Search Results (50)

As a cultural corridor connecting the Central Plains and Northeast China, the Liaoxi Corridor has a special position in the transmission of traditional Chinese culture. Traditional villages in the region have preserved rich intangible cultural heritage and traditional architectural features, which highlight the historical heritage of multicultural intermingling. This study fills the gap in the spatial distribution of traditional villages in the Liaoxi Corridor and reveals their spatial distribution pattern, which is of great theoretical significance. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis and quantitative geography, this study analyzes the spatial pattern of traditional villages and the influencing factors. The results show that traditional villages in the Liaoxi Corridor are clustered, forming high-density settlement areas in Chaoyang County and Beizhen City. Most villages are located in hilly and mountainous areas and river valleys and are affected by the natural geographic environment (topography and water sources) and historical and human factors (immigration and settlement, border defense, ethnic integration, etc.). In conclusion, this study provides a scientific basis and practical reference for rural revitalization, cultural heritage protection, and regional coordinated development, aiming at revealing the geographical and cultural mechanisms behind the spatial distribution of traditional villages. Full article

This study utilizes UAV-based LiDAR to analyze doline microtopography within a karst mountainous terrain. The study area, ‘Gulneomjae’ in Mungyeong City, South Korea, features steep slopes, limited accessibility, and abundant vegetation—conditions that traditionally hinder accurate topographic surveying. UAV LiDAR data were acquired using the DJI Matrice 300 RTK equipped with a Zenmuse L2 sensor, enabling high-density point cloud generation (98 points/m²). The point clouds were processed to remove non-ground points and generate a 0.25 m resolution DEM using TIN interpolation. A total of seven dolines were detected and delineated, and their morphometric characteristics—including area, perimeter, major and minor axes, and elevation—were analyzed. These results were compared with a 1:5000-scale DEM derived from the 2013 National Basic Map. Visual and numerical comparisons highlighted significant improvements in spatial resolution and feature delineation using UAV LiDAR. Although the 1:5000-scale DEM enables general doline detection, UAV LiDAR facilitates more precise boundary extraction and morphometric analysis. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of UAV LiDAR for detailed topographic mapping in complex karst terrains and offers a foundation for future automated classification and temporal change analysis. Full article

As a pivotal industrial hub in southwestern China, Kunming City has accumulated abundant industrial heritage resources. Investigating the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of industrial heritage across different districts in Kunming is critical for understanding its historical evolution and current status, and for providing scientific guidance for conservation and sustainable development. From a sustainability perspective, this study selected 80 industrial heritage sites in Kunming as research subjects. Utilizing ArcGIS spatial analysis techniques combined with kernel density estimation, standard deviational ellipse, and Geographical Detector analysis, we systematically visualized the spatial distribution patterns and driving factors. Key findings include that (1) industrial heritage exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity, concentrating primarily in the city center and surrounding areas, forming high-density clusters in Wuhua District, Panlong District, and Haikou Subdistrict, while showing marked disparities among regions; (2) distinct spatial distribution patterns emerge across heritage types—manufacturing heritage clusters in central urban zones, whereas mining heritage disperses in peripheral mountainous areas; and (3) historical preservation policies are identified as the dominant factor shaping the current distribution, whereas terrain and natural environmental impacts remain secondary. These findings offer actionable insights for optimizing the conservation and adaptive reuse of Kunming’s industrial heritage. Full article

Landscape fragmentation in mountainous resource-based cities has become increasingly serious, particularly in blue-green spaces. This study aims to establish a quantitative theoretical foundation for constructing an ecological network using the integrated morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA)–Conefor–minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model. It employs multiple data sets, including land use data, remote sensing images, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation, vegetation coverage data, etc., to conduct the quantitative analysis. Five groups of spatial resolution datasets (i.e., 30 m, 60 m, 90 m, 150 m, and 300 m) are employed for comparison and selection through MSPA to identify and analyze core landscape types. Connectivity analysis uses Conefor 2.6 software, and ecological sources are selected accordingly. Subsequently, the MCR model is applied to construct ecological corridors. Moreover, 153 ecological corridors are delineated, comprising 78 primary and 58 secondary corridors. The results show that most ecological core patches are fragmented and dispersed, while ecological corridors are vulnerable to disruption by external interference. This study also identifies 470 ecological breakpoints, mainly concentrated in the northeast, central, and southwestern areas characterized by high corridor density and intense anthropogenic activity. Additionally, 39 biological resting points are primarily located in the central urban area, and peripheral areas show few or no such points. This suggests establishing additional biological resting points to facilitate species migration and diffusion and complement the ecological network. This research addresses a significant gap in ecological network modeling within mountainous resource-based cities by developing a blue-green ecological network model. The findings encourage ecological governance bodies and technical professionals to recognize the interdependent relationship between blue and green spaces. This study supports the formulation of targeted planning strategies and helps maintain the potential connectivity essential for ecological balance. Full article

