, CMAs have experienced increasing construction significance, escalating scale subjects, and overlapping discourse narratives, and the contrast of power relations has also changed. The contribution of this paper is an expansion of the analytical framework of politics of scale based on the division of spatial dimensions, which provides a new perspective for understanding the construction of CMAs, and also helps us to picture Chinese city–regionalism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sprawl: Spatial Planning, Vision Making and Externalities)

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19 pages, 2108 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Evolution of an Oil City: A Case Study of Karamay, Northwest China

by Yifei Peng, Mamiko Fujiyama and Toshikazu Ishida

Land 2022, 11(11), 2011; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11112011 - 10 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1624

Abstract

This study investigates how Karamay, a typical mining city in Northwest China, has expanded and evolved over the last three decades (1994–2021) with a special study area of the oil production “townships” which fully expressed the characteristics of the scattered spatial pattern of oil cities, by using remote sensing (RS) images and geographical information system (GIS) spatial analyses. The expansion rate and urbanization development index, spatial orientation, and urban compactness are used to discuss the expansion features. The results indicate that Karamay city has continued to expand in the past 30 years, and there were two stages of urban expansion regarding expansion orientation. During the expansion, there was a trend toward more urban compactness. Karamay’s urban space has gradually evolved from the original scattered distribution of townships to functionally concentrated urban areas. Socioeconomic factors and multilevel policies were the main factors influencing urban expansion. Suggested strategies for the future development of oil cities in China were given accordingly. Two main innovative points are presented in this paper. First, a unique perspective was given on spatial changes in oil townships to better capture how industrial activities influence the urban expansion of oil cities, which has not been found in other studies. Second, this study is the first to combine the urban expansion process with the changing of scattered spatial characteristics of cities, which has reference significance for the sustainable development of these types of cities and contributes to the diversity of case backgrounds for discussing the possibility of compact urban growth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sprawl: Spatial Planning, Vision Making and Externalities)

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21 pages, 1637 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Job Accessibility Matter in the Suburbs? Black Suburbia, Job Accessibility, and Employment Outcomes

by Hyunjoo Eom

Land 2022, 11(11), 1952; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11111952 - 01 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1129

Abstract

The spatial mismatch hypothesis of John Kain proposes that geographic separation between residential locations and jobs creates a spatial barrier in accessing job opportunities, which has a negative impact on labor market outcomes. A key hypothesis is that Black populations have limited accessibility to suburban job opportunities due to residential segregation in the city, resulting in lower employment and earnings. However, the spatial structure of the U.S. metropolitan area has changed since then, with increased polycentric employment growth and Black suburbanization. This challenges Kain’s original hypothesis that residential segregation in the city creates a spatial barrier in accessing jobs. The spatial pattern of mismatch has changed and demonstrates a mismatch between Black suburbs and suburban jobs. Then, what role does job accessibility play in the change in the spatial pattern of mismatch? Does job accessibility continue to matter in the suburbs? Or, are there other more important neighborhood characteristics affecting labor market outcomes? The findings demonstrate that job accessibility remains closely associated with Black labor market outcomes. In Chicago, job accessibility has higher marginal effects on Black employment, especially in predominantly Black neighborhoods. However, in Atlanta, where a majority of the Black population lives in the suburbs, having a higher percentage of Black residents in the neighborhood negates the effects of job accessibility. Instead, the share of Black residents becomes a more significant factor in employment. The findings demonstrate that the effect of job accessibility varies by the spatial pattern of mismatch. Job accessibility becomes less important in highly segregated suburbs, but the share of Black residents matters more in labor market outcomes. In metropolitan areas with the traditional mismatch pattern, job accessibility is significantly associated with employment and earnings, especially in neighborhoods where the majority of the Black population remains segregated in the city. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sprawl: Spatial Planning, Vision Making and Externalities)

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21 pages, 2971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Green Infrastructure Planning Approach: Improving Territorial Cohesion through Urban-Rural Landscape in Vojvodina, Serbia

by Luka Bajić, Nevena Vasiljević, Dragana Čavlović, Boris Radić and Suzana Gavrilović

Land 2022, 11(9), 1550; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091550 - 13 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1780

Abstract

Spatial and urban planning are directed towards achieving territorial cohesion as one of the sustainable development goals. Considering the hybrid concept of green infrastructure, this paper aims to provide an “ecological model” of achieving territorial cohesion in spatial and urban planning. Based on the connectivity level analysis between green infrastructure elements (green infrastructure hubs, nodes, gateways and dots), application of the GI concept guides the development of spatial planning scenarios. The application of Voronoi diagrams and landscape graph-based principles contribute to defining the shortest distances between green infrastructure elements, which resulted in the definition of the significance of structural and functional arrangement of green infrastructure dots in the matrix of the urban rural continuum in the territory of the urban-rural landscape of three case studies in Vojvodina, Serbia (Novi Sad, Subotica, Zrenjanin). As a result of this study, green infrastructure dots showed a great potential of application at the local level by developing them through landscape design with creative and artistic elements in order to achieve higher level of cohesion through visual attractivity, multifunctionality and recreation. The level of connectivity between elements of green infrastructure should be considered as an indicator of the sustainable spatial development goals achievement, in the field of nature conservation and territorial and social cohesion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sprawl: Spatial Planning, Vision Making and Externalities)

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