Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Factors of Urban Sprawl in China

Urban sprawl is a complex phenomenon related to abnormal urbanization, and it has become a key issue of global concern. This study aimed to measure urban sprawl in China and explore its spatiotemporal patterns and driving factors. Based on 343 Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above, remote sensing-derived data from 2000 to 2017 were used to calculate the urban sprawl index (USI). The evolutionary trend and spatiotemporal pattern of urban sprawl in China were then analyzed using trend analysis and exploratory spatiotemporal data analysis, and Geodetector was applied to investigate the factors driving the changes. The results show the following. ① Moderate or high urban sprawl development occurred in China from 2000 to 2017. In terms of spatial distribution, the USI was high in northwest China and low in southeast China. ② The local spatial stability of the USI gradually decreased from southeast to northwest and northeast. USI had strong spatial dependence. No significant spatiotemporal transitions in urban sprawl were observed, and the spatial pattern was stable with strong spatial cohesion. ③ The gross regional product (GRP) of the tertiary industry, the total GRP, and investment in real estate development have been the most important factors affecting sprawl in cities at the prefecture level and above in China.

A 'Ghetto' of One's Own: Communal Violence, Residential Segregation and Group Education Outcomes in India

How does ethnic violence and subsequent segregation shape children's lives? Using exogenous variation in communal violence due to a Hindu nationalist campaign tour across India, I show that violence displaces Muslims to segregated neighbourhoods. Surprisingly, I find that post-event, Muslim primary education levels are higher in cities that were more susceptible to violence. For cohorts enrolling after the riots, the probability of attaining primary education decreases by 2.3% every 100 kilometres away from the campaign route. I exploit differences in the planned and actual route to show that this is due to greater spatial cohesion within communities threatened by violence.

Rural-Urban Integration and Spatial Planning in Edo State, Nigeria

Settlement planning is becoming an important reality in developing countries as economic, social and environmental sustainability are dependent on it. As they urbanize, there is the need for these settlements to be linked in an integrated manner so that there will be both sector and spatial development. The investigation is on rural-urban integration and spatial planning in Edo State, Nigeria. The paper reviews literature on environment, economy, and society in both the developed and less developed countries. The reviewed literature formed the basis for evaluating the context of Edo State’s rural-urban integration and spatial planning. It concluded that there is no proper spatial integration among rural and urban settlements in Edo State. It recommends spatial cohesion, rural master planning and the linking of rural and urban economies together for sustainable settlement spatial planning.

Accommodating Probability to Durability as Facing the Onset of Biological Phenomena from Within

Life distinguishes itself from non-life in taking advantage of the cohesion of temporal origin which non-life cannot afford. The temporal cohesion letting the local participants adhere to each other in a contemporaneous manner refers to an instance of the precedent product being pulled into the subsequent production. Setting the precedent is equivalent to preparing the conditions for the subsequent to follow. A concrete implementation of the cohesion of temporal origin, compared with the spatial cohesion common in physics, is found in the natural construction of a reaction cycle with use of the temporal affinity exerted from the immediate local environment. That construction is a temporally local phenomenon in the experiential domain, rather than in the theoretical. The cohesion originating in the local environment is due to the local act of measurement by the environment. A major component of the local environment to each reactant in the reaction cycle is the cycle itself. The cohesion specific to the reaction cycle rests upon the fact that every reaction product from the upstream production in the cycle comes to be fed upon by the immediate downstream production. Every production constituting the reaction cycle is temporally adjacent to and contemporaneous with the similar others residing in the whole cycle, in sharp contrast to the case of the open-ended linear chain of reaction. One externalist scheme of appreciating the internalist enterprise of constructing a durable reaction cycle in a contemporaneous manner may become possible as referring to the Bayesian probability. The durable reaction cycle may be made actual with probability unity under the condition that the products from the preceding production come with the protocol for the similar production to come subsequently.

Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in a Costa Rican Forest Fragment Do Not Modify Activity Budgets or Spatial Cohesion in Response to Anthropogenic Edges

Forest fragmentation increases forest edge relative to forest interior, with lower vegetation quality common for primates in edge zones. Because most primates live in human-modified tropical forests within 1 km of their edges, it is critical to understand how primates cope with edge effects. Few studies have investigated how primates inhabiting a fragment alter their behaviour across forest edge and interior zones. Here we investigate how anthropogenic edges affect the activity and spatial cohesion of mantled howler monkeys (<i>Alouatta palliata</i>) at the La Suerte Biological Research Station (LSBRS), a Costa Rican forest fragment. We predicted the monkeys would spend greater proportions of their activity budget feeding and resting and a lower proportion travelling in edge compared to forest interior to compensate for lower resource availability in the edge. We also predicted that spatial cohesion would be lower in the edge to mitigate feeding competition. We collected data on activity and spatial cohesion (nearest neighbour distance; number of individuals within 5 m) in forest edge and interior zones via instantaneous sampling of focal animals. Contrary to predictions, the monkeys spent equal proportions of time feeding, resting and travelling in forest edge and interior. Similarly, there were no biologically meaningful differences in the number of individuals or the distance between nearest neighbours in the edge (1.0 individuals; 1.56 m) versus the interior (0.8 individuals; 1.73 m). Our results indicate that <i>A. palliata</i> at LSBRS do not adjust their activity or spatial cohesion patterns in response to anthropogenic edge effects, suggesting that the monkeys here exhibit less behavioural flexibility than <i>A. palliata</i> at some other sites. To develop effective primate conservation plans, it is therefore crucial to study primate species’ responses to fragmentation across their geographic range.

