Remote sensing of urbanization dynamics along the Belt and Road

The process of urbanization describes a shift in a population from one that is dispersed across small rural settlements in which agriculture is the dominant economic activity towards one where the population is concentrated in larger, dense urban settlements characterized by industrial and service activities. It is the most significant human activity process since the 20th century. According to the numbers reported by United Nations, the proportion of the global urban population increased from less than 30% in 1950 to 54% in 2014. It is predicted that the proportion will reach 66% by 2050. Urbanization trends are closely related to sustainable development. Under appropriate planning and management, the concentration of population in urban dwellings can promote economic and social development. However, rapid and unplanned urban development without construction of necessary infrastructures is a threat to sustainable development. The United Nations Sustainable Development Summit was held in New York in September 2015, it has adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which announced 17 sustainable development goals and one of them is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

LINLIN Lu;  GUO Huadong;  PESARESI Martino; 

2018-11-20

Chinese Academy of Sciences

JRC106263

http://www.bulletin.cas.cn/publish_article/2017/Z1/2017Z122.htm,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC106263,