Spatiotemporal measurement of urbanization levels based on multiscale units: A case study of the Bohai Rim Region in China

doi:10.1007/s11442-016-1284-1

Abstract

Abstract:

Urbanization is a complex process reflecting the growth, formation and development of cities and their systems. Measuring regional urbanization levels within a long time series may ensure healthy and harmonious urban development. Based on DMSP/OLS nighttime light data, a human-computer interactive boundary correction method was used to obtain information about built-up urban areas in the Bohai Rim region from 1992 to 2012. Consequently, a method was proposed and applied to measure urbanization levels using four measurement scale units: administrative division, land-sea location, terrain feature, and geomorphological types. Our conclusions are: 1) The extraction results based on DMSP/OLS nighttime light data showed substantial agreement with those obtained using Landsat TM/ETM+ data on spatial patterns. The overall accuracy was 97.70% on average, with an average Kappa of 0.79, indicating that the results extracted from DMSP/OLS nighttime light data were reliable and could well reflect the actual status of built-up urban areas. 2) Bohai Rim’s urbanization level has increased significantly, demonstrating a high annual growth rate from 1998 to 2006. Areas with high urbanization levels have relocated evidently from capital to coastal cities. 3) The distribution of built-up urban areas showed a certain degree of zonal variation. The urbanization level was negatively correlated with relief amplitude and altitude. A high level of urbanization was found in low altitude platforms and low altitude plains, with a gradual narrowing of the gap between these two geomorphological types. 4) The measurement method presented in this study is fast, convenient, and incorporates multiple perspectives. It would offer various directions for urban construction and provide reference values for measuring national-level urbanization.

Key words: nighttime light data, urbanization level, multiscale units, Bohai Rim

Min ZHAO, Weiming *CHENG, Qiangyi LIU, Nan WANG. Spatiotemporal measurement of urbanization levels based on multiscale units: A case study of the Bohai Rim Region in China[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2016, 26(5): 531-548.

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Altitude	Low altitude	Middle altitude
Relief	(< 1000 m)	(1000-3500 m)
Plain (< 30 m)	Low altitude plain (LAP)	Middle altitude plain (MAP)
Platform (> 30 m)	Low altitude platform (LAPF)	Middle altitude platform (MAPF)
Hill (< 200 m)	Low altitude hill (LAH)	Middle altitude hill (MAH)
Low relief mountain (200-500 m)	Low relief low altitude mountain (LRLAM)	Low relief middle altitude mountain (LRMAM)
Middle relief mountain (500-1000 m)	Middle relief low altitude mountain (MRLAM)	Middle relief middle altitude mountain (MRMAM)
High relief mountain (1000-2500 m)	—	High relief middle altitude mountain (HRMAM)
Highest relief mountain (> 2500 m)	—	—

City	Relative error (%)				City	Relative error (%)
City	1992	1998	2006	2012	City	1992	1998	2006	2012
Beijing	-1.88	3.03	-1.53	3.91	Liaoning	-0.68	2.95	0.29	-0.81
Tianjin	-1.91	2.67	2.41	3.18	Panjin	-2.88	3.29	-1.11	1.71
Shijiazhuang	-1.41	-0.12	-0.15	-0.02	Tieling	-1.09	2.81	-3.82	3.77
Tangshan	-1.18	0.00	-0.94	0.15	Chaoyang	2.37	0.82	-1.10	2.00
Qinhuangdao	0.65	-1.52	0.43	6.61	Huludao	1.57	-1.23	0.83	-0.81
Handan	-0.69	1.26	-0.70	1.12	Jinan	-0.60	-0.24	-0.09	0.00
Xingtai	0.38	0.18	0.17	0.82	Qingdao	-1.90	1.40	1.06	0.39
Baoding	1.24	0.44	-0.52	-0.20	Zibo	-0.42	0.33	0.14	-0.20
Zhangjiakou	-2.72	-1.42	1.27	2.29	Zaozhuang	1.58	0.66	1.58	1.29
Chengde	-0.77	2.83	-1.05	-0.05	Dongying	-1.42	-0.87	1.58	1.75
Cangzhou	-2.22	-2.46	0.30	1.40	Yantai	-0.02	0.13	0.15	-0.20
Langfang	-2.24	-0.07	-0.41	3.68	Weifang	-0.22	-0.87	0.46	0.32
Hengshui	-0.42	1.32	-0.19	3.65	Jining	0.83	-2.69	1.99	-0.34
Shenyang	-3.27	-0.17	-0.17	0.07	Taian	-1.84	1.74	-1.13	0.63
Dalian	-3.21	-0.79	-0.30	0.06	Weihai	0.49	-2.04	0.34	0.02
Anshan	-1.23	-1.02	-0.78	-0.18	Rizhao	1.58	0.17	1.40	1.77
Fushun	0.22	0.35	0.65	2.63	Laiwu	-2.90	-0.94	1.04	0.69
Benxi	-1.28	1.32	-0.32	2.07	Linyi	-0.94	1.74	-0.33	0.23
Dandong	-1.44	-1.23	-1.92	1.81	Dezhou	-1.10	-1.72	1.86	0.47
Jinzhou	-1.04	-2.00	2.18	2.07	Liaocheng	2.43	-0.42	-1.26	1.15
Yingkou	1.07	-0.25	-0.74	2.63	Binzhou	-0.94	-2.09	-1.01	-0.16
Fuxin	-1.24	0.59	2.42	1.22	Heze	0.17	-1.97	-0.60	1.36

	Landsat extraction results	Urban (%)	Non-urban (%)	Total (%)
	DMSP/OLS extraction results	Urban (%)	Non-urban (%)	Total (%)
	Urban (%)	2.19	0.53	2.72
1992	Non-urban (%)	0.59	96.69	97.28
	Total (%)	2.78	97.22	100.00
	OA = 98.88%; Kappa = 0.79
	Urban (%)	2.76	0.31	3.07
1998	Non-urban (%)	1.26	95.67	96.93
	Total (%)	4.02	95.98	100.00
	OA = 98.43%; Kappa = 0.77
	Urban (%)	6.62	0.75	7.37
2006	Non-urban (%)	2.34	90.29	92.63
	Total (%)	8.96	91.04	100.00
	OA = 96.91%; Kappa = 0.79
	Urban (%)	7.50	0.50	8.00
2012	Non-urban (%)	2.93	89.07	92.00
	Total (%)	10.43	89.57	100.00
	OA = 96.57%; Kappa = 0.80

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