Variability and Comparison of Capital and General Urban Expansion in China

There is a growing interest in exploring the urban expansion in China recent years. In this study. We used Chinese administrative division data to calculate the urban built-up areas within a capital region (CAPR) and that within a provincial region (PROR), respectively; urban area expansion data in 2000 and 2010 were used to analyze the mean values of population density and sum urban built-up areas within each CARP or PROR. The variation results of urban built-up areas showed that urban built-up areas kept expanding from 2000 to 2010. The proportion of “urban areas/China's total land areas” had increased from 0.34% in 2000 to 0.48% in 2010. There were six provinces, whose built-up areas increased more than 1000 km
²
. Northeast China, downstream of Yangtze River and Pearl River increased substantially. The most three urban agglomerations of Jing-Jin-Tang (Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan agglomeration), Shanghai, and Guang-Shen (Guangzhou-Shenzhen agglomeration) had a large increase over the whole study period. The increased urban built-up areas were relatively small in Xizang, Qinghai, Hainan, and Heilongjiang. Especially, Taipei-Taoyuan agglomeration also showed a small increased area with a value of 100 km
²
. The spatial patterns of urban areas variation in capital areas were similar with that in provinces.