Mapping structural changes of cities

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May 15, 2019

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Mapping structural changes of cities

Source: Xinhua | 00:12 UTC+8 May 15, 2019 |

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Chinese researchers have depicted impervious surface areas and green spaces of global cities using multi-source remote sensing data resulting in insights into human development.

The impervious surface area of the monitored cities in 2010 was about 452,600 square kilometers, accounting for about 60 percent of built-up areas of global cities, according to a paper published in the journal Science China Earth Sciences.

The global urban green space was 249,200 square kilometers, accounting for 0.17 percent of the area.

Kuang Wenhui, associate professor from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of Chinese Academy of Sciences, discovered that the impervious surface area and green space differed with countries’ development levels.

African cities have 70 percent, the largest proportion of impervious surfaces in their built-up areas, followed by the cities of South America, Oceania, Asia, North America and Europe.

Meanwhile, developed countries have a higher green space proportion.

Impervious surface areas are the most significant feature of human settlements and mainly include artificial structures that eliminate water infiltration, such as asphalt and concrete roads, parking lots and buildings.

The structural change of urban ecology is an important index associated with both environment quality and sustainable development.

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Mapping structural changes of cities

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