The Evolution of River–Lake and Urban Compound Systems: A Case Study in Wuhan, China

Wei Wang, Melissa Pilgrim and Jinan Liu
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Wei Wang: College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China
Melissa Pilgrim: School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield, 6-8 Shearwood Road, Sheffield S10 2TD, UK
Jinan Liu: College of Harbour, Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Hohai University, 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: The process of urbanization takes up a lot of wetlands, profoundly changing the natural connection of surrounding river–lake systems, all the while causing serious damage to the environment of connected catchments. Urban systems and river–lake systems are not isolated and static, there is a relation between them which is constantly changing. Based on the idea of system research, the urban system is simplified into four subsystems: environment, infrastructure, social, and economic. These four components interact together, influencing the river–lake system to form a compound system. This paper aims to reflect the features and evolution laws of the compound system, by building a Collaborative Development Model to study the changing of the compound system in Wuhan, China over a 10-year period. The results show that by implementing the Donghu Lake Ecological River Network Engineering Project, the damaged river–lake system in Wuhan showed some improvement. However, in order to improve the sustainability of the compound system in Wuhan, the status of the river–lake system, social system and environment system, which are still comparatively substandard, should be constantly improved. The Collaborative Development Model could also be used in other cities and regions, to provide the basis for sustainable development.

Keywords: compound system; coordination; lake; river; urban system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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