Dec., 2010
Journal of Resources and Ecology
J. Resour. Ecol. 2010 1(4) 331-338
Vol.1 No.4
Article
DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1674-764x.2010.04.005
www.jorae.cn
A GIS-based Study on Sustainable Human Settlements
Functional Division in China
FENG Zhiming*, YANG Yanzhao, YOU Zhen and ZHAO Yande
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
Abstract: The suitability of natural environment for human settlements is assessed by human settlements
environment index (HEI) at the grid scale in China. Population agglomeration and shrinking (PAS) is
indicated by population density at the county level. Combining HEI and PAS, this paper established the
sustainable human settlements functional division evaluation system and division model using GIS. Taking
into consideration environmental carrying capacity and economic development levels and potentials,
this work brings forward a feasible division scheme at the county level in China. The results show that:
sustainable human settlements functions generally decrease from the southeast to the northwest, which
reflects the most significant regional difference in China. Highly sustainable region, with a total area of
139.75×104 km2 and a population of 430.84 million, is mainly located in the southeastern coast of China,
the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Sichuan Basin, Huanghe-Huaihe-Haihe Rivers Plain
Region, and parts of the Northeast China Plain. Sanjiang Plain, Liaohe Plain, and Shandong Peninsula fall
into moderately sustainable region, and the total area is 193.61×104 km2 and the population is 323.75
million. Generally sustainable region is mainly located in the Hulunbuir Plateau, Loess Plateau, and
Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and sporadically distributed in valleys in southeast Tibet and Qaidam Basin,
and it has an area of 210.19×104 km2 and a population of 369.25 million. Marginally sustainable region is
scattered throughout the western part of China and mainly in the Loess Plateau, Sichuan-Yunnan Plateau,
and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. It covers an area of 145.85×104 km2, and 144.62 million people live in this
region. Most parts of the Tibetan Plateau, deserts in the northwest, and northern Sichuan-Yunnan Plateau
fall into the unsustainable region, which has a land area of 263.86×104 km2 and only 39.10 million people.
Key words: human settlements functional division; natural environment suitability; population agglomeration
and shrinking; GIS; China
1 Introduction
“Human settlements” is a synthetic concept derived from
the Sciences of Human Settlements, which reveals the
relations of humans with the natural environment (Wu
2001). Since proposed by the Greek scholar Doxiadis
in the late 1950s, the Sciences of Human Settlements
take a great impact in many fields, and the relevant
researches spread rapidly on different disciplines, such as
architecture, planning, geography, environmental science,
and so on, for its extensive relevance and multi-level
characteristics (Doxiadis 1975; Campbell et al. 1976; Joan
1985; Milesi et al. 2003; Emmanuel 2005; Zhang et al.
2005; Richard et al.12 2008). In recent years, based on
remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems
(GIS), the human settlements concept has been applied
to residential evaluation and environmental assessment
with various standard evaluation systems, such as the
LEED Standard of U.S and the Eco-Quantum Standard of
Dutch (Emmanuel 2005; Lu et al. 2008; Milesi et al. 2003;
Xiong et al. 2007). Since being introduced into China in
the 1980s, the study of human settlements has been widely
developed and made outstanding achievements in many
fields. In case studies of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing,
and Beijing, Ning and Cha (1999), Li et al. (1999), Chen
et al. (2000) and Liu et al. (2004) discussed the evaluation
methods of human settlements. Liu and Liu (1999), Ye and
Dong (2003), and Li et al. (2002) built an evaluation index
Received: 2010-10-11 Accepted: 2010-11-24
Foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.40771204 & No.40801223; the National Key Technology R & D Program,
No.2006BAC18B01.
* Corresponding author: FENG Zhiming. Email: [email protected].
332
system for the sustainable development of urban human
settlements. Wen and Fang (2007) and Liu et al. (2005)
analyzed the spatial pattern and trend of change of human
settlements at the provincial level in China. Liu (1999),
Li and Liu (2003), Tang et al. (2008), He et al. (2010),
Pu and Yao (2010) studied climate suitability for human
inhabitation. Hao and Ren (2009) evaluated the nature
suitability for human settlement in Shaanxi Province based
on grid data. The publication of the Scientific Evaluation
Criterion of Amenity City (Gu and Luo 2007) and the
Study on Function Zones of Population Development
(NPFPC 2009) indicated that China has established its
evaluation index system for human settlements.
