Research On Remote Sensing Monitoring Of Urban Spatial Expansion In Inner Mongolia

Since the reform and opening up, economic development of Inner Mongolia has obtained the huge achievement. The growth of GDP is first place in all provinces in the recent 8 years. At the same time, it promotes the urbanization of Inner Mongolia. Continuing urban spatial expansion makes the problem of short land resources and water shortage seriously, quality of the regional eco-environment reduced greatly. It is the challenges to make town management and sustainable development. It needed government to develop effective planning and management measures to control and guide the rational urban expansion. So it is very necessary and urgent to study on remote sensing monitoring of urban spatial expansion in Inner MongoliaWith the help of RS & GIS technology and statistical data, we extracted the spatial information of urbanization in Inner Mongolia from the 1996-2008 years of DMSP/OLS data, and monitored urban spatial expansion in Inner Mongolia. Then, we analyze the temporal and spatial characteristics, direction, the strength and process of development and utilization in urban spatial expansion in Inner Mongolia. Finally, we analyzed and summarized some driving forces of urban spatial expansion by means of statistical analysis. We obtained the following conclusions by remote sensing monitoring of urban spatial expansion in Inner Mongolia from 1996 to 2008.(1)From the view of temporal characteristics, there is obvious increasing of urban expansion in Inner Mongolia from 1996 to 2008, and shows an accelerated trend. The area of urban land in Inner Mongolia increased 1685.00km~2 expanded from 1360.00km2 to 3045.00km2 during this period. The area of urban land increased 529.00 km2 from 1996 to 2002, and it increased 1156.00 km2 from2002 to 2008. The area of urban land in all cities of Inner Mongolia increased in different degrees. The expansion area of urban land in Hulunbeier City was first reached 204.00km2 from 1996 to 2008, following Hohhot City and Baotou City was 198.00km2 and 196.00km2.(2) From the view of spatial characteristics, the urban spatial expansion in Inner Mongolia is extensive expansion mostly. But there is a difference in the proportion of urban expansion type and structure in all cities of Inner Mongolia. The number of pixels in extensive expansion took up 55.34 % in all the number of pixels in expansion in 1996-2008.The number of pixels in extensive expansion is 325 more than the number of pixels in filled expansion. In extensive expansion, the number of pixels in 2002-2008 is 627 more than the number of pixels in 1996-2002. It indicates that extensive expansion was accelerating. With the urban spatial expansion in Inner Mongolia, the urban center of gravity shifted. The urban center of gravity in Inner Mongolia (42°34′59″N,114°01′55″E)in 1996 shifted to(41°43′52″N,113°04′08″E)in 2002, and then shifted to (43°44′42″N,114°59′31″E) in 2008. The urban center of gravity moved 124km in 2002 towards southwest and 151km towards northeast in 2008 compared with it in 1996.(3) From the view of the strength of urban development and utilization, The average light intensity of extensive expansion is low than the average light intensity of filled expansion. It indicated that the increasing urban land around the city spread with lower density. The average light intensity of extensive expansion is gradually enhanced. It indicated that the strength of urban development and utilization was boosted up.The average light intensities of extensive expansion in Wuhai City, Hohhot City, Baotou City, and Ordos City in 2002 and 2008 were the highest in all cities of Inner Mongolia, achieved 56.71, 55.53, 54.6, 54.49 in 2008. In filled expansion, the average light intensities of Hohhot City and Baotou City in three periods is the highest in all cities, and have the trend of increasing year by year. The average light intensities of filled expansion in 2008 achieved 62.11 and 60.93.(4) From the view of the process of urban spatial expansion, it revealed the three process characteristics of urban spatial expansion in Inner Mongolia according to area, line, dot patterns of urbanization. In 1996-2008 the process of the area urbanization is in a dominant position; the proportion of line urbanization was small. But it has a trend of decrease; the process of the dot urbanization was smallest in three patterns process of the urbanization, but it has been increasing gradually.(5) From the view of driving forces of urban spatial expansion , the natural environment, national policies, economic development, industrial structure adjustment, traffic conditions and other factors is not a single act to play a role, but together undertakes this duty.