Search Results (4)

This study explores the spatiotemporal distribution and formation mechanisms of urban heat islands (UHIs) in Nanjing during summer, utilizing temperature data from 82 automatic weather stations (AWSs) distributed across five concentric zones. The results demonstrate the substantial impact of urbanization on UHI patterns, with industrial and densely populated areas exhibiting higher UHI intensity (UHII), while regions with natural landscapes such as mountains and water bodies display lower temperatures. The analysis reveals that the most pronounced night-time UHI effect occurs in the highly urbanized central zones, whereas the weakest effect is observed during midday. Transitional UHI phases are identified around sunrise and sunset, with increased long-wave radiation post-sunset amplifying the UHI effect. Additionally, this study underscores the directional characteristics of UHI distribution in Nanjing. Notably, Hexi New Town has emerged as a new high-temperature hotspot due to rapid urbanization, while Jiangning New Town and Xianlin Sub-City maintain lower temperatures owing to their proximity to agricultural and forested areas. By selecting representative AWSs from different zones, this study introduces a novel and practical method for calculating UHII. Although the approach has limitations in precision, it provides an accessible tool for UHI analysis and can be adapted for use in other cities. This research offers valuable insights into the influence of urban development on local climate and presents a practical framework for future UHI studies and urban planning strategies aimed at mitigating UHI effects. Full article

Religious settlements can reflect regional culture and social development, preserve the continuity of spatial structures over time, sustain social networks, and perpetuate traditions. Buddhist settlements, as a particular type of religious settlement, reflect the social development and daily lives of monks and common people. This study used literature research, field investigations, and GISs to construct a framework of the landscape of religious settlements based on the theory of the historic landscape approach. Buddhist grottoes from the Sixteen Kingdoms Period to the Qing Dynasty (304–1912) in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province were selected as a case study, and the patterns of religious settlements were identified. According to the analysis, it was found that religious settlements tended to have large religious buildings at their centre, with small buildings and attachments scattered around. They were close to central cities, with a complete transportation network, and they had relatively stable belief spaces. There were clear boundaries between believers and non-believers in the settlements. Four patterns of religious settlements were also identified according to the relationships between geography, social properties, and cultural connotations. These findings diachronically offer a new perspective on the understanding of religious settlements and steps for improving the inheritance of religious culture. Full article

Under the background of climate change, the problems of water resource allocation and desertification in arid areas are becoming increasingly prominent, which seriously threatens the sustainable development of society. Constructing an ecological network is an important measure to improve the ecological environment and maintain ecological service function. This study takes the Hexi Corridor as an example and relies on land use data from 2000 to 2020, and comprehensively applies methods, such as morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA), the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR), and the network evaluation index to construct and optimize the ecological network of the Hexi Corridor. Our results show: (1) the spatial distribution of the landscape elements in the Hexi Corridor was not uniform and that the ecological foundation in the north was poor; (2) the resistance surface was “low in the south and high in the north”, with low-value areas mainly located to the south of Jiuquan City, Zhangye City, and Wuwei City, and the high-value areas were mainly located in the middle and to the north of Jiuquan City and Wuwei City; (3) the ecological source areas, corridors, and nodes showed a fluctuating upward trend, and they were mainly located to the southwest of Zhangye City, Jiuquan City, and Wuwei City; (4) the network closure (α), line point rate (β), and network connectivity (γ) showed a W-shaped change trend; (5) after the ecological network optimization, 22 new ecological source areas, 78 new corridors, and 61 new nodes were added, as a result, the α, β, and γ indices all increased. Our results provide a reference for ecological environment restoration research and serve as a regionally balanced means of sustainably developing the Hexi Corridor. Full article

Under the current model of advocating urban intensive development and updating built-up areas, promoting the coupling optimization of space and public transport in built-up areas is an important way to realize sustainable urban development. Apart from researching the space and accessibility of the central area in Hexi new city of Nanjing and analyzing problems from various aspects, i.e., urban land use, road network planning, bus station distribution, non-motorized traffic, and space and environment design, combining with the OD (Origin & Destination) survey, this paper further put forward the corresponding improvement strategy for the public space accessibility of different levels and optimized design of non-motorized traffic. Full article