Journal of Geographical Sciences >
Geographical features and development models of estuarine cities
Chen Mingxing (1982-), PhD and Professor, specialized in urbanization and regional sustainable development. E-mail: chenmx@igsnrr.ac.cn |
Received date: 2023-03-14
Accepted date: 2023-07-24
Online published: 2024-01-08
Supported by
The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA23100301)
The Chinese Academy of Sciences Basic Frontier Science Research Program from 0 to 1 Original Innovation Project(ZDBS-LYD-QC005)
National Natural Science Foundation of China(42171204)
Cities are the key areas for human beings to achieve sustainable development goals in the future. Estuarine cities are a special type of coastal city in urgent need of a clear definition. This paper proposed that estuarine cities are cities developed on the coast where rivers and oceans meet and defined four connotations, including the intersection of rivers and marine water systems, the coordinated development of land and oceans, the location advantages of connecting rivers and seas, and the important fragility of the ecological environment. We used HydroSHEDS, OSM, GPW, and urban socioeconomic statistics and selected 50 estuarine cities with large rivers as representatives to summarize the main geographical basis and socioeconomic characteristics. Cities are primarily found in low-altitude, flat regions with average annual temperatures that mainly vary from 10°C to 25°C, relatively abundant precipitation, and extensive biological resources. There are substantial variations in the socioeconomic features of estuarine cities. We proposed eight development patterns, including open and inclusive city spirit, high-quality livable cities, high-quality development driven by innovation, integration of internal and external communication with ports and cities, construction of an international financial center, ecological environment protection and restoration, active promotion of cultural tourism, and positive international exchanges.
CHEN Mingxing , XIAN Yue , HUANG Yaohuan , SUN Zhigang , WU Chengbin . Geographical features and development models of estuarine cities[J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2024 , 34(1) : 25 -40 . DOI: 10.1007/s11442-024-2193-3
Table 1 A comparison of estuarine cities and related urban concepts |
Types of cities | Coastal | Along river | Have ports |
---|---|---|---|
Estuarine cities | √ | √ | ○ |
Port cities | ○ | ○ | √ |
Seaside cities | √ | ○ | ○ |
Coastal cities | √ | ○ | ○ |
Note: “√” indicates that it must have this feature, and “○” means it may have this feature. |
Figure 1 Technical methods for selecting estuarine cities of large rivers |
Figure 2 The relationship between the geographic location (continent) of great rivers and the ocean into which the rivers flow |
Figure 3 Geographical distribution of cities at the estuary of great rivers |
Figure 4 The average annual temperature of cities at the estuary of large rivers |
Figure 5 Annual net primary productivity of estuarine cities in 2020 |
Figure 6 The characteristic models of the development of the world’s estuarine cities |
Appendix 1 List of great rivers and their estuarine cities
ID | Continent | River | Estuarine city | Into the ocean/sea |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | North America | Mississippi River | New Orleans | Atlantic Ocean |
2 | North America | Mackenzie River | Inuvik | Arctic Ocean |
3 | North America | Yukon River | Alakanuk | Pacific Ocean |
4 | North America | Saint Lawrence River | Quebec | Atlantic Ocean |
5 | North America | Rio Grand River | Heroica Matamoros | Atlantic Ocean |
6 | North America | Nelson River | Gillham | Arctic Ocean |
7 | North America | Columbia River | Portland | Pacific Ocean |
8 | North America | Hudson River | New York | Atlantic Ocean |
9 | North America | Delaware River | Philadelphia | Atlantic Ocean |
10 | North America | Potomac River | Washington, D.C. | Atlantic Ocean |
11 | North America | Fraser River | Vancouver | Pacific Ocean |
12 | Oceania | Murray River | Tailem Bend | Indian Ocean |
13 | South America | Amazon River | Macapa | Atlantic Ocean |
14 | South America | Parana River | Buenos Aires | Atlantic Ocean |
15 | South America | Tocantins River | Belém | Atlantic Ocean |
16 | South America | Sao Francisco River | Brejo Grande | Atlantic Ocean |
17 | South America | Orinoco River | Ciudad Guayana | Atlantic Ocean |
18 | South America | Magdalena River | Barranquilla | Atlantic Ocean |
19 | Africa | Nile River | Cairo | Mediterranean Sea |
20 | Africa | Congo River | Moanda | Atlantic Ocean |
21 | Africa | Niger River | Port Harcourt | Atlantic Ocean |
22 | Asia | Yangtze River | Shanghai | Pacific Ocean |
23 | Asia | Yenisei River | Dudinka | Arctic Ocean |
24 | Asia | Huanghe River | Dongying | Pacific Ocean |
25 | Asia | Ob-Irtysh River | Salekhard | Arctic Ocean |
26 | Asia | Amur River | Nikolayevsk-on-Amur | Pacific Ocean |
27 | Asia | Lena River | Tiksi | Arctic Ocean |
28 | Asia | Lancang River | Ho Chi Minh City | Pacific Ocean |
29 | Asia | Jamuna-Brahmaputra River | Dhaka | Indian Ocean |
30 | Asia | Indus River | Karachi | Indian Ocean |
31 | Asia | Euphrates River | Abadan | Indian Ocean |
32 | Asia | Salween River | Mawlamyine | Indian Ocean |
33 | Asia | Irrawaddy River | Yangon | Indian Ocean |
34 | Asia | Pearl (Zhujiang) River | Guangzhou | Pacific Ocean |
35 | Asia | Haihe River | Tianjin | Pacific Ocean |
36 | Asia | Chao Phraya River | Bangkok | Pacific Ocean |
37 | Asia | Shinano River | Niigata | Pacific Ocean |
38 | Asia | Ishikari River | Sapporo | Pacific Ocean |
39 | Asia | Nakdong River | Busan | Pacific Ocean |
40 | Asia | Pasig River | Manila | Pacific Ocean |
41 | Europe | Danube River | Sulina | Black Sea |
42 | Europe | Dnieper River | Kherson | Black Sea |
43 | Europe | Rhine River | Rotterdam | Atlantic Ocean |
44 | Europe | Douro River | Porto | Atlantic Ocean |
45 | Europe | Seine River | Le Havre | Atlantic Ocean |
46 | Europe | Elbe River | Hamburg | Atlantic Ocean |
47 | Europe | Thames River | London | Atlantic Ocean |
48 | Europe | Tagus River | Lisbon | Atlantic Ocean |
49 | Europe | Loire River | Saint-Nazaire | Atlantic Ocean |
50 | Europe | Neva River | Saint Petersburg | Atlantic Ocean |
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