As China undergoes a rapid transition into an aging society, the mobility challenges faced by the older adults in high-density mountainous cities are exacerbated by complex topographical conditions. Existing studies often overlook the nonlinear relationships and the distinct planning requirements of mountainous versus flat urban areas when evaluating the age-friendliness of community parks. This study aims to identify the critical elements of age-friendly planning in mountainous community parks, validate the applicability of nonlinear models, and quantify the dynamic effects of various factors on older adults’ satisfaction, thereby establishing a foundation for targeted optimization strategies. Utilizing principal component analysis (PCA) on 358 valid questionnaires collected from three representative mountainous community parks in Chongqing, six key planning factors were extracted. An ordered logit model was employed for regression and marginal effect analyses. The findings reveal that (1) the ordered logit model outperforms alternative models in terms of goodness-of-fit and computational efficiency, making it particularly suitable for capturing the nonlinear characteristics of satisfaction; (2) accessibility facilities, spatial and social connectivity, and landscape environment emerge as the primary determinants of older adults’ satisfaction, with improvements in accessibility facilities exerting the most significant impact; and (3) the provision of multifunctional activity spaces and increased social opportunities effectively addresses the psychological and physiological needs of the older adults. This study contributes to the optimization of age-friendly design strategies for community parks in high-density mountainous cities, offering valuable insights for promoting healthy aging and fostering inclusive urban environments. Full article

With global population growth and accelerated technological innovation, human activities have expanded, leading to worsening ecological degradation and more frequent disasters, particularly in vulnerable and underdeveloped mountainous areas. Western Sichuan, predominantly consisting of mountainous cities, has unique geographical conditions that not only hinder socioeconomic development but also create an environment conducive to disaster occurrence. This study, therefore, investigates the disaster resilience of mountainous cities in western Sichuan. Using support vector machine (SVM), this study predicts geo-disaster risks. Shapley values from cooperative game theory are employed to optimize three evaluation methods, TOPSIS, Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), and Rank Sum Ratio (RSR), to calculate social resilience values. Finally, disaster resilience values are determined by integrating geo-disaster risk with socioeconomic resilience. Kernel density estimation and GeoDetector are then used to analyze the disaster resilience values. The findings reveal that (1) the disaster resilience of mountainous cities is generally improving, with a gradual decrease in the number of cities with low resilience, though the overall level remains low; (2) resilience disparities among cities are evident, showing an “east-high, west-low” distribution, primarily due to the eastern region’s proximity to developed cities and the socioeconomic support it has received; (3) the proliferation of information technology and the development of tourism are key drivers of resilience development, while human activities exacerbate geo-disaster risks; (4) the enhancement of disaster resilience is more dependent on the interaction of multiple driving factors than on any single factor. This study, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG3, SDG4, SDG8, SDG9, SDG11, and SDG15), offers recommendations for disaster resilience development and provides theoretical support for policy formulation in mountainous cities. Full article

The accelerating conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses poses critical threats to food security and sustainable land management, particularly in ecologically fragile karst mountainous regions. This study investigated the spatiotemporal patterns and driving mechanisms of cropland non-agricultural conversion (CNAC) in the Qian-Gui karst region (Guangxi and Guizhou, China) from 2000 to 2020, employing land use datasets and socioeconomic indicators through geographically weighted regression (GWR) modeling. The results showed that (1) from 2000 to 2020, the CNAC rate in the Qian-Guizhou karst mountainous region reached 2.03%. The area of CNAC increased by 14.60 × 10⁴ hm², increasing 1.74 times in 2010–2020 compared to 2000–2010, showing a trend of rapid growth. Specifically, the growth rate of the CNAC area was the highest in apparent mountainous (110.36%) and quasi-mountainous counties (100.5%), followed by semi-mountainous counties (95.28%), while entirely mountainous (40.89%) and pure hilly counties (37.68%) experienced the lowest growth, revealing distinct regional disparities. (2) Spatially, CNAC exhibited a pattern of “high in the north and south, low in the central region”, and the overall level of CNAC displayed significant regional imbalances, with extreme grades distributed in provincial capitals, high and medium grades concentrated in prefecture-level city districts, and light and low grades mainly located in counties and districts (accounting for more than 55.56% of the total number of research units in the two time periods). (3) There was significant spatial heterogeneity in the driving effect of factors influencing CNAC. Agricultural output and population density showed the strongest positive correlations; effectively irrigated areas exhibited a growing influence over time (except for pure hilly counties); rocky desertification areas exerted a strengthened influence on CNAC in pure hilly counties, while their impact was relatively lower in other regions compared to other indicators. Therefore, when formulating policies to protect farmland, it is essential to take into account the specific conditions of different types of counties in mountainous areas and adopt management measures tailored to these regional characteristics. Full article

