Study on the spatio-temporal characteristics and influencing factors of urbanization process based on satellite remote sensing data: A case study of Shenzhen

Abstract

With the development of society and economy, Chinas urbanization process has accelerated, affecting the way of land use in China. Traditional methods of analyzing urbanization characteristics and their influencing factors make it difficult to visualize the changes in land-use patterns during the urbanization process. Satellite remote sensing has a greater advantage in identifying concrete coverage and built-up areas. In this study, the visualization and analysis of remote sensing images are used to monitor the trend of urban expansion and changes in land-use patterns in Shenzhen during the period of 1987-2023. At the same time, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of the spatial and temporal characteristics of urbanization in Shenzhen and explores the role of policy as a major factor in promoting the process. It is found that the proportion of built-up land in Shenzhen increased significantly between 1987 and 2023, and most of the built-up land was transformed into vegetated areas and waters. During the study period, urbanization in Shenzhen was characterized by high-speed expansion in the early period and slow growth in the later period. Upon analysis, the promotion of Chinas reform and opening-up policy is the main factor that makes Shenzhens urbanization show the above characteristics. The research in this paper helps show the importance of policies in Chinas urbanization process, which can provide experience for Chinas urbanization to transfer from the high-speed mode to the high-quality mode.