IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-04626-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Nighttime light development index: a new evaluation method for China’s construction land utilization level

Author

Listed:
  • Qian Zhang

    (China Agricultural University
    KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

  • Lingcen Liu

    (China Agricultural University)

  • Xiyao Yang

    (China Agricultural University)

  • Zhongxiao Sun

    (China Agricultural University)

  • Yifang Ban

    (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Measuring construction land utilization levels is essential for the ongoing redevelopment of inefficient construction land in China. However, an efficient and spatially explicit evaluation method of construction land utilization level is under examined and remains a great challenge. In this study, we innovatively utilized nighttime light data and spatial population data to construct the Nighttime Light Development Index (NLDI), which was employed to assess the level of centralized and decentralized construction land utilization level within municipal units. The findings revealed a downward trend in average NLDI for both types of construction land over the past decade, demonstrating a significant improvement in spatial alignment between population distribution and light intensity. Notably, the development level of partially decentralized construction land showed substantial enhancement during 2010–2020. Furthermore, the relationship between construction land development density (CLDD) and NLDI varied across different regions and did not exhibit a significant correlation, which implies that NLDI can provide substantial additional land use information. The research findings offer a scientific reference for promoting efficient construction land utilization and fostering high-quality regional development. The findings also provide a new research perspective and an easy-to-use approach for assessing regional development levels, which can be extended to other countries and regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Qian Zhang & Lingcen Liu & Xiyao Yang & Zhongxiao Sun & Yifang Ban, 2025. "Nighttime light development index: a new evaluation method for China’s construction land utilization level," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04626-0
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04626-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04626-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-04626-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhou, Yan & Huang, Xianjin & Zhong, Taiyang & Chen, Yi & Yang, Hong & Chen, Zhigang & Xu, Guoliang & Niu, Lede & Li, Hehui, 2020. "Can annual land use plan control and regulate construction land growth in China?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Achten, Sandra & Lessmann, Christian, 2020. "Spatial inequality, geography and economic activity," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    3. Xu, Feng & Wang, Zhanqi & Chi, Guangqing & Zhang, Zhexi, 2020. "The impacts of population and agglomeration development on land use intensity: New evidence behind urbanization in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Gao, Yuan & Tian, Li & Cao, Yandong & Zhou, Lin & Li, Zhibin & Hou, Deyi, 2019. "Supplying social infrastructure land for satisfying public needs or leasing residential land? A study of local government choices in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Zhou, Yang & Zhong, Zhen & Cheng, Guoqiang, 2023. "Cultivated land loss and construction land expansion in China: Evidence from national land surveys in 1996, 2009 and 2019," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    6. Muchen Zheng & Wenli Huang & Gang Xu & Xi Li & Limin Jiao, 2023. "Spatial gradients of urban land density and nighttime light intensity in 30 global megacities," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Jing Gao & Brian C. O’Neill, 2020. "Mapping global urban land for the 21st century with data-driven simulations and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cong Li & Yajuan Zhou & Manfei Wu & Jiayue Xu & Xin Fu, 2025. "Exploring Nonlinear Threshold Effects and Interactions Between Built Environment and Urban Vitality at the Block Level Using Machine Learning," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-25, June.
