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Urban Distribution and Evolution of the Yangtze River Economic Belt from the Perspectives of Urban Area and Night-Time Light

Author

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  • Huimin Xu

    (School of Economics, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan 430048, China
    School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Shougeng Hu

    (School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Xi Li

    (State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China)

Abstract

Research on urban development patterns and urban sprawl in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) has received wide attention. However, existing research has always made use of statistical data, which are not often available. Considering the high availability of satellite data, this study attempts to combine two satellite-acquired indexes, including urban area and night-time light, to evaluate the urban development of the YREB during 2012–2019. The methods included using growth index, rank-size law, and the Markov transition matrix, as well as constructing urban night-time light density and unbalanced index of night-time light, derived from the Gini Index. Some important patterns were revealed. Firstly, the three reaches (Upper Reaches, Middle Reaches, and Lower Reaches) in the YREB have all shown rapid growth in urban area and night-time light, and they all have increased in urban density. Secondly, from the perspective of regional disparity, the Upper Reaches have the highest growth rate of the urban area, while the Middle Reaches have the highest growth rate of night-time light; and the Upper Reaches have more urban sprawl, while the Middle Reaches have shown more compact growth. Thirdly, higher urban density is related to more balanced development across cities. Our study suggests new knowledge can be obtained by combining the two indexes for understanding urban development in the YREB.

Suggested Citation

  • Huimin Xu & Shougeng Hu & Xi Li, 2023. "Urban Distribution and Evolution of the Yangtze River Economic Belt from the Perspectives of Urban Area and Night-Time Light," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-21, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:2:p:321-:d:1045558
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    2. Xue Ma & Xin Wu & Peng Cui & Dan Zhao & Kewei Liu & Qingsong Ni & Tingting Wang, 2025. "A New Framework for Evaluating City–Industry Integration in New Urban Districts: The Case of Xixian New Area, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-28, March.
    3. Tianhao Zhan & Xiaosheng Liu & Liang Zhong, 2025. "Precision Agriculture for Dragon Fruit: A Novel Approach Based on Nighttime Light Remote Sensing," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-27, May.
    4. Muhammad Safdar & Ming Zhong & Linfeng Li & Asif Raza & John Douglas Hunt, 2025. "Development of a Differential Spatial Economic Modeling Method for Improved Land Use and Multimodal Transportation Planning," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-49, April.

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