Choosing 1km×1km grid as the basic unit, this
paper evaluates the natural environment suitability of
human settlements and population agglomeration and
shrinking (PAS) at the county scale in China. It also sets
up a sustainable human settlements functional division
evaluation system and division model with the aid of
GIS techniques. This work brings forward a feasible
division scheme at the county scale in China and provides
suggestions for policy-making in spatial planning
of resources use and the optimization of population
distribution.
2 Data source
Data used in this research include Digital Elevation
Model (DEM) data of China, land use and water area in
2000 at 1 km×1 km grid size, and Normalized Difference
Vegetation Index (NDVI) data. DEM is obtained from the
Earth Resources Observing Satellite of U.S. Geological
Survey with a spatial resolution of 30′. Land use and water
area data at 1 km×1 km grid are supplied by the Data
Center for Resources and Environmental Sciences of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences. NDVI data come from the
long-term vegetation index dataset of China (1998–2006)
with a spatial resolution of 1 km×1 km. Meteorological
data including temperature, precipitation, and relative air
humidity are obtained from the National Meteorological
Information Center of China.
Other resources data (soil and water in 2006 at the
country and the county scales, for example) and socioeconomic data (population, GDP, land area, and so on) are
obtained from China Statistical Yearbook in 2007.
3 Natural environment suitability for human
settlements
Among the many factors influencing human habitat,
only several of them are dominant and determinative,
including terrain, climate, water, and LUCC (land use
and land cover) conditions (Zhu 1991; Wu 2001; Zhang
2003; Tang et al. 2008). In order to evaluate the natural
environment suitability for human settlements in China,
Feng et al. (2008) set up a database of terrain, climate,
Journal of Resources and Ecology Vol.1 No.4, 2010
water, and LUCC conditions at 1 km×1 km grid. Then
they established four single-factor evaluation models to
distinguish their influences on human settlements and
analyzed their individual correlation with population
distribution. Based on the correlation analysis of each
factor, they established the HEI model and calculated the
HEI of China at 1 km×1 km grid (Feng et al. 2008; Feng
et al. 2009). The results show that the model established in
theirs studies can not only reflect the natural environment
suitability for human settlements in China, but also can
illustrate the spatial distribution rules of it very well. So in
this study, we selected their model to analyses the natural
environment suitability for human settlements in China.
3.1 Classification of natural environment suitability for
human settlements in China
According to the HEI of China at 1 km×1 km grid
estimated by Feng et al. (2009), in this study we classify
the whole territory of China into three types (seven
levels), namely: non-suitable area (NSA, which includes
permanent NSA and time-limited NSA), marginally
suitable area (MSA, which includes restrictive MSA and
reasonable MSA) and suitable area (SA, which includes
generally SA, moderately SA and highly SA). This study
demonstrates that the natural environment suitability for
human settlements in China decreases from southeast
coastal zone to northwest inland areas in general and so
does it from plains/hills to plateaus/mountains (Fig. 1).
3.2 Analyses
In order to illustrate the influence of natural environment
on population distribution, we analyzed population density
within various areas of different natural environment
suitability. The result shows that human settlements
environment is an important factor influencing population
distribution. The majority of population in China
concentrates in regions with high natural environment
suitability (Table 1).
To be more specific: (i) Permanent NSA is mainly
located on the Tibetan Plateau and southeastern Tibet,
covering an area of 124.21×104 km2 or 13.03 % of the
total land area in China and having a population of 5
million (0.42 % of the national total). (ii) Time-limited
NSA covers an area of about 131.08×104 km2 (13.75 %
of the total land area), including Dzungarian Basin, Tarim
Basin, Alxa Plateau, northern Tibetan Plateau, Qaidam
basin and southeastern Tibet region. It has a population
of 9 million (0.69 % of the total). (iii) Restrictive MSA
covers an area of about 134.30×104 km2 (14.09 % of the
total) and is mainly located in northern Tibetan Plateau,
Qilian Mountains, Altai Mountains, Tarim Basin rims and
Greater Khingan Mountains. It has a population of 15
million (1.14% of the total). (iv) Reasonable MSA, with a
population of 33 million (2.52 % of the total) and an area
333
FENG Zhiming, et al.: A GIS-based Study on Sustainable Human Settlements Functional Division in China
Fig. 1 Natural environment suitability
for human settlements in China.