    2. Heyuan You & Fangyi Xu & Jiuhuan Yan & Xuxu Guo, 2025. "Effects of trial urban growth boundary delineation on land carrying capacity in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Deshen Xu & Haoyu Wu & Qiusheng Yao & Fei Song & Fangli Su, 2025. "Spatiotemporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Desertification Sensitivity During Urbanization: A Case Study of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Core Region," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jia-He Zhou & Chao-Yue Yu & Zheng-Feng Zhang & Lei He & Hong-Li Lin, 2025. "Evaluating and prioritizing interdependent strategies for construction land reduction in China with interdependent sustainability criteria: an integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Suxia Zhao & Mengmeng Yin, 2023. "Research on Rural Population/Arable Land/Rural Settlements Association Model and Coordinated Development Path: A Case Analysis of the Yellow River Basin (Henan Section)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Jia-He Zhou & Yu-Ming Zhu & Cai-Hong Liu & Lei He & Hong-Li Lin, 2025. "Stalemate or consensus? Evolution of stakeholders’ behavioral strategies in construction land reduction in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(6), pages 14253-14280, June.
    4. Zhang, Yihao & Liu, Yong & Yang, Qiaoran & Yue, Wenze, 2024. "Assessing performance and disparities in China’s land finance transition: Insights from neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    5. Paul Berbée & Sebastian Till Braun & Richard Franke, 2025. "Reversing fortunes of German regions, 1926–2019: Boon and bane of early industrialization?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 307-337, June.
    6. He, Nannan & Liu, Sijing & Cao, Jason & Li, Guoqi & Jian, Ming, 2025. "Identifying the critical features influencing warehouse rental prices and their nonlinear associations: A spatial machine learning approach," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    7. Julian Donaubauer & Peter Kannen & Frauke Steglich, 2022. "Foreign Direct Investment & Petty Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Empirical Analysis at the Local Level," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(1), pages 76-95, January.
    8. Li, Shuoshuo & Liu, Yaobin & Wei, Guoen & Bi, Mo & He, Bao-Jie, 2024. "Carbon surplus or carbon deficit under land use transformation in China?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    9. Andrew Allan & Ali Soltani & Mohammad Hamed Abdi & Melika Zarei, 2022. "Driving Forces behind Land Use and Land Cover Change: A Systematic and Bibliometric Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-20, August.
    10. Krisztina Soreg & Guillermo Bermudez-Gonzalez, 2021. "Measuring the Socioeconomic Development of Selected Balkan Countries and Hungary: A Comparative Analysis for Sustainable Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    11. Yanli Gao & Hongbo Li & Yan Song, 2021. "Interaction Relationship between Urbanization and Land Use Multifunctionality: Evidence from Han River Basin, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-21, September.
    12. Tuan Nguyen Tran, 2024. "Comparing the process of converting land use purposes between socio-economic regions in Vietnam from 2007 to 2020," Environmental & Socio-economic Studies, Sciendo, vol. 12(3), pages 51-62.
    13. Hanwen Zhang & Yanqing Lang, 2022. "Quantifying and Analyzing the Responses of Habitat Quality to Land Use Change in Guangdong Province, China over the Past 40 Years," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-23, May.
    14. Junfeng Wang & Shaoyao Zhang & Wei Deng & Qianli Zhou, 2024. "Metropolitan Expansion and Migrant Population: Correlation Patterns and Influencing Factors in Chengdu, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19, January.
    15. Ouyang, Yanyan & Cai, Hongbo & Yu, Xuefei & Li, Zijian, 2022. "Capitalization of social infrastructure into China's urban and rural housing values: Empirical evidence from Bayesian Model Averaging," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    16. Hongbo Guo & Enzai Du & César Terrer & Robert B. Jackson, 2024. "Global distribution of surface soil organic carbon in urban greenspaces," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    17. Chuansong Zhao & Ran Geng & Jianxu Liu & Liuying Peng & Woraphon Yamaka, 2023. "Spatiotemporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Land Development: Evidence from Shandong Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-21, October.
    18. Wei Fan & Chunxia Zhu & Lijun Fu & Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour & Zhiyang Shen & Malin Song, 2024. "Role of land use in China’s urban energy consumption: based on a deep clustering network and decomposition analysis," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 339(1), pages 835-859, August.
    19. Xu, Feng & Chi, Guangqing & Zhang, Zhexi & Yang, Jianxin, 2023. "How does quality regional growth affect land resources dependence in China? Evidence based on spatial Durbin panel models," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. Zhang, Qi & Jin, Cai & Cao, Jing & Hu, Jing & Dai, Chun & Bilsborrow, Richard E. & Li, Tan & Song, Conghe, 2025. "Understanding the role of land attachment in the emergence of hollow villages based on the agent-based complex system framework," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04626-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.