Historical Changes in the Land Use Regulation Policy System in Beijing Since 1949

This study furthers existing research on the link between the built environment and travel behavior, particularly mode choice (auto, transit, biking, walking). While researchers have studied built environment characteristics and their impact on mode choice, none have attempted to measure the impact of zoning on travel behavior. By testing the impact of land use regulation in the form of zoning restrictions on travel behavior, this study expands the literature by incorporating an additional variable that can be changed through public policy action and may help cities promote sustainable real estate development goals. Using a unique, high-resolution travel survey dataset from Denver, Colorado, we develop a multinomial discrete choice model that addresses unobserved travel preferences by incorporating sociodemographic, built environment, and land use restriction variables. The results suggest that zoning can be tailored by cities to encourage reductions in auto usage, furthering sustainability goals in transportation.

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Historical Changes in Land Use and Suitability for Future Agriculture Expansion in Western Bahia, Brazil

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13061088 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1088

Author(s):

Fernando Martins Pimenta ◽

Allan Turini Speroto ◽

Marcos Heil Costa ◽

Emily Ane Dionizio

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Land Suitability ◽

Agricultural Area ◽

Landsat Images ◽

Historical Changes ◽

Cropland Area ◽

Irrigated Area ◽

Agriculture Expansion ◽

Forest Code

Western Bahia is a critical region in Brazil’s recent expansion of agricultural output. Its outstanding increase in production is associated with strong growth in cropland area and irrigation. Here we present analyses of Western Bahian historical changes in land use, including irrigated area, and suitability for future agricultural expansion that respects permanent protection areas and the limits established by the Brazilian Forest Code in the Cerrado biome. For this purpose, we developed a land use and land cover classification database using a random forest classifier and Landsat images. A spatial multicriteria decision analysis to evaluate land suitability was performed by combining this database with precipitation and slope data. We demonstrate that between 1990 and 