of about 106.90×104 km2 (11.21 % of the total), includes
the southeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau, the northern
part of the Loess Plateau and part of Inner Mongolian
Plateau. (v) Generally SA, with a population of 291 million
(22.28 % of the total) and an area of about 238.63×104 km2
(25.03 % of the total), includes the Northeast China Plain,
the northern part of the North China Plain, the southern
part of the Loess Plateau, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and
valleys in south Tibet and so on. (vi) Moderately SA
is mainly located in eastern Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau,
Sichuan Basin, most parts of the middle and lower reaches
of the Yangtze River, Guanzhong Basin, and the southern
part of the North China Plain. It covers an area of about
136.60×104 km2 (14.33 % of the total) and has a population
of 512 million (39.19 % of the total). (vii) Highly SA, with
a population of 442 million (33.77 % of the total) and an
area of about 81.54×104 km2 (8.55 % of the total), includes
parts of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,
the southern part of the North China Plain, southeast of
China and the southern part of the Yangtze River.
4 Population agglomeration and shrinking in
China
In recent years, the study on population agglomeration
and spatial distribution has been a hot topic in regional
sustainable development and lots of achievements have
been obtained. Chen et al. (2008) studied the spatial
agglomeration and evolution of urban population in
China with GIS, and Sun et al. (2009) investigated the
concentration and the decentralization of population in the
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan region, Xu and Yue
(2009), Su and Zhang (2010) also did some researches on
population spatial distribution in urban area, and so on.
Among these studies, PAS is taken as the most direct and
concentrated expression of population spatial distribution
pattern. Research on the spatial pattern of PAS and its
Table 1 Natural environment suitability for human settlements in China.
Suitability of HEI
Type
NSA
MSA
SA
Level
Permanent NSA
Time-limited NSA
Subtotal
Restrictive MSA
Reasonable MSA
Subtotal
Generally SA
Moderately SA
Highly SA
Subtotal
Land area
Area (104 km2)
124.21
131.08
255.29
134.30
106.90
241.20
238.63
136.60
81.54
456.77
Population
(%)
13.03
13.75
26.78
14.09
11.21
25.30
25.03
14.33
8.55
47.92
Number (million)
5
9
15
15
33
48
291
512
442
1245
Population density
(%)
0.42
0.69
1.11
1.14
2.52
3.66
22.28
39.19
33.77
95.23
(persons km-2)
4
7
6
11
31
20
122
375
541
273
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Journal of Resources and Ecology Vol.1 No.4, 2010
Table 2 The classification standard of China’s population
agglomeration.
Classification
Type
AA
APA
SPA
Level
Highly AA
Medium AA
Low AA
Upper APA
Lower APA
Relatively SPA
Absolute SPA
Extreme SPA
Population agglomeration
≥8
4–8
2–4
1–2
0.5–1
0.2–0.5
0.05–0.2
≤0.05
formation mechanisms in a specific region will not only
help to reveal local patterns of PAS but also benefit
achievements of the overall regional pattern of population
distribution. Based on the population data at the county
scale in China, this work chose the PAS model proposed
by Liu et al. (2010) to evaluate the spatial pattern of
China’s population distribution for it has gained wide
applications in China. According to this model, PAS is
assessed by the ratio of the population density of specific
local to the nation, and then population agglomeration can
be classified into eight types (Table 2).
4.1 Classification of population agglomeration and
shrinking (PAS) in China
Based on the national population statistics in 2006, we
selected 2325 counties as samples to calculate PAS. The
resulting values are divided into three types: agglomerated
area (AA), average populated area (APA) and sparsely
populated area (SPA)and the values are further divided into
eight subgroups: highly AA, medium AA, low AA, upper
APA, lower APA, relatively SPA, absolute SPA, extreme
SPA. The classification result is shown in Fig. 2.
The AA is mainly located in the plains of eastern and
central China, especially the Haihe River valley, Huanghehuaihe Plain and the middle and lower reaches of the
Yangtze River. In western China, only Chengdu Plain
ranks as high AA. APA is mainly distributed in eastern and
central China as well as the transitional areas between the
central China and the eastern part of the country. South
China area, southwest China area and most parts of the
Songhuajiang-Nenjiang Rivers Plain belong to this type.
The west part of “Hu’s Line” (Hu 1935) is primarily SPA.
Because of the extremely severe natural environment
conditions, west and south Tibetan Plateau, east and
west Inner Mongolia Plateau, the south foothill of Altai
Mountains and east Tarim Basin belong to depopulated
zone.
