Identification of Shrinkage and Growth Patterns of a Shrinking City in China Based on Nighttime Light Data: A Case Study of Yichun

Ying Zhou, Chenggu Li, Zuopeng Ma, Shuju Hu, Jing Zhang and Wei Liu
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Ying Zhou: School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Chenggu Li: School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Zuopeng Ma: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chines Academy of Science, Changchun 130102, China
Shuju Hu: School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Jing Zhang: School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Wei Liu: School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: Urban shrinkage has become a topic of major concern to scholars of geography and urban science. However, the methods of identifying urban shrinkage and growth have mostly focused on traditional statistical methods, and studies based on nighttime light (NTL) data are rare. Here, we use the NTL data for 56 months from 2012 to 2019 obtained by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on board the Suomi National Polar Orbiting Partnership (NPP) to identify the shrinkage and growth patterns of Yichun in China, by calculating the slope of the NTL radiance value after denoising. At the same time, by combining high-resolution Google satellite images and traditional demographic data, we analyzed the shrinkage characteristics of Yichun. The results of the study confirmed the characteristics of partial shrinkage in China’s shrinking cities. In addition, the use of NPP-VIIRS NTL data was able to more accurately identify the urban shrinkage and growth patterns, and may also be seen to present a more objective picture of reality, thus providing a new perspective for studies of urban shrinkage.

Keywords: urban shrinkage; NPP-VIIRS; spatial pattern; Yichun (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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