Water-Town Settlement Landscape Atlas in the East River Delta, China

Jingyi Zhang, Xiaoxiang Tang, Zhao Yu, Suwen Xiong and Fan Yang ()
Additional contact information
Jingyi Zhang: School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Xiaoxiang Tang: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Zhao Yu: Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Transportation Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
Suwen Xiong: School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Fan Yang: School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: The water-town settlements in the East River Delta of China engage with the aquatic environment, establishing a comprehensive cultural–ecological system. However, rapid urbanization challenges the structural integrity of water-town settlements. Focusing on the East River Delta as the study area, we utilized the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), settlement morphology indicators, systematic clustering, and graph classification methods. We conducted a quantitative analysis of the spatial characteristics of water-town settlements at various scales, followed by formulating a sequence encoding based on landscape factors and constructing a settlement landscape spatial map. We characterized the landscape spatial structure of water-town settlements formed through the gradual evolution of morphological water network structures, retracing a prototype of water-town settlement landscape spatial structures. Results: ① Water-town settlements exhibit distinct uniformity in the landscape spatial features. The settlement landscapes conform to water network patterns, with streets and alleys aligning with water bodies. Crucial elements, including docks, bridges, and waterside farmland, are integral to this landscape. ② Water-town settlements undergo three progressive differentiation phases based on their location. The spatial distribution of settlements reveals three distinct landscape features influenced by the delta’s dynamic interplay between water and land. ③ Various regions exhibit three typical settlement layouts: upstream settlements are mainly clustered and linear, while midstream and downstream settlements, characterized by linear and strip-like features, align with the river’s course. These research findings offer preliminary insights into landscape spatial prototypes, contributing valuable perspectives to the conservation and design of water-town settlements.

Keywords: water-town settlements; the East River Delta; quantitative research; cluster atlas study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/2/149/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/2/149/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:2:p:149-:d:1327771

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().