Changes in Impervious Surfaces in Lhasa City, a Historical City on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Sishi Wang, Xin Tan and Fenglei Fan ()
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Sishi Wang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Xin Tan: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Fenglei Fan: School of Geography, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: Impervious surface cover reflects the urban environment and urban expansion. Lhasa City is a historical city and one of the most populous on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, and has been experiencing rapid urbanization in recent years. Analyzing the impervious surface distribution can reveal urban development characteristics and provide data for sustainable urban planning to protect the heritage. This study explored the spatial and temporal changes and expansion patterns of impervious surfaces in different zones of Lhasa City. Impervious surface maps (2014 and 2021) were extracted from Gaofen-1 images with a high spatial resolution (2 m) using an object-based image analysis method. Next, a gravity center, standard deviational ellipses and landscape indices were used to characterize impervious surface expansions in different zones. The result indicated that the impervious surface in Lhasa expanded from 51.149 km 2 in 2014 to 63.299 km 2 in 2021. The growth rates of impervious surfaces inside the Environmental Coordination zone were lower than in the zones outside. From 2014 to 2021, the impervious surface of Lhasa expanded in the southeast direction. Infilling and consolidation were the primary impervious surface development patterns. The expansion of the impervious surface was related to topography, population, and economic and policy factors.

Keywords: impervious surfaces; urban development; Qinghai–Tibetan plateau; landscape indices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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