4.2 Analyses
According to the evaluation results (Table 3), AA covers
an area of 142.87×104 km2 (14.98 % of the total) and has
a population of 892.67 million (68.82 % of the total) in
2006. Its mean population density is 625 persons km-2,
the minimum density (MIN) is 274 persons km-2 and the
maximum density (MAX) reached the extremely high
22307 persons km-2.
With an area of 228.01×104 km2 (23.92 % of the total)
and a population of 341.03 million (26.30 % of the total),
the mean population density of APA is 150 persons km-2,
the MIN is 69 persons km-2 and the MAX is 273 persons
km-2.
SPA only has a population of 63.28 million (4.88 % of
Fig. 2 Evaluation of China’s
population agglomeration at the
county scale, 2006.
335
FENG Zhiming, et al.: A GIS-based Study on Sustainable Human Settlements Functional Division in China
the total), but covers an area of 582.32×104 km2 (61.10 %
of the total), and the mean population density is 11 persons
km-2, the MAX is only 68 persons km-2. In this area about
40.15 % of the land is extreme SPA, with a population of
8.04 million (0.62 % of the total). The mean population
density is only 2 persons km-2. In addition, three quarters
of the extreme SPA is in the depopulated zone.
5 Sustainable human settlements functional
divisions in China
5.1 Method and principles
Based on the 1 km×1 km grid HEI and PAS at the county
scale and taking into consideration environmental capacity
and economy development factors, we studied sustainable
human settlements functional divisions in China. Important
principles applied in the study are as follows:
(1) Regional integrity. We should maintain regional
integrity of natural geographical units and administrative
units at the prescriptive level during the operation. A
natural geographical unit or a watershed unit cannot be
treated as a functional division solely based on the natural
boundary. The definition of a functional division must also
take into consideration the boundary of administrative
units.
(2) Spatial coordination. We should take into
consideration the relationships between the cores and
peripheries within functional divisions to promote
regionally coordinated development. These relationships
include that between the upper reaches, middle reaches,
and lower reaches of watersheds, between hilly areas and
plains, between highlands and lowlands, and so on.
(3) Conjoint measurement of the predominant factor
analysis and comprehensive analysis. Functional divisions
have dual attributes of natural and, social; there are
many factors that affect the human settlements function
at different levels, so in this research we must define
one or a few predominant factors to reflect the reality of
settlements function. At the same time the divisions should
be consistent with the programs of national development
and other specific plannings (NPFPC 2009).
B a s e d o n H E I a n d PA S a n d c o n s i d e r i n g t h e
environmental carrying capacity and economic
development levels and potentials (see Fig. 3), five human
settlements functional divisions are identified in China.
They are defined as follows:
Highly sustainable region is where HEI matches
spatially quite well with PAS. In this region resources and
environmental capacity are in sufficient supply or in good
balance with the demand, and population increases.
Moderately sustainable region is where HEI matches
spatially well with PAS, resources and environmental
capacity are in balance with demand or with relatively
sufficient supply, and population somewhat increases.
Generally sustainable region is where HEI
matches spatially commonly with PAS, resources and
environmental capacity are in balance with demand, and
the population remains steady.
Marginally sustainable region is where HEI matches
spatially loosely with PAS, resources and environmental
capacity are under pressure or even overstressed, and the
population somewhat reduces.
Unsustainable region is where HEI does not match
spatially with PAS, resources and environment capacity
are overstressed and population decreases.
5.2 Results and analyses
The division results can be mapped in ARC/GIS as
shown in Figure 4. Southeast China is generally superior
to northwest China in terms of sustainability for human
settlements function.
From Fig.4 and Table 4 we can characterize the
sustainable human settlements functional divisions in
terms of their spatial distribution, coverage, and population
correspondingly.
The highly sustainable region is mainly located in the
southeastern coast of China, the middle and lower reaches
of the Yangtze River, Sichuan Basin, Huanghe-HuaiheHaihe Rivers Plain Region, and parts of the Northeast
Table 3 China’s population agglomeration at the county scale, 2006.
