HUBEI AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES ›› 2022, Vol. 61 ›› Issue (17): 69-80.doi: 10.14088/j.cnki.issn0439-8114.2022.17.010

• Rural Urbanization • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research on urbanization process in Xinjiang based on DMSP/OLS data

CHEN Rui, WANG Yi-shan   

  1. College of Resource and Environment Sciences / Key Laboratory of Wisdom City and Environment Modeling of Universities / Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ministry of Education, Xinjiang University,Urumqi 830046,China
  • Received:2021-05-13 Online:2022-09-10 Published:2022-09-21

Abstract: Based on DMSP/OLS nighttime light remote sensing data, this paper uses the ‘quadrant four points method' to analyze the regional differences of urbanization development in Xinjiang from the whole-part-local, and explores the urbanization development process of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) from 1992 to 2013. The results showed that the urbanization level of Xinjiang in 1992 was low, the urbanization foundation was weak, the urban area was 4 867 km2, and the mean value of nighttime lighting DN was 19.2. With rapid development of Xinjiang in 1992—2013, the average value of urban nighttime light DN increased to 35.5; Xinjiang was divided into southern and northern Xinjiang according to the Tianshan Mountain, and it was found that the level of urbanization in northern Xinjiang was higher than that in southern Xinjiang; according to the ‘Qitai-Cele line', it was divided into eastern and western Xinjiang, and it was found that the urbanization level in western Xinjiang was significantly higher than that in eastern Xinjiang. From 1992 to 2013, the urban area difference between southern and northern Xinjiang increased from 2 831 km2 to 4 049 km2; the urban area difference between eastern and western Xinjiang increased from 3 689 km2 to 11 329 km2, indicating that compared with the Tianshan Mountains, the ‘Qitai-Cele line' was more effective in dividing the level of urbanization in Xinjiang. Using the ‘quadrant four points method' to compare and analyze the urbanization level of Xinjiang, the difference of urbanization level in each quadrant was obvious. The urbanization level from high to low was the second quadrant, the third quadrant, the first quadrant and the fourth quadrant. In summary, from 1992 to 2013, the development of urbanization in Xinjiang was rapid, the regional gap of urbanization was large, and the rate of urban expansion in different regions is different and the overall development in the region is unbalanced.

Key words: Xinjiang, urbanization, night-time light remote sensing data, quadrant quartile method, Qitai-Cele line, DMSP/OLS

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