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Do Green Belts Change the Shape of Urban Areas? A Preliminary Analysis of the Settlement Geography of South East England
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We embark on a preliminary exploration of the settlement geography of South East England, with specific reference to the effect that the green belt has had upon the shape and size of towns comprising this region. We argue that the green belt is likely to have had a significant effect on the geometry of settlement, distorting the geometry from the urban forms which might have arisen in the absence of such policy. We tackle this problem by hypothesizing four different scaling relations which pertain to size and shape. These are based upon allometric relations which explain population size in terms of built-up area and the urban field within which urban development take place, and upon geometric relations which explain how the irregularity of the envelope bounding urban settlements is related to the areas of the built-up development and the urban field. Using a unique and only recently available digital data base on the boundaries of settlement in South East England, we show that there are indeed significant differences between settlements which have been subject to green belt policy and those which have not been so affected. In essence, settlements which have been constrained by green belt policy are more irregular and fill less of the space available to them than settlements which are not so constrained. -from Authors
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... Urban growth containment policies for the guidance and control of periurbanization GCPI Green belt -A closed zone that more or less encircle a part of a built-up metropolitan or large urban area Obsorn (1969), Hall et al. (1973), Ravetz (1980), Munton (1983), Hall (1988), Mills (1989), Longley et al. (1992), Nelson (1994) Poradek (1997), Home (1997), Richert and Lapping (1998), Daniels (1998), Schoon (1998), Dávila et al. (1999) Zhu (1999) Wiewel et al. (1999, Phillips and Goodstein (2000), Zhang (2000), Jenks et al. (2000), Brueckner (2000), Renard (2000), Dawkins and Nelson (2002), Wassmer (2002), Parsons and Schuyler (2002), Pendall et al. (2002), Sinclair (2002), Nelson et al. (2004), Pitzl andPitzl (2004), Caves (2005), Nelson and Sanchez (2005), Daniels and Lapping (2005), Lin and Ho (2005), Bengston and Youn (2006), Wong (2006), Amati and Yokohari (2006), Millward (2006), Tang et al. (2007), ...
... Thus, with the re-orientation of urban growth to areas far from the metropolis, widespread exurban sprawl occurs (Frey 1999). Longley et al. (1992) believe that green belts have failed to protect the open space and suburbs of the cities and preventing the physical expansion of cities will lead to wider development in the surrounding lands. This trend intensifies the informal development in the peri-urban areas, which results in the loss of natural and semi-natural landscapes and high-quality agricultural lands, soil degradation, deforestation, water depletion, and pollution, and increased solid and liquid wastes (Allen 2003;Antrop 2004;Liu and Robinson 2016). ...
... Table 4 summarizes these implications and practical challenges (Table 4). Longley et al. (1992), Choguill (1994), Serratosa (1998), Frey (1999, Dávila et al. (1999), , Levine (1999), Razin and Rosentraub (2000), Pendall et al. (2002), Dawkins and Nelson (2002), Allen (2003), Antrop (2004), , Byun and Esparza (2005), Leichenko and Solecki (2005) allel works between institutions -Preventing coordinated regional planning and inter-local competition for growth, as well as taxation revenue researchers have studied the process of peri-urbanization within the framework of the metropolitan areas and have designed and implemented several policies to growth guidance and control in these areas. These policies, under organizational-institutional requirements, specific implementation, and monitoring of each geographic scale, are dealt with in two types of GCPI and GCFI policies. ...
The purpose of this study is a review of urban growth containment policies for the guidance and control of peri-urbanization. The review of selected resources illustrates two policies: "urban growth containment policies based on planning interventions (UGCPI)" and "urban growth containment policies based on financial interventions (UGCFI)". The analysis of these policies reveals their distinct effects inside and outside the metropolitan boundaries, which, despite the positive results, create various practical consequences and challenges. This highlights the necessity of a special framework of growth guidance and control of peri-urbanization in response to the consequences and challenges of previous policies. The proposed framework is based on the four fundamental components, including regular growth, continuous activity interactions, optimal performance, and institutional capacity building that integration between them can make it possible to guide changes during the time. Certainly, the consequence of such an approach is the regular functional and structural landscape of peri-urban areas in the twenty-first century.