Population
Type
AA
APA
SPA
Highly AA
Medium AA Low AA
Subtotal
Upper APA
Lower APA
Subtotal
Relatively SPA
Absolute SPA
Extreme SPA
Subtotal
Unit
122
374
518
1014
511
367
878
168
121
144
433
Number (million)
215.63
325.34
351.70
892.67
233.29
107.74
341.03
38.89
16.35
8.04
63.28
Population density (persons km-2)
Land area
(%)
16.62
25.08
27.12
68.82
17.99
8.31
26.30
3.00
1.26
0.62
4.88
4
2
Area(10 km )
(%)
Min / Max
Mean
11.00
43.85
88.02
142.87
119.70
108.31
228.01
84.53
115.14
382.65
582.32
1.15
4.60
9.23
14.98
12.56
11.36
23.92
8.87
12.08
40.15
61.10
1090/22 307
548/1089
274/547
274/22 307
137/273
69/136
69/273
28/68
7/27
0/6
0/68
1960
742
400
625
195
100
150
46
14
2
11
336
Journal of Resources and Ecology Vol.1 No.4, 2010
Fig. 3 Sustainable human settlements functional division model.
Fig. 4 Sustainable human settlements
functional division.
China Plain. It covers an area of 139.75×104 km2 (14.66%
of the total) and has a population of 430.84 million (32.95%
of the total).
The moderately sustainable region is mainly distributed
in the Sanjiang Plain, Liaohe Plain, and Shandong
Peninsula. It covers an area of 193.61×104 km2 (20.31*%
of the total) and has a population of 323.75 million (24.76%
of the total).
Most parts of the generally sustainable region are
located in the Hulunbuir Plateau, Loess Plateau, and
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FENG Zhiming, et al.: A GIS-based Study on Sustainable Human Settlements Functional Division in China
Table 4 Sustainable human settlements functional division statistics.
Land
Functional divisions
Highly sustainable region
Moderately sustainable region
Generally sustainable region
Marginally sustainable region
Unsustainable region
4
2
Population
Area (10 km )
(%)
Number (million)
(%)
139.75
193.61
210.19
145.85
263.86
14.66
20.31
22.05
15.30
27.68
430.84
323.75
369.25
144.62
39.10
32.95
24.76
28.24
11.06
2.99
Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, as well as sporadically
distributed in valleys in southeast Tibet and Qaidam Basin.
The total area is 210.19×104 km2 (22.05 % of the total) and
has a population of 369.25 million (28.24 % of the total).
With an area of 145.85×104 km2 (15.30% of the total)
and a population of 144.62 million (11.06 % of the total),
the marginally sustainable region is scattered throughout
the western part of China and mainly in the Loess Plateau,
Sichuan-yunnan Plateau, and Yunnan-guizhou Plateau.
The unsustainable region covers an area of 263.86×104
2
km (27.68 % of the total) and has a population of 39.10
million (2.99 % of the total). There is a need to reduce its
population to ensure a reasonable settlements function.
Most parts of the Tibetan Plateau, deserts in northwest
China, and northern Sichuan-yunnan Plateau belong to this
function division.
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基于GIS的中国可持续人居功能分区评价
封志明，杨艳昭，游 珍，赵延德
中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所，北京 100101
摘 要：在中国1km×1km栅格尺度人居环境自然适宜性分类评价和分县尺度人口空间集聚程度分级评价的基础上，结合中国
分县资源环境承载力和区域经济发展水平和发展潜力，确立了中国可持续的人居功能分区评价模型，提出了中国可持续发展的人
居功能分区方案。研究表明：中国可持续的人居功能分区空间分布呈现东南半壁优于西北半壁的格局；人居功能强可持续地区面
积约139.75×104km2，占国土面积的14.66%，相应人口4.3亿，接近总人口的1/3，主要分布在东南沿海、长江中下游地区、四川盆
地、黄淮海平原以及东北平原的部分地区；人居功能较强可持续地区面积约193.61×104km2，占国土面积的1/5，相应人口3.2亿，
接近总人口的1/4，主要分布在三江平原、辽河平原、山东半岛等地；可持续地区面积210.19×104km2，约占国土面积的22%，相
应人口3.7亿，占总人口的28.24%，主要分布在呼伦贝尔高原、黄土高原和云贵高原等地，零星见于藏东南谷地和柴达木盆地等地
区；较弱可持续地区，面积约145.85×104km2，占国土面积的15.30%，人口1.4亿，约占总人口的11%，零散分布于黄土高原、川滇
高原和云贵高原的部分地区；弱可持续地区面积约263.86×104km2，约占国土面积的27.68%，相应人口0.4亿，接近总人口的3%，
主要分布在青藏高原、西北荒漠以及川滇高原北部地区。
关键词：人居功能分区；人居环境自然适宜性；人口空间集聚；GIS；中国