Designing a green-space network with geospatial technology for Lijiang City

Abstract

Scientifically sound planning of green-space networks is essential for improving the quality of the urban environment. This article introduces an investigation on design of a green-space network for Lijiang City, a world natural and cultural heritage site undergoing rapid urbanisation. Land-use changes were examined using China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite-02B (CBERS-02B) imagery. We divided the urban green-space network into five major components: a linear strip, a corridor and three separate series of green-space clusters. We suggest that the future development of a green-space network in Lijiang City should include an appropriate mixture of the five green-space components. While the current emphasis on green-space layout relies on individual components of the green space, the future layout should be more focused on green spaces along streets and rivers, and should utilise a greater variety of shapes, including dots, linear strips and irregular shapes. The final green-space network should form an urban garden and green-space network that combines multipurpose vegetated areas having different structures. This green-space network will be an integral part of the sustainable urban development of Lijiang City.

Keywords:

• green-space network
• remote sensing
• geographical information system
• Lijiang City

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams (KZCX2-YW-T08), Fujian Provincial Department of Science and Technology (2009J01189) and the Xiamen Municipal Department of Science and Technology (3502Z20092005 & 3502Z20101015). We are grateful to Professors Zhu Yongguan and Wei Xiaohua for their helpful suggestions on an earlier manuscript.