Assessment of spatial cohesion in suburban areas based on physical characteristics of buildings

Gwałtowna ekspansja budownictwa mieszkalnego na terenach pod-miejskich powoduje, że obszary te są obecnie miejscem szczególnie narażonym na degradacjęprzestrzenną, zanik tradycyjnych krajobrazów wiejskich, a także rozmaite problemy będące następstwem tych zjawisk. Brak spójności prze-strzennej tych terenów jest jednym z elementów pogłębiających nieład przestrzenny. Przedmiotem prezentowanych badań są fizyczne cechy form budynków, które poprzez swoją rolę w kształto-waniu kontekstu przestrzennego wpływają na ład przestrzenny. Autorzy badania postawili sobie za cel opracowanie metody monitoringu przestrzeni opierającej się na charakterystyce cech fizycz-nych budynków zlokalizowanych na danym ob-szarze. Wyniki badania mają dostarczyć w przy-stępny sposób dogłębnej informacji o zabudowie poszczególnych terenów oraz pozwolić na lepsze poznanie miejscowych form budynków uczest-nikom procesu budowlanego, a także podnieśćświadomość architektoniczną mieszkańców

Measuring polycentric structures of megaregions in China: Linking morphological and functional dimensions

The idea of megaregions, which focuses on polycentricity, competitiveness, and integration attracts much attention in research and policy. China has used megaregions as a normative governance framework that leverages polycentric regional development for balancing economic competitiveness and spatial development. This paper explores to what extent these megaregions actually reveal polycentric versus monocentric structures. The analysis demonstrates a divergence between the morphological and functional organization of China’s megaregions. Five types of megaregions are identified as per the relationships between the morphological and functional dimensions. Functionally, the Pearl River Delta, Shandong Peninsula, and Yangtze River Delta are among the most polycentric megaregions. The majority of others, even where morphologically polycentric, do not exhibit high degrees of functional polycentricity. The study demonstrates a problematic nature of megaregions as a governance agenda for regional polycentricity. It argues that if China genuinely wants to achieve greater levels of polycentricity and spatial cohesion, differentiated policies should be implemented for megaregions.

Interaction Among Social, Cultural and Environmental Factors in Vernacular Settlements. The Case of Korogonianika, in Lakonia, Greece

The article presents the main findings of a research focusing on the unique attributes of vernacular architectural heritage of Southern Greece. Sustainable vernacular architectural solutions and contemporary challenges are presented so as to put in the forefront a timely issue that needs addressing. The peril of absolute desolation and the unnecessary interventions put not only in jeopardy the value of architectural heritage but also hinder socio-spatial cohesion and sustainability. The analysis of the crucial issues is based on literature review and field work. Field work involves original cartographic depiction, photos, drawings as well as participant observation and interviews. The production of space is being studied as a result of the interaction between social and environmental factors. This interaction is portrayed through the use of a pilot case study, the village Korogonianika which is a typical and representative example for all vernacular settlements of eastern Mani.

Corruption, illegitimacy and external influence: political factors of state instability

The article constructs a descriptive and analytical description of the connection between corruption, delegitimization and loss of state sovereignty over society as background factors for increasing external influence and the destruction of political and spatial cohesion. As a result of the study, a conclusion was formulated, according to which the complete or partial loss of legitimacy coincides with the spread of corruption, which entails the devaluation of value and regulatory systems of social behavior. It is emphasized that corrupt practices contribute to the destruction of morals, law, ideology, have a devastating effect on government structures, procedures for its institutionalization, prevent the nomination of elites and leaders to command positions in the state apparatus, negatively affect the power and centralizing capabilities of the state. legitimate physical violence. It is noted that the loss of legitimacy is preceded by the loss of dialogue between government and society, the habitualization of corruption and its transformation into an endemic component of social life.It was stated that corruption increases the level of public permeability for external actors who take advantage of the situation of blurring the boundaries of political space and encourage citizens to spontaneous protests, which should shake the procedural principles of law and order, to achieve open conflicts between government and self-organized communities. what are the conditions for dialogue. External actors can seek to actively discredit the ruling elites by simultaneously unscrewing instability and escalating waves of destructive criticism aimed at disavowing all kinds of legitimacy: ideological, ethnic, structural, personalistic (charismatic), and others.It is noted that the final destruction of the state is the loss of a monopoly on public violence within the procedures established by law. Actors of external influence can resort to various acts of violence in order to encourage the ruling elites to increase security with the use of special Praetorian groups (paramilitary formations).It is summarized that the emergence of paramilitary formations is an indicator of the fragility of the state and its inability to control its own power structures, as evidenced by the violation of paramilitary formations of the usual official hierarchies and privatization of legitimate violence by alternative centers of power. Finally, it is emphasized that the destructive accompaniment of the latter is the growth of shadow arms markets, criminalization of the behavior of ordinary citizens who cease to see the state as an authorized defender of sovereignty and security and cease to trust legitimate law enforcement agencies, and these processes precede their colonial expansion. frozen conflicts with accompanying negative consequences for the state.

Przestrzenno-funkcjonalne konsekwencje podziału miast granicą

Cities divided by a state border constitute an extremely interdisciplinary issue. Research on them in various scientific disciplines emphasises the complex nature of the phenomenon and the multitude of problems that concern it and require attention. Most often they are the subject of political, economic or sociological studies, primarily involving the analysis of borders and their variability over time, economic cooperation, border movement and European integration. Spatial research is much less often undertaken, despite the fact that this dimension is one of the first to experience the consequences of the ‘division’. The tearing apart of an urban structure by a state border destroys the existing spatial cohesion of the urban organism and the network of functional connections it has created in the historical period of development. The aim of the study is therefore to discuss the spatial and functional effects of such a division and to formulate some general conclusions in this field based on the analysis of possibly different (for example, in terms of the origin and conditions of division, size and importance of centres in the settlement network) examples of divided cities, namely Jerusalem, Berlin, Nicosia and Gubin.