Urban ecology and heritage-protection space are important parts of urban land and should be highly emphasized in urban planning. Improving and upgrading the level of urban ecological and heritage-conservation space will directly affect the level of spatial quality of the built environment of the city. As a high-density city, Macau suffers from “urban diseases” such as a low per capita green space rate and poor quality of the human environment. Therefore, in order to solve this kind of urban disease, the green environment quality of Macau’s heritage space should be improved and more leisure and recreational space should be provided for urban residents. This paper examines the layout of cultural heritage open spaces in Macau and suggests strategies for planning the preservation and use of these critical resources. This study investigated the current status of open space resources in Macau’s offshore islands, cultural heritage space resources, eight Largo spaces (“Largo” is a unique term for urban public open space in Macau) in Macau’s historic city, site-based cultural heritage open spaces, and the current status of rural walking trails in the offshore islands’ ecological reserves, and used GIS technology to visualize the survey results. Last, this paper investigates the planning strategy for the sustainable use of Macau’s outlying island ecological reserves and proposes a “green network” to connect the main mountains, green areas, and coastal wetlands in Coloane with the natural space. In view of the heritage-conservation space of the Macau Peninsula, this paper proposes the planning strategy of constructing linear landscape and cultural routes and planning characteristic heritage streets and alleys. Through using cultural heritage buildings as nodes and connecting pedestrian streets and alleys, the planning mode of combining heritage attractions and streets and alleys is realized. Full article

Urbanization in South and Southeast Asia is accelerating due to economic growth, industrialization, and rural-to-urban migration, with megacities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Jakarta leading the trend. By analyzing VIIRS nighttime satellite data from 323 cities across 17 countries, we investigated the relationship between nighttime light (NTL) brightness and population density at varying distances from city centers. Our findings reveal a significant distance-decay effect, with both the intensity of NTL brightness and the strength of the NTL-population density relationship decreasing as the distance from city centers increases. A clear negative exponential relationship with the highest R² was observed between NTL brightness and the distance from the city center. Our analysis indicates that a 105 km radius most effectively captures the extent of major metropolitan areas, showing a peak correlation between NTL brightness and population density. Cities like Delhi and Bangkok exhibit high NTL brightness, reflecting advanced infrastructure, while mountainous or desert cities such as Kabul and Thimphu show lower brightness due to geographical constraints. These results highlight the importance of adaptive urban planning, infrastructure development, and sustainability practices in managing urbanization challenges in South and Southeast Asia. Full article

Clarifying the driving mechanisms of ecosystem service (ES) supply and demand under urbanization is of significant importance for urban ecological planning and management. However, how the balance of ES supply and demand and its driving mechanisms vary with the degree of urbanization has been little studied. In this study, we analyzed the spatiotemporal changes and the correlations between ES supply and demand and the degree of urbanization in the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area (ZZMA) from 2000 to 2020 and further explored the driving mechanisms behind these changes. The results showed that, (1) between 2000 and 2020, the ZZMA experienced a deficit in comprehensive ES supply and demand, and regions with rapid urbanization development were more likely to trigger imbalances in ES supply and demand; (2) the spatial mismatch between low–high ES supply and demand was primarily distributed in the built-up areas of various cities, while the high–low spatial mismatch was mostly found in forest and grassland areas; (3) the comprehensive urbanization level of the ZZMA was spatially negatively correlated with the ratio of ES supply and demand. Regions with lower ES balance were more susceptible to disturbances caused by urbanization; (4) population density was the key factor influencing the supply and demand of carbon sequestration, oxygen release, water conservation, and food provision services, while the proportions of forest land and construction areas had the greatest influence on the supply and demand of air purification and leisure services. It is important to ensure the ecological status of the northwestern, southwestern, and central mountainous and forested areas; maintain the agricultural status of the main grain-producing areas in the eastern plains; strengthen ecological restoration and green infrastructure in built-up areas; and formulate differentiated management policies to promote the sustainable supply of ES and safeguard the ecological security of the region. Full article

