Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of National Characteristic Towns in China Using Nighttime Light Data

Characteristic towns have emerged along with China’s economic and social development. As a new model of small-town development, they have played an essential role in promoting industrial transformation and upgrade, improving the living environment, and promoting regional innovation and development....

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Main Authors: Haipeng Song, Tingting He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-01-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/3/598
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author Haipeng Song
Tingting He
author_facet Haipeng Song
Tingting He
author_sort Haipeng Song
collection DOAJ
description Characteristic towns have emerged along with China’s economic and social development. As a new model of small-town development, they have played an essential role in promoting industrial transformation and upgrade, improving the living environment, and promoting regional innovation and development. Accurate identification of the expansion characteristics of National Characteristic Towns (NCTs) is vital for optimizing the spatial layout of characteristic towns and adjusting the policies of characteristic towns. This study used a dataset on nighttime light to identify expanding NCTs and measure their expansion from 2000 to 2020. In total, 233 expanding NCTs were identified, accounting for 58.25% of the NCTs in China. The areas with the most significant intensity of expansion are primarily located in the East, South, and North economic regions. The critical period of NCTs expansion primarily occurred in the periods 2008–2011 and 2011–2014. Our results show that NCTs are highly consistent with the spatial distribution of urban agglomerations, and the development of NCTs is inherently related to the development of urban agglomerations in the region. The implementation of NCT policies has significantly promoted the development of NCTs in the Central and Western economic regions, which face challenging development issues and differ from those in the Eastern region. The method proposed in this study can effectively identify the ‘hot spots’ of expanding NCTs and the critical periods of their expansion.
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spelling doaj.art-5a09024a10444d1181ebc62c64cc45ab2023-11-23T17:40:23ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-01-0114359810.3390/rs14030598Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of National Characteristic Towns in China Using Nighttime Light DataHaipeng Song0Tingting He1School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaSchool of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaCharacteristic towns have emerged along with China’s economic and social development. As a new model of small-town development, they have played an essential role in promoting industrial transformation and upgrade, improving the living environment, and promoting regional innovation and development. Accurate identification of the expansion characteristics of National Characteristic Towns (NCTs) is vital for optimizing the spatial layout of characteristic towns and adjusting the policies of characteristic towns. This study used a dataset on nighttime light to identify expanding NCTs and measure their expansion from 2000 to 2020. In total, 233 expanding NCTs were identified, accounting for 58.25% of the NCTs in China. The areas with the most significant intensity of expansion are primarily located in the East, South, and North economic regions. The critical period of NCTs expansion primarily occurred in the periods 2008–2011 and 2011–2014. Our results show that NCTs are highly consistent with the spatial distribution of urban agglomerations, and the development of NCTs is inherently related to the development of urban agglomerations in the region. The implementation of NCT policies has significantly promoted the development of NCTs in the Central and Western economic regions, which face challenging development issues and differ from those in the Eastern region. The method proposed in this study can effectively identify the ‘hot spots’ of expanding NCTs and the critical periods of their expansion.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/3/598nighttime lightsnational characteristic townurbanizationChina
spellingShingle Haipeng Song
Tingting He
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of National Characteristic Towns in China Using Nighttime Light Data
Remote Sensing
nighttime lights
national characteristic town
urbanization
China
title Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of National Characteristic Towns in China Using Nighttime Light Data
title_full Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of National Characteristic Towns in China Using Nighttime Light Data
title_fullStr Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of National Characteristic Towns in China Using Nighttime Light Data
title_full_unstemmed Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of National Characteristic Towns in China Using Nighttime Light Data
title_short Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of National Characteristic Towns in China Using Nighttime Light Data
title_sort spatio temporal dynamics of national characteristic towns in china using nighttime light data
topic nighttime lights
national characteristic town
urbanization
China
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/3/598
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AT tingtinghe spatiotemporaldynamicsofnationalcharacteristictownsinchinausingnighttimelightdata