Spatial correlation of nocturnal light with social-economic factors at different scales of urban areas — Case study of Beijing

The brightness of nocturnal light denotes the density of human activities. However, previous studies showed the relationship just between nighttime light with population density and GDP at overall urban areas. With a case study of Beijing, aim of this paper is to find the extent of different social-economic factors impacting on night light, as well as at different scales of spatial areas. Methodologies in this paper included DMSP/OLS technology for data of night light brightness, field survey with PPS which has been employed to obtain social-economic data of individuals, Stepwise analysis which was adopted to find the relation of different factors with night light brightness. Analysis conducted the conclusion including: There is correlation between social and economic factors with nocturnal light brightness. Social factors are identified at small scale areas. Economic factors are identified at big scale areas.