The construction of ecological security patterns has become a crucial approach to assessing ecosystem health and integrity and is essential for achieving sustainable and high-quality development in both urban and rural areas. Using Lanzhou City as an example, our study employed the InVEST model, ecological service importance evaluation, and hotspot analysis to classify ecological sources. Additionally, ecological corridors were identified and optimized using the least resistance model and circuit theory. The identified corridor pattern was further analyzed using space syntax and neural networks to determine the influences of various factors. This framework can be applied to the circular construction of corridors. Our findings revealed a three-stage differentiation trend in the importance of ecosystem services. Ecological source areas and corridors were densely distributed in the northwest of Lanzhou. The optimized ecological source area increased from 2914.1 km² to 4542.5 km², raising its proportion in the study area from 22.2% to 34.7%. The total number of corridors after optimization was 217, spanning a 2657.3 km length. The Gaolan Mountain area had the highest current density, whereas the ecological barrier area was mainly distributed in the northwest of Yongdeng County and the north of Yuzhong County. The spatial syntax index indicated significant potential reachability between the Honggu area and the northwest area. Finally, using neural network perceptrons to simulate ecosystem service functions, our findings revealed that habitat quality showed the best fit under single-dependent-variable prediction, followed by water yield, with soil conservation showing a poor fit. Under three-dependent-variable prediction conditions, population factors had the greatest impact on ecosystem services, while slope had the least impact. Therefore, it is important to promote the construction of green infrastructure in the northwest and southeast, improve the connectivity of ecological corridors in Honggu District, and adopt corresponding spatial corridor optimization strategies according to different ecological needs. Collectively, our findings provide a theoretical and practical basis for the construction and optimization of urban and rural ecological security patterns in the semi-arid region of Lanzhou. Full article

The rapid development of urbanization has caused obstructed urban natural ventilation and the contribution rate of urbanization is relatively high. Therefore, there is an urgent need for urban development planning that should respect natural ventilation and local climate to reduce negative impacts. By optimizing the urban construction layout to reduce obstruction and leave a passageway for wind to blow in, the natural ventilation environment could be improved. This paper presents a promising approach for natural ventilation planning at both the city and community scales. Based on the assessment of wind environment, heat island intensity, and ventilation potential, the results revealed that winds blowing from the western and northern mountainous area of Shijiazhuang play a natural ventilation inlet role which can provide clean air. The SSHI and SHI were mainly distributed within the Second Ring Road, which has a large proportion of the low ventilation potential level. Thus, six first-class ventilation corridors and thirteen secondary corridors were recommended, which were set to be adapted to the dominant wind direction. Subsequently, an urban climate analysis map (UCAnMap) was developed considering climate sensitivity, and planning recommendations were provided for different climate zones. The relationship between architectural spatial structure and ventilation efficiency was analyzed; the results revealed that increasing the height of the buildings will decrease the proportion of comfortable wind zones, and the overall ventilation efficiency will weaken, so the average building height of a typical block should be controlled within 45 m, which matches ventilation performance requirements. The ventilation efficiency of the block has a certain negative correlation with the building density, and as the building density decreased by more than 10%, the proportion of the comfortable wind zones could increase by 4–5%. Full article

Geological hazards in Xinxian County, Xinyang City, Henan Province, are characterized by their small scale, wide distribution, and significant influence from regional tectonics. This study focuses on collapses and landslide hazards within the area, selecting twelve evaluation factors: aspect, slope shape, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), topographic relief, distance from geological structure, slope, distance from roads, land use cover type, area of land change (2012–2022), average annual rainfall (2012–2022), and river network density. Utilizing data from historical disaster sites across the region, the information quantity method and hierarchical analysis method are employed to ascertain the information quantity and weight of each factor. Subsequently, a random forest model is applied to perform susceptibility zoning of geological hazards in Xinxian County and to examine the characteristics of these geological disasters. The results show that in the study area, the primary factors influencing the development of geohazards are the distance from roads, rock groups, and distance from geological structure areas. A comparison of the susceptibility results obtained through two methods, the analytic hierarchy process information quantity method and the random forests model, reveals that the former exhibits a higher accuracy. This model categorizes the geohazard susceptibility in the study area into four levels: low, medium, high, and very high. Notably, the areas of very high and high susceptibility together cover 559.17 km², constituting 35.99% of the study area’s total area, and encompass 57 disaster sites, which represent 72.15% of all disaster sites. Geological hazards in Xinxian County frequently manifest on steep canyon inclines, along the curved and concave banks of mountain rivers, within watershed regions, on gully inclines, atop steep cliffs, and on artificially created slopes, among other sites. Areas with very high and high vulnerability to these hazards are mainly concentrated near the county’s geological formations. The gneiss formations are widely exposed in Xinxian County, and the gneisses’ strength is significantly changed under weathering, which makes the properties of the different degrees of weathering of the rock and soil bodies play a decisive role in the stability of the slopes. This paper provides a basis for evaluating and preventing geologic hazards in the Dabie mountainous area of the South Henan Province, and the spatial planning of the national territory. Full article

