{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T18:19:38Z","timestamp":1769019578181,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,9]],"date-time":"2016-11-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1478649600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the National Science and Technology Support Projects of China","award":["2014BAL01B01C"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2014BAL01B01C"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Urban expansion form is the most direct manifestation of urban expansion in space. Although it has been widely and vigorously studied, relatively little attention has been paid to reveal its spatiotemporal characteristics at the administrative level over a long timeframe. In this study, 31 Chinese municipalities and provincial capitals were selected as subjects to identify the urban expansion forms of provincial and higher level cities in China. First, urban expansion processes of these cities in the past four decades were reconstructed using remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) technology. Then, the overall characteristics of urban expansion were presented to scientifically determine the urban expansion forms of the provincial and higher level cities in China. Afterwards, the annual expansion area per city (AEAC) index was employed to describe the urban expansion processes and determine the important time nodes of the 31 cities. Lastly, the urban expansion type (UET) index was adopted to analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of urban expansion forms. Results indicate that (1) from the 1970s to 2013, urban lands in provincial and higher level cities in China expanded dramatically, with the central built-up area increasing by over 5 times, and urban expansion demonstrating an apparent spatial difference. The expansion rate of cities in East China was fastest with an AEAC of 13.78 km2, followed by that in Central China (AEAC = 9.67 km2). The urban expansion rate was slowest in West China (AEAC = 7.11 km2); (2) Affected by the national macro policies, urban expansion processes successively experienced four different stages: a slow expansion period (1970s\u20131987), an accelerating expansion period (1987\u20131995), a slowdown expansion period (1995\u20132000), and a high-speed fluctuating expansion period (after 2000); (3) The urban expansion forms of municipalities and provincial capitals were mainly edge-expansion supported by infilling expansion. The leapfrog form contributed minimally to urban expansion; (4) The edge-expansion form surged before 2010 and gradually slowed down after 2010. By contrast, infilling expansion kept increasing in the past four decades. Lastly, the rate of urban expansion via the leapfrog form fluctuated from the 1970s to 2013.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs8110930","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,9]],"date-time":"2016-11-09T10:09:39Z","timestamp":1478686179000},"page":"930","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":58,"title":["Forms of Urban Expansion of Chinese Municipalities and Provincial Capitals, 1970s\u20132013"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Fang","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China"}]},{"given":"Zengxiang","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China"}]},{"given":"Xiao","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"320","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cities.2011.03.002","article-title":"Three decades of urban growth in the city of Shiraz, Iran: A remote sensing and geographic information systems application","volume":"28","author":"Sarvestani","year":"2011","journal-title":"Cities"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, Z., Li, N., Wang, X., Liu, F., and Yang, L. (2016). A comparative study of urban expansion in Beijing, Tianjin and Tangshan from the 1970s to 2013. Remote Sens., 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs8060496"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2014). World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations Publications. Available online: http:\/\/www.uesit.com.cn.","DOI":"10.18356\/527e5125-en"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cities.2013.05.002","article-title":"Quantifying spatiotemporal patterns of urban expansion in China using remote sensing data","volume":"35","author":"Xu","year":"2013","journal-title":"Cities"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"199","DOI":"10.1016\/S0921-8009(01)00254-3","article-title":"Urban mobility and urban form: The social and environmental costs of different patterns of urban expansion","volume":"40","author":"Camagni","year":"2002","journal-title":"Ecol. Econ."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Glaeser, E.L., and Kahn, M.E. (2004). Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, North Holland."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Morris, A.E.J. (2013). History of Urban Form before the Industrial Revolution, Routledge. [1st ed.].","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315841199"},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Xu, X.Q., and Zhou, Y.X. (1997). Urban Geography, Higher Education Press. [1st ed.]