... L'exposant est bien plus petit pour les villes françaises (entre 0,45 et 0,31), car ces dernières sont beaucoup plus denses que leurs homologues américaines. Cette loi a servi de base à de nombreux travaux sur la modélisation des croissances urbaines afin d'analyser les processus d'étalement urbain et les formes urbaines (Longley et al., 1992;Longley, Mesev, 2001). ...
L’une des principales préoccupations dans la gestion des espaces urbains, dans ces deux dernières décennies, a été de réduire la surconsommation des surfaces urbanisées. Il suffirait de densifier les villes pour limiter leur expansion. Nous proposons néanmoins ici un modèle de croissance de la ville qui pose que la densité et l’étalement urbain sont deux grandeurs qui covarient en fonction de la surface qu’occupe un individu dans la ville. En prenant appui sur des applications menées sur différents systèmes urbains en France, nous montrons qu’entre 1990 et 2018 la densification n’a pas stoppé l’étalement des villes.
... Boston's well-known Emerald Necklace has evolved from the initial protection of natural ecology and connection of city parks to a recreational greenway with ecological significance [1]. The idea of an ecological protection green belt is usually considered to have originated from Ebenezer Howard's development of a "garden city" around London in the early 20th century [2][3][4]. Howard's initial strategy was to curb urban sprawl. This concept was first implemented in the Greater London Plan in 1945. ...
With the continuous expansion of urban construction land, the green belts aiming for ecological protection have ensured a sustainable and effective function of regional ecosystem services. At the same time, these ecological green belts are expected to develop their compound service potentials with the development of cities. In order to meet the increasing demand of urban residents for the recreational utilization of urban green space, the primary function of the ecological green belts has transformed from being purely ecological to a combination of being ecological and recreational. Based on social media data, which has the characteristics of a large amount of accessible geographic information, this study used multiple regression models to analyze the recreational utilization intensity of ecological protection green belts with a case study in the green belt of Shanghai, China. The research results showed that the internal elements (total external area, water area, etc.) of the Shanghai green belt have positive correlations with its recreational utilization. The impact of external factors was inconclusive on the recreational utilization of the outer forest belt (the number of subway stations in accessibility factors was negatively correlated; the number of cultural facilities and the number of restaurants in the surrounding service facilities were positively related). Combined with the “Shanghai City Master Plan (2017–2035)”, this study suggests potential zones for the recreational transformation of the Shanghai green belt, provides a theoretical and practical basis for improving the recreational utilization of an urban ecological protection green belt and contributes to the sustainable development of ecological protection green belts in high-density cities.
... Spatial analysis and detailed geographical data form a powerful combination to assess the effectiveness of spatial policies. By 1992 Longley and others had used this combination to assess the influence of Green Belt zoning regulations in Britain by comparing the geometry of settlements which were subject to such policy to those which were not (Longley et al., 1992). ...
... Lo (1980) looked at the shape of Chinese cities. Longley, Batty, and Shepherd (1991) used a fractal measure to study changes in the shape of urban areas in the County of Norfolk in England. The question of whether greenbelts affected the shape of urban areas in South East England was the focus of a study by Longley, et al. (1992). Shape measures have likewise been used to examine other geographic questions. ...
Criteria are identified for a measure of shape compactness that would be appropriate for urban areas. A variety of types of measures that have been used for the shape of geographic areas are evaluated. The proximity index is selected. This is based on the mean distance from all points in the urban area to the Central Business District (CBD). The index is the ratio of the mean distance to the center of a circle having the same area as the urban area to the mean distance to the CBD for the urban area. The index ranges from 0 (least compact) to 1 (for a circular area). Values of the proximity index are calculated for 59 large urban areas in the United States in 2010 that had been defined using census tracts. Examination of the values and lists of the most compact and least compact urban areas and the maps illustrating the shapes of those areas shows the proximity index to be a reasonable measure of urban area shape.