This study establishes the evaluation index system of Chengdu’s habitat suitability based on three dimensions (the ecological livability environment, economic development environment, and social security environment) and quantitatively investigates the habitat suitability of Chengdu using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and ArcGIS10.8 tools. Additionally, it analyzes the spatial pattern characteristics of Chengdu’s habitat suitability to provide insights into the rational optimization of Chengdu’s habitat system, and show that (1) the adaptability index of Chengdu’s human settlement is between 15.69 to 75.56, and the habitat suitability exhibits a high spatial distribution in the central area and a low spatial distribution in the surrounding regions, with obvious differences between hot spots and cold spots. (2) According to the suitability index from high to low, the habitat of Chengdu is divided into five regions: the most suitable area (895.62 km², 6.25%), highly suitable area (2136.82 km²,14.91%), moderately suitable area (5755.80 km²,40.15%), low-suitability area (4580.61 km², 31.95%) and the unsuitable area (966.15 km², 6.74%). (3) The spatial distribution of habitat suitability in Chengdu demonstrates a certain coupling relationship with the city’s circular social development model. Moreover, the spatial distribution characteristics of each area exhibit good consistency with population density, natural environment, economic conditions, and social conditions. (4) The influence of each indicator factor shows spatial heterogeneity, with variations in different subregions. Additionally, different regions have their own advantages and disadvantages. The results show that there are obvious regional characteristics with the suitability of human settlements in Chengdu; the main urban area exhibits the highest degree of habitat suitability, while the western Longmen Mountain area shows relatively lower suitability in its habitat. Considering these spatial characteristics, future development should explore corresponding development modes for each region based on local conditions, aiming to reduce spatial differences and promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas. Full article

To mitigate the urban heat island phenomenon at night, cool, fresh air can be introduced into the city to circulate and dissipate the heat absorbed during the day, thereby reducing high urban air temperatures. In other words, cold air flow (CAF) generated by mountainous and green areas should be introduced to as wide an area as possible within the city. To this end, it is necessary to first understand the characteristics of urban spatial factors that impact CAF, and to conduct concrete and quantitative analyses of how these urban spatial characteristics are contributing to air temperature reduction. In this study, the following are conducted: (1) an analysis of the relationship between cold air volume flux (CAVF) and the amount of air temperature reduction; (2) urban spatial categorization; (3) an analysis of the relationship between CAVF and the amount of air temperature reduction by urban spatial type; (4) a regression analysis between the amount of air temperature reduction and urban spatial characteristic factors that affect CAF; and finally, (5) the use of CAF to reduce urban air temperatures in urban planning and a design is proposed. Urban space was categorized into nine types using the results of the tertile analysis of CAVF and urban temperature reduction. It was determined that building height (BH) has a positive (+) influence on all urban spatial types, while building area ratio (BA) has a negative (−) effect. However, in the case of wall area index (WAI), the direction of influence varied depending on the development density; relatively low BA areas should focus on development that increases height to increase WAI, while relatively high BA areas should focus on development that reduces BA to reduce WAI by targeting development types closer to the tower type. And even in areas with similar development density, influence varies depending on the terrain elevation. Moreover, it is necessary to prepare improvement measures to increase the factors with CAF that positively influence air temperature reduction and decrease those with negative influence according to the characteristics of urban spatial types. Such results quantitatively and specifically confirmed the effects of spatial factors that affect CAF by urban spatial type on air temperature reduction. The results of this study can be used as useful information for the efficient use of CAF, a major element of urban ecosystem services. Full article