."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.2307\/1190688","article-title":"Internal structure of the city","volume":"30","author":"Berry","year":"1965","journal-title":"Law Contemp. Probl."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"541","DOI":"10.1016\/S1364-8152(99)00018-3","article-title":"A framework for linking urban form and air quality","volume":"14","author":"Marquez","year":"1999","journal-title":"Environ. Model. Softw."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"275","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(03)00074-9","article-title":"Development of a geospatial model to quantify, describe and map urban growth","volume":"86","author":"Wilson","year":"2003","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"925","DOI":"10.1007\/s10980-007-9079-5","article-title":"The spatiotemporal dynamics of rapid urban growth in the Nanjing metropolitan region of China","volume":"22","author":"Xu","year":"2007","journal-title":"Landsc. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Li, P.L., Li, Q., and Sun, L.P. (2004). Social Stratification in China Today, Social Science Literature Press. [1st ed.]."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chen, Z., and Lu, M. (2015). Toward Balanced Growth with Economic Agglomeration: Urban-Rural Integration and Spatial Agglomeration in the Process of Chinese Urbanization, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-662-47412-9_2"},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"Zhang, Z.X., Zhao, X.L., Liu, F., Xu, J.Y., Wen, Q.K., and Hu, S.G. (2014). Atlas of Urban Expansion by Remote Sensing in China, Star Map Press. [1st ed.]."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"096027","DOI":"10.1117\/1.JRS.9.096027","article-title":"Assessment of human health impact from PM10 exposure in China based on satellite observations","volume":"9","author":"Wang","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Appl. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.5751\/ES-02388-130137","article-title":"Policy research using agent-based modeling to assess future impacts of urban expansion into farmlands and forests","volume":"13","author":"Guzy","year":"2008","journal-title":"Ecol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, Q., Lu, L., Weng, Q., Xie, Y., and Guo, H. (2016). Monitoring urban dynamics in the southeast USA using time-series DMSP\/OLS nightlight imagery. Remote Sens., 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs8070578"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhe.2007.05.001","article-title":"Urban growth boundaries: An effective second-best remedy for unpriced traffic congestion?","volume":"16","author":"Brueckner","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Hous. Econ."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jue.2006.12.006","article-title":"Growth, population and industrialization, and urban land expansion of China","volume":"63","author":"Deng","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Urban Econ."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"369","DOI":"10.2105\/AJPH.2011.300449","article-title":"Urban sprawl, physical activity, and body mass index: Nurses \u2018health study and nurses\u2019 health study II","volume":"103","author":"James","year":"2013","journal-title":"Am. J. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"285","article-title":"Distribution of China city size expressed by urban built-up area","volume":"58","author":"Tan","year":"2003","journal-title":"Acta Geogr. Sin."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20666","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0704119104","article-title":"The emergence of land change science for global environmental change and sustainability","volume":"104","author":"Turner","year":"2007","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_24","first-page":"257","article-title":"Dynamic monitoring of built-up area in Beijing during 1973\u20132005 based on multi-original remotely sensed images","volume":"11","author":"Mu","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apgeog.2011.11.006","article-title":"Land use dynamics, built-up land expansion patterns, and driving forces analysis of the fast-growing Hangzhou metropolitan area, eastern China (1978\u20132008)","volume":"34","author":"Wu","year":"2012","journal-title":"Appl. Geogr."},{"key":"ref_26","first-page":"265","article-title":"Integration of logistic regression, Markov chain and cellular automata models to simulate urban expansion","volume":"21","author":"Arsanjani","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"469","DOI":"10.1007\/s00704-015-1601-0","article-title":"Numerical simulations on influence of urban land cover expansion and anthropogenic heat release on urban meteorological environment in Pearl River Delta","volume":"126","author":"Zhang","year":"2016","journal-title":"Theor. Appl. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Lin, T.J., and Xu, C. (2015). The State of China\u2019s New Urbanization Development 2015, Peking University Press. [1st ed.]."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"323","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apgeog.2006.09.006","article-title":"Modeling urban expansion scenarios by coupling cellular automata model and system dynamic model in Beijing, China","volume":"26","author":"He","year":"2006","journal-title":"Appl. Geogr."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.1016\/j.landurbplan.2006.03.008","article-title":"Spatial and temporal dynamics of urban sprawl along two urban-rural transects: A case study of Guangzhou, China","volume":"79","author":"Yu","year":"2007","journal-title":"Landsc. Urban Plan."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"387","DOI":"10.3130\/jaabe.14.387","article-title":"Sprawling urban form and expanding living space: A study on the relationship of residential space development and urban built-up area expansion in Nanjing, China","volume":"14","author":"Liu","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Asian Archit. Build. Eng."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.1007\/s11442-011-0847-4","article-title":"Simulating dynamic urban expansion at regional scale in Beijing\u2013Tianjin\u2013Tangshan Metropolitan Area","volume":"21","author":"Kuang","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Geogr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"865","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolmodel.2010.09.036","article-title":"The urban growth, size distribution and spatio-temporal dynamic pattern of the Yangtze River Delta megalopolitan region, China","volume":"222","author":"Tian","year":"2011","journal-title":"Ecol. Model."},{"key":"ref_34","first-page":"366","article-title":"Research on the influence of site factors on the expansion of construction land in the Pearl River Delta, China: By using GIS and remote sensing","volume":"21","author":"Ye","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Appl. Earth. Obs."},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"96","article-title":"A study on the spatial expansion patterns in China\u2019s large coastal cities","volume":"5","author":"Yao","year":"2012","journal-title":"Reg. Dev."},{"key":"ref_36","unstructured":"Department of City Social Economy Investigation Bureau of Statistics of China (2015). China City Statistical Yearbook 2014."},{"key":"ref_37","unstructured":"Department of Population and Employment Statistics National Bureau of Statistics of China (2015). China Population and Employment Statistics Yearbook 2014."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Ministry of Construction of the People\u2019s Republic of China (1999). Standard for Basic Terminology of Urban Planning."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.1016\/j.landurbplan.2011.08.010","article-title":"Development of an urban land cover classification scheme suitable for representing climatic conditions in a densely built-up Asian megacity","volume":"103","author":"Eum","year":"2011","journal-title":"Landsc. Urban Plan."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"450","DOI":"10.1579\/0044-7447-34.6.450","article-title":"Spatio-temporal patterns and driving forces of urban land expansion in China during the economic reform era","volume":"34","author":"Liu","year":"2005","journal-title":"Ambio"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2802","DOI":"10.1007\/s11434-012-5235-7","article-title":"China\u2019s urban expansion from 1990 to 2010 determined with satellite remote sensing","volume":"57","author":"Wang","year":"2012","journal-title":"Chin. Sci. Bull."},{"key":"ref_42","first-page":"31","article-title":"Functions and characteristics of MGE software","volume":"7","author":"Yang","year":"1999","journal-title":"Bull. Surv. Mapp."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"142","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2014.04.004","article-title":"A 2010 update of national land use\/cover database of China at 1:100000 scale using medium spatial resolution satellite images","volume":"149","author":"Zhang","year":"2014","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s11769-012-0510-8","article-title":"Regional differences of China\u2019s urban expansion from late 20th to early 21st century based on remote sensing information","volume":"22","author":"Liu","year":"2012","journal-title":"Chin. Geogr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"389","DOI":"10.1007\/s11769-015-0765-y","article-title":"Spatial differences of coastal urban expansion in China from 1970s to 2013","volume":"25","author":"Shi","year":"2015","journal-title":"Chin. Geogr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_46","first-page":"71","article-title":"The compact development and policy guidance in the process of urbanization in Taiwan","volume":"28","author":"Dai","year":"2013","journal-title":"Urban Plan. Int."},{"key":"ref_47","first-page":"113","article-title":"Regional inequality in contemporary China","volume":"13","author":"Zhang","year":"2012","journal-title":"Ann. Econ. Financ."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1016\/S0264-8377(02)00073-X","article-title":"Land policy reform in China: Assessment and prospects","volume":"20","author":"Ding","year":"2003","journal-title":"Land Use Policy"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"657","DOI":"10.1080\/10670564.2013.861147","article-title":"The Hukou Converters\u2014China\u2019s lesser known rural to urban migrants","volume":"23","author":"Quheng","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Contemp. China"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1749-124X.2008.00119.x","article-title":"China\u2019s regional disparity and its policy responses","volume":"16","author":"Chen","year":"2008","journal-title":"China World Econ."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1072","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wasman.2007.04.007","article-title":"On the effectiveness in implementing a waste-management-plan method in construction","volume":"28","author":"Tam","year":"2008","journal-title":"Waste Manag."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1177\/186810261003900203","article-title":"The financial crisis and China\u2019s harmonious society","volume":"39","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Curr. Chin. Aff."},{"key":"ref_53","first-page":"8","article-title":"Analysis on the effect of policies operation of cultivated land protection in China","volume":"2","author":"Zhai","year":"2003","journal-title":"China Land Sci."},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"329","DOI":"10.1061\/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000062","article-title":"Research on China\u2019s urban development strategy based on arable land preservation","volume":"137","author":"Liang","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Urban Plan. Dev."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rdf.2010.10.001","article-title":"China\u2019s regional disparities: Experience and policy","volume":"1","author":"Fan","year":"2011","journal-title":"Rev. Dev. Financ."},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1007\/s10661-008-0226-5","article-title":"Using remote sensing and GIS to detect and monitor landuse and land cover change in Dhaka Metropolitan of Bangladesh during 1960\u20132005","volume":"150","author":"Dewan","year":"2009","journal-title":"Environ. Monit. Assess."},{"key":"ref_57","first-page":"392","article-title":"Spatial-temporal changes of urban spatial morphology in China","volume":"60","author":"Wang","year":"2005","journal-title":"Acta Grogr. Sin."},{"key":"ref_58","first-page":"1","article-title":"A study on the spatial-temporal dynamic changes of land-use and driving forces analyses of China in the 1990s","volume":"22","author":"Liu","year":"2003","journal-title":"Geogr. Res."},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"184","DOI":"10.1016\/j.landurbplan.2007.02.010","article-title":"A global comparative analysis of urban form: Applying spatial metrics and remote sensing","volume":"82","author":"Huang","year":"2007","journal-title":"Landsc. Urban Plan."},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4733","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160802651967","article-title":"Analysis of urban growth pattern using remote sensing and GIS: A case study of Kolkata, India","volume":"30","author":"Bhatta","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dewan, A.M., and Corner, R.J. (2014). Dhaka Megacity, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-94-007-6735-5"},{"key":"ref_62","first-page":"3","article-title":"Density in urban development","volume":"8","author":"Acioly","year":"1996","journal-title":"Build. Issues"},{"key":"ref_63","first-page":"885","article-title":"Application of convex hull identifying the types of urban land expansion","volume":"58","author":"Liu","year":"2003","journal-title":"Acta Grogr. Sin."},{"key":"ref_64","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1016\/j.landusepol.2004.03.003","article-title":"Urban land expansion and arable land loss in China\u2014A case study of Beijing\u2013Tianjin\u2013Hebei region","volume":"22","author":"Tan","year":"2005","journal-title":"Land Use Policy"},{"key":"ref_65","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1016\/j.isprsjprs.2016.01.003","article-title":"Annual dynamics of impervious surface in the Pearl River Delta, China, from 1988 to 2013, using time series Landsat data","volume":"113","author":"Zhang","year":"2016","journal-title":"ISPRS J. Photogramm. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_66","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2016.10.002","article-title":"Updating urban extents with nighttime light imagery by using an object-based thresholding method","volume":"187","author":"Xie","year":"2016","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/8\/11\/930\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T19:35:08Z","timestamp":1760211308000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/8\/11\/930"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,9]]},"references-count":66,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,11]]}},"alternative-id":["rs8110930"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs8110930","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,9]]}}}