Urban green spaces make an invaluable contribution to the health and well-being of all city residents. Therefore, urban park quality and accessibility are crucial factors in stimulating physical and mental health benefits. This study aimed to assess the quality of urban parks and their accessibility as reported by people with mobility difficulties (seniors, blind and partially sighted people). Four key features of a place (accessibility and linkages, comfort and image, uses and activities and sociability) were considered in an in-depth-interviews (IDI) and “walk-and-talk” interviews. Study results indicate a problem of accessibility of urban parks for people with mobility difficulties (uneven gravel surfaces). However, non-physical aspects of park visits (social activities, cultural events, place branding) were reported as essential factors in explaining the motivation for park visits. Despite individual preferences, experience or reported difficulties, all respondents’ attitudes towards park trips were positive. Therefore, we assume that accessibility is more than just physical comfort. Cultural and social activities play an important role in motivating people with a disability to visit a park.
The settlement patterns that occur by the spatial distribution of the population vary according to the morphological characteristics and economic resources of the region at which they are located. While Hatay is located in Turkey’s south between the Mediterranean Sea, the Amanos Mountains, and the Syrian border, it forms from settlements areas in which are diverse sizes and different shapes. The study aims to examine the impact of geomorphology on settlements and to reveal the relationship between the settlement typologies, economy, and demography. 2018 Corine Land Cover data, 2019 TUIK data, and Hatay Metropolitan Municipality data were investigated within this scope. According to the results, settlement areas of Hatay were classified into four groups with four patterns, while the patterns varied by the existence of economic structure. The pattern distribution was determined as dispersed-clustered in the industrial region, as linear in the tourism zone, and as dispersed in the agricultural production zone. Settlements were also densely affected and transformed by the 2011 Syrian refugee crisis due to the Syrian civil war. In conclusion, while geomorphology, advanced production systems, developed transportation axes, and international relations are effective in Hatay's settlement alterations, so these dynamics should strictly consider in city planning.
L’étalement urbain constitue actuellement un des problèmes majeurs que confrontent les oasis du
Bas-Sahara algérien. Le suivi et la compréhension des transformations spatiales et paysagères qu’il
a engendrées ainsi que l’évaluation de ses conséquences sur les écosystèmes oasiens constituent une
étape clé pour toute démarche de soutenabilité oasienne. La présente étude consiste à mettre en
évidence les différentes formes de croissance spatiale des grandes villes du Bas-Sahara algérien
durant ces trois dernières décennies. En faisant recours aux approches issues de l’écologie du paysage
urbain, notre méthodologie est principalement basée sur l’exploitation de l’imagerie satellitale avec
l’application de la détection du changement et les métriques paysagères. Les résultats de la
comparaison post-classification des scènes Landsat multidates ont révélé un important étalement des
surfaces bâties avec des rythmes plus accélérés pendant la période (2000 - 2015), contre un recul
excessif des palmeraies, qui est plus accentué pendant la période (1985 – 2000). Le calcul des
métriques paysagères a révélé deux tendances nettement opposées. Une croissance continuelle des
surfaces bâties qui tend davantage vers une compacification morphologique des taches urbaines,
contre une fragmentation progressive des palmeraies. Ainsi, ce travail de recherche a montré l’utilité
de la télédétection spatiale dans le suivi de l’étalement incontrôlé des zones urbaines, et l’importance
des approches adoptées en écologie du paysage urbain pour la mesure et l’évaluation de ces impacts,
notamment quand il s’agit des milieux fragiles comme ceux des milieux oasiens.
Mots clés : étalement urbain, soutenabilité urbaine, Bas-Sahara, ville oasienne, télédétection
spatiale, écosystème.
