-
Abstract: Scale is the range or measurement unit of the characteristics of natural or human ontology in the temporal or spatial dimension and is widely used in daily life and the study of various disciplines. Scale effect pertains to certain laws and characteristics that can only be reflected on a specific scale, so choosing the appropriate scale remains the basic premise of scientific research. The concept of the urban spatial system is complex and has the characteristics of scale dependence, and the selection of an appropriate spatial scale is important for the accurate estimation and description of urban issues. In this paper, we discuss spatial scale in urban research using cases that primarily come from the Chinese experience, provide some examples that demonstrate the importance of appropriate scale in urban research, including urban shrinkage, and highlight problems in spatial research. Ultimately, we suggest that scale consciousness should be the basic consciousness required in empirical research.
-
Key words:
- scale /
- scale effect /
- spatial scale /
- urban research /
- shrinking city
-
Figure 1. Division of spatial scales (Lam, 2004)
Figure 5. Historical evolution of the scale of the built-up area in Xi’an City. In this figure, data after 1978 from Xi’an Bureau of Statistics, data before 1978 from literature (Zhao, 1998)
-
[1] Agrawal A, 2018. Application of machine learning to computer graphics. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 38(4): 93–96. doi: 10.1109/MCG.2018.042731662 [2] Antrop M, 2000. Changing patterns in the urbanized countryside of western Europe. Landscape Ecology, 15(3): 257–270. doi: 10.1023/A:1008151109252 [3] Bajracharya P, Sultana S, 2020. Rank-size distribution of cities and municipalities in Bangladesh. Sustainability, 12(11): 4643. doi: 10.3390/su12114643 [4] Batty M, 2006. Rank clocks. Nature, 444(7119): 592–596. doi: 10.1038/nature05302 [5] Bolin D, Wallin J, 2019. Scale dependence: why the average CRPS often is inappropriate for ranking probabilistic forecasts. doi: 10.48550/arXiv.1912.05642. [6] Chase J M, McGill B J, McGlinn D J et al., 2018. Embracing scale-dependence to achieve a deeper understanding of biodiversity and its change across communities. Ecology Letters, 21(11): 1737–1751. doi: 10.1111/ele.13151 [7] Chen Mingxing, Ye Chao, Zhou Yi, 2011. Urbanization rate and its policy implications: discussion and development of Northam’s curve. Geographical Research, 30(8): 1499–1507. (in Chinese) [8] Chen S H, Zhang R H, Su H B et al., 2009. Scaling-up transformation of multisensor images with multiple resolutions. Sensors, 9(3): 1370–1381. doi: 10.3390/s90301370 [9] Clifford N J, Holloway S L, Rice S P et al. , 2009. Key Concepts in Geography. Los Angeles: SAGE, 199–235. [10] Crawley M J, Harral J E, 2001. Scale dependence in plant biodiversity. Science, 291(5505): 864–868. doi: 10.1126/science.291.5505.864 [11] De Coursey D G, 1996. Hydrological, Climatological and Ecological Systems Scaling: A Review of Selected Literature and Comments. USDA-ARS-NPA Internal Progress Report. Fort Collins, CO, USA: Great Plains Systems Research Unit, 120. [12] Delken E, 2008. Happiness in shrinking cities in Germany. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(2): 213–218. doi: 10.1007/s10902-007-9046-5 [13] Dong Yan, Peng Yan, Li Xingmin et al., 2011. An urban heat island intensity index in Guanzhong of Shanxi. Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 20(10): 1551–1557. (in Chinese) [14] Easterling W E, Polsky C, 2004. Crossing the divide: linking global and local scales in human–environment systems. In: Sheppard E, McMaster R B (eds). Scale and Geographic Inquiry: Nature, Society, and Method. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 66–85. doi: 10.1002/9780470999141.ch4 [15] Feng Xinghua, Lei Jing, Xiu Chunliang et al., 2020. Analysis of spatial scale effect on urban resilience: a case study of Shenyang, China. Chinese Geographical Science, 30(6): 1005–1021. doi: 10.1007/s11769-020-1163-7 [16] Fu Bojie, 2014. The integrated studies of geography: coupling of patterns and processes. Acta Geographica Sinica, 69(8): 1052–1059. (in Chinese) [17] Fu Bojie, 2017. Geography: from knowledge, science to decision making support. Acta Geographica Sinica, 72(11): 1923–1932. (in Chinese) [18] Peterson D L, Parker T V (eds), 1998. Ecological Scale (Theory and Applications). New York: Columbia University Press. [19] Guan D J, He X J, Hu X X, 2021. Quantitative identification and evolution trend simulation of shrinking cities at the county scale, China. Sustainable Cities and Society, 65: 102611. doi: 10.1016/j.scs.2020.102611 [20] Haase A, Bontje M, Couch C et al., 2021. Factors driving the regrowth of European cities and the role of local and contextual impacts: a contrasting analysis of regrowing and shrinking cities. Cities, 108: 102942. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2020.102942 [21] Han Jianping, Huang Qingxu, He Chunyang et al., 2020. Dynamics of the city rank-size in Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration: based on the rank clock approach. Economic Geography, 40(12): 48–55. (in Chinese) [22] Harvey D W, 1968. Pattern, process, and the scale problem in geographical research. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, (45): 71–78. doi: 10.2307/621393 [23] Häußermann H, Siebel W, 1988. Die schrumpfende stadt und die stadtsoziologie. In: Friedrichs J (ed). Soziologische Stadtforschung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. doi: 10.1007/978-3-322-83617-5_5 [24] Herod A, 2003. Scale: the global and local. In: Holloway S L, Rice S P, Valentine G (eds). Key Concepts in Geography. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 209–228. [25] Hollander J B, Németh J, 2011. The bounds of smart decline: a foundational theory for planning shrinking cities. Housing Policy Debate, 21(3): 349–367. doi: 10.1080/10511482.2011.585164 [26] Howitt R, 2002. Scale and the other: levinas and geography. Geoforum, 33(3): 299–313. doi: 10.1016/S0016-7185(02)00006-4 [27] Hung T, Uchihama D, Ochi S et al., 2006. Assessment with satellite data of the urban heat island effects in Asian mega cities. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 8(1): 34–48. doi: 10.1016/j.jag.2005.05.003 [28] Ichiba A, Gires A, Tchiguirinskaia I et al., 2018. Scale effect challenges in urban hydrology highlighted with a distributed hydrological model. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 22(1): 331–350. doi: 10.5194/hess-22-331-2018 [29] Imhoff M L, Zhang P, Wolfe R E et al., 2010. Remote sensing of the urban heat island effect across biomes in the continental USA. Remote Sensing of Environment, 144(3): 504–513. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2009.10.008 [30] Johnston R, Sidaway J D, 2016. Geography & Geographers: Anglo-American Human Geography Since 1945. 7th ed. New York: Routledge, 100–166. [31] Johnston R J, Gregory D, Pratt G et al. , 2000. The Dictionary of Human Geography. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 724–727, 823–824, 833–835. [32] Ke X L, Men H L, Zhou T et al., 2021. Variance of the impact of urban green space on the urban heat island effect among different urban functional zones: a case study in Wuhan. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 62: 127159. doi: 10.1016/J.UFUG.2021.127159 [33] Kim G, Barros A P, 2002. Downscaling of remotely sensed soil moisture with a modified fractal interpolation method using contraction mapping and ancillary data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 83(3): 400–413. doi: 10.1016/S0034-4257(02)00044-5 [34] Lam N S N, Quattrochi D A, 1992. On the issues of scale, resolution, and fractal analysis in the mapping sciences. The Professional Geographer, 44(1): 88–98. doi: 10.1111/j.0033-0124.1992.00088.x [35] Lam N S N, 2004. Fractals and scale in environmental assessment and monitoring. In: Sheppard E, McMaster R B (eds). Scale and Geographic Inquiry: Nature, Society, and Method. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 23–40. doi: 10.1002/9780470999141.CH2 [36] Lanmandjèkpogni M P, De Paule Codo F, Yao B K, 2019. Urban growth evaluation by coupling descriptive analysis and Zipf’s rank-size model in Parakou (Benin). Urban and Regional Planning, 4(1): 1–8. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20190401.11 [37] Lee S H, Lim S Y, Kim N et al., 2011. Increasing the storage density of a page-based holographic data storage system by image upscaling using the PSF of the Nyquist Aperture. Optics Express, 19(13): 12053–12065. doi: 10.1364/OE.19.012053 [38] Li Baisui, Tong Liga, 2007. The logistic model of population urbanization in inner mongolia and application. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 21(2): 32–36. (in Chinese) [39] Li Shuangcheng, Cai Yunlong, 2005. Some scaling issues of geography. Geographical Research, 24(1): 11–18. (in Chinese) [40] Li Xiaojian, 2005a. Scale and economic geography inquiry. Economic Geography, 25(4): 433–436. (in Chinese) [41] Li Xun, Du Zhiwei, Li Xianfeng, 2015. The spatial distribution and mechanism of city shrinkage in the Pearl River Delta. Modern Urban Research, (9): 36–43. (in Chinese) [42] Li Yu, Zhou Decheng, Yan Zhangmei, 2021. Spatiotemporal variations in atmospheric urban heat island effects and their driving factors in 84 Major Chinese cities. Environmental Science, 42(10): 5037–5045. (in Chinese) [43] Li Zhilin, 2005b. A theoretical discussion on the scale issue in geospatial data handling. Geomatics World, 3(2): 1–5. (in Chinese) [44] Li Zhilin, Wang Jicheng, Tan Shiteng et al., 2018. Scale in geo-information science: an overview of thirty-year development. Geomatics and Information Science of Wuhan University, 43(12): 2233–2242. (in Chinese) [45] Long Y, Wu K, 2016. Shrinking cities in a rapidly urbanizing China. Environment and Planning A, 48(2): 220–222. doi: 10.1177/0308518X15621631 [46] Lu Dadao, Liu Yansui, Fang Chuanglin et al., 2020. Development and prospect of human-economic geography. Acta Geographica Sinica, 75(12): 2570–2592. (in Chinese) [47] Mallat S G, 1989. A theory for multiresolution signal decomposition: the wavelet representation. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 11(7): 674–693. doi: 10.1109/34.192463 [48] Martinez-Fernandez C, Audirac I, Fol S et al., 2012. Shrinking cities: urban challenges of globalization. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 36(2): 213–225. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2427.2011.01092.x [49] McMaster R B, Sheppard E, 2004. Introduction: scale and geographic inquiry. In: Sheppard E, McMaster R B (eds). Scale and Geographic Inquiry: Nature, Society, and Method. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 1–22. doi: 10.1002/9780470999141.CH1 [50] Meng Yinli, 2004. S’s mould curve of China urbanization process is studied. Reformation & Strategy, (2): 61–64. (in Chinese) [51] Mumford L, 1961. The City in History——Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc, 504–510. doi: 10.1002/ncr.4100501013 [52] Niu Wentao, 2017. Law about ‘S’ type evolution of urbanization and the policy shock effect: one empirical analysis based on the logistic model. Modern Urban Research, (5): 75–81. (in Chinese) [53] Northam R M, 1979. Urban Geography. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 65–67. [54] Oke T R, 1982. The energetic basis of the urban heat island. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 108(455): 1–24. doi: 10.1002/qj.49710845502 [55] Pannell C W, 2002. China’s continuing urban transition. Environment and Planning A:Economy and Space, 34(9): 1571–1589. doi: 10.1068/a34201 [56] Peng S S, Piao S L, Ciais P et al., 2012. Surface urban heat island across 419 global big cities. Environmental Science & Technology, 46(2): 696–703. doi: 10.1021/es2030438 [57] Qi Y, Wu J G, 1996. Effects of changing spatial resolution on the results of landscape pattern analysis using spatial autocorrelation indices. Landscape Ecology, 11(1): 39–49. doi: 10.1007/BF02087112 [58] Quattrochi D A, Goodchild M F, 1997. Scale in Remote Sensing and GIS. Florida: CRC Press. [59] Schilling J, Logan J, 2008. Greening the rust belt: a green infrastructure model for right sizing America’s shrinking cities. Journal of the American Planning Association, 74(4): 451–466. doi: 10.1080/01944360802354956 [60] Schulze R, 2000. Transcending scales of space and time in impact studies of climate and climate change on agrohydrological responses. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 82(1−3): 185–212. doi: 10.1016/S0167-8809(00)00226-7 [61] Schwarz B, Vázquez D P, Caradonna P J et al., 2020. Temporal scale-dependence of plant-pollinator networks. Oikos, 129(9): 1289–1302. doi: 10.1111/oik.07303 [62] Sexton K, Waller L A, McMaster R B et al., 2002. The importance of spatial effects for environmental health policy and research. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment:An International Journal, 8(1): 109–25. doi: 10.1080/20028091056764 [63] Shaban A, Kourtit K, Nijkamp P, 2020. India’s urban system: sustainability and imbalanced growth of cities. Sustainability, 12(7): 2941. doi: 10.3390/su12072941 [64] Sheppard E, McMaster R B, 2004. Scale and Geographic Inquiry: Nature, Society, and Method. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1002/9780470999141 [65] Soo K T, 2005. Zipf’s Law for cities: a cross-country investigation. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 35(3): 239–263. doi: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2004.04.004 [66] Stone K H, 1972. A geographer’s strength: the multiple-scale approach. Journal of Geography, 71(6): 354–362. doi: 10.1080/00221347208981686 [67] Su Lihong, Li Xiaowen, Huang Yuxia, 2001. An review on scale in remote sensing. Advance in Earth Sciences, 16(4): 544–548. (in Chinese) [68] Tan S T, Xu Z, Ti P et al., 2018. Morphology-based modeling of aggregation effect on the patch area size for GlobeLand30 data. Transactions in GIS, 22(1): 98–118. doi: 10.1111/tgis.12298 [69] Treivish A, Brade I, Nefedova T, 1999. Russian cities at a crossroads. GeoJournal, 49(1): 117–129. doi: 10.1023/A:1007017927453 [70] Tu W, Zhang Y T, Li Q Q et al., 2021. Scale effect on fusing remote sensing and human sensing to portray urban functions. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 18(1): 38–42. doi: 10.1109/LGRS.2020.2965247 [71] Wang Fenglong, Liu Yungang, 2015. An analytical framework of scale based on second abstraction. Human Geography, 30(1): 9–15. [72] Wang Q M, Shi W Z, Atkinson P M et al., 2015. Downscaling MODIS images with area-to-point regression Kriging. Remote Sensing of Environment, 166: 191–204. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2015.06.003 [73] Wei Jianfei, Liu Xiaoyang, Ding Zhiwei, 2019. Evolution of urban system structure scale in Central China. Areal Research and Development, 38(2): 66–72. (in Chinese) [74] Wiegleb G, Bröring U, 1996. The position of epistemological emergentism in ecology. Senckenbergiana Maritima, 27(3−6): 179–193. [75] Wu H, Li Z L, 2009. Scale issues in remote sensing: a review on analysis, processing and modeling. Sensors, 9(3): 1768–1793. doi: 10.3390/s90301768 [76] Wu Jianguo, 2001. Landscape Ecology: Pattern, Progress, Scale and Hierarchy. Beijing: higher Education Press. (in Chinese) [77] Wu Kang, Qi Wei, 2021. Shrinking cities: misunderstandings, identifications and reflections. Geographical Research, 40(1): 213–229. (in Chinese) [78] Xiao Duning, 1999. The formation and developmation of modern landscape science. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 19(4): 379–384. (in Chinese) [79] Yu Z W, Yang G Y, Vejre H, 2019. How to (quantitatively) use the smallest green patch to achieve the best cooling effect in urban climate adaptive planning? In: AGU Fall Meeting 2019. San Francisco: AGU. [80] Zhao Rong, 1998. A tentative discuss on the main characteristics of the regional structure development in Xi’an City. Human Geography, 13(3): 29–33. (in Chinese) [81] Zhao Wanmin, Fang Guochen, Wang Hua, 2019. Creating a senior friendly pedestrian space system from life circle viewpoint. Planners, 35(17): 69–78. (in Chinese) [82] Zhao X B, Zhang L, 1995. Urban performance and the control of urban size in China. Urban Studies, 32(4−5): 813–846. doi: 10.1080/00420989550012906 [83] Zhou D C, Zhao S Q, Liu S G et al., 2014. Surface urban heat island in China’s 32 major cities: spatial patterns and drivers. Remote Sensing of Environment, 152: 51–61. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2014.05.017 [84] Zhou Kai, Qian Fangfang, Yan Yan, 2017. A multi-scaled analysis of the ‘Shrinking Map’ of the population in Hunan province. Geographical Research, 36(2): 267–280. (in Chinese) [85] Ziegler S S, Pereira G M, Brown D A, 2004. Embedded scales in biogeography. In: Sheppard E, McMaster R B (eds). Scale and Geographic Inquiry: Nature, Society, and Method. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 101–128. doi: 10.1002/9780470999141.ch6 [86] Zipf G K, 1949. Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort: An Introduction to Human Ecology. Cambridge: Addison-Wesley Press.
Issues with Spatial Scale in Urban Research
doi: 10.1007/s11769-022-1274-4
- 收稿日期: 2021-09-17
- 录用日期: 2021-01-10
- 网络出版日期: 2022-05-26
- 刊出日期: 2022-05-05
English Abstract
Issues with Spatial Scale in Urban Research
- Received Date: 2021-09-17
- Accepted Date: 2021-01-10
- Available Online: 2022-05-26
- Publish Date: 2022-05-05
-
Keywords:
- scale /
- scale effect /
- spatial scale /
- urban research /
- shrinking city
Abstract: Scale is the range or measurement unit of the characteristics of natural or human ontology in the temporal or spatial dimension and is widely used in daily life and the study of various disciplines. Scale effect pertains to certain laws and characteristics that can only be reflected on a specific scale, so choosing the appropriate scale remains the basic premise of scientific research. The concept of the urban spatial system is complex and has the characteristics of scale dependence, and the selection of an appropriate spatial scale is important for the accurate estimation and description of urban issues. In this paper, we discuss spatial scale in urban research using cases that primarily come from the Chinese experience, provide some examples that demonstrate the importance of appropriate scale in urban research, including urban shrinkage, and highlight problems in spatial research. Ultimately, we suggest that scale consciousness should be the basic consciousness required in empirical research.
Citation: | XIU Chunliang, JIN Ying, 2022. Issues with Spatial Scale in Urban Research. Chinese Geographical Science, 32(3): 373−388 doi: 10.1007/s11769-022-1274-4 |