A measure of the irregularity of the boundaries of Urbanized Areas is presented. This irregularity is related to the extent of scattered development and urban sprawl. For all 486 Urbanized Areas in 2010, the index, ranging from 0 to 100, had a mean of 79 (very irregular) with the majority of areas clustering near this value. The distribution was skewed to the left with a smaller number of areas having index values approaching and even going below 50. Larger areas tended to have somewhat higher levels of irregularity. Urbanized Areas in the Northeast and South had the highest average irregularity while those in the West were lowest. For some large urban areas, the largest Urbanized Area does not encompass the full extent of what should be considered the urban area. A set of 59 large urban areas consisting of 1 or more Urbanized Areas is the focus of further analysis. The same patterns emerged with high irregularity, the distribution skewed toward the less irregular areas, and higher irregularity for areas in the Northeast and lower for those in the West. Irregularity increased with the land area of the urban area and was lower for areas growing more rapidly and for areas subject to barriers to the expansion of urban development. Population density was lower in more irregular areas and in a simple model, the irregularity index and population accounted for 2/3 of the variation in density.
The evidence relating to house prices in South East England is reviewed and it is shown that house prices have been rising rapidly, that this has occurred as land prices have risen, and that this appears to be due to the restricted availability of land for housing. It is then shown that house prices in the South East and the other regions in the south of the country have risen more rapidly than elsewhere, particularly in the last three years. This differential effect is attributed to three factors: a reduction in migration out of the country; the reduced effectiveness of regional policy; and increased potential mobility of the population, as a result of policies affecting the local authority housing sector. -from Author
Two basic assumptions are made: (1) that urban population density declines exponentially with distance from the center of the city; and (2) that the density gradient itself declines through time. From these, two propositions are deduced: (1) the rule of intraurban allometric growth, which states that the rate of growth is a positive exponential function of distance from the center of the city; and (2) the density-growth rate rule, which states that intraurban residential population densities at the beginning of a given period, and the associated rates of population change prevailing during that period, are related by an inverse power function. Two equations for estimating the total population within a city or urban region are presented, the first employing the density parameters in conjunction with the radius and the second employing the density parameters in conjunction with the perimeter density. Data presented within this mathematical framework demonstrate (1) that the urban region (SMA) has a perimeter density of about 2000 persons per square mile and (2) that there is a critical intraurban density (found, in the two cases cited, to be about 30,000 per square mile) which, if exceeded, will eventually be associated with population decrease in the areas concerned. Such areas are the central business district or localities where pathological social conditions are either incipient or already evident.
This paper summarizes some main conclusions of the book The containment of urban England (2 vols, Allen and Unwin 1973) by the author and others. Volume I focuses on patterns of urban growth in England since the Second World War: urban areas (defined in terms of the American concept of the Metropolitan Area) have tended to decentralized population and, more tardily, employment; these processes seem to have taken place earlier in the larger areas. Physically, the urban areas have been contained; losses of rural land to urban land have been restricted in quantity and compact in form. The effect of containment has, however, varied from one part of the most heavily urbanized area of England (Megalopolis England) to another. Volume II focuses on the objectives, operations and impacts of the planning system, which has operated as one actor-together with developers, industrialists and others-in a complex pattern of interaction. The main impacts of the planning system-physical containment, separation of residence from work, and rising land and property values-are in important respects perverse and certainly unintended by the planners; while paradoxically, the effects on the distribution of real income appear often to have been regressive.
Section headings: Abstract. A study of small to medium sized urban areas. An assessment of definitions and data. Characteristics and significance of SAMS urban areas. Patterns and processes in SAMS urban areas growth. A classification of SAMS urban areas. Modelling growth and change. Conclusion. Appendices. Bibliography.
The morphology of cities bears an uncanny resemblance to those dendritic clusters of particles which have been recently simulated as fractal growth processes. This paper explores this analogy, first presenting both deterministic and stochastic models of fractal growth, and then suggesting how these models might form an appropriate baseline for models of urban growth. In particular, the diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) and dielectric breakdown models (DEM) are outlined, and comparisons are made between simulated clusters and the form of medium-sized towns. Using the DBM formulation, constraints and distortions on the simulated clusters are illustrated, thus enabling the model to simulate a continuum of cluster forms from the one- to the two-dimensional. This model is then applied to the town of Cardiff, UK, and a critical evaluation of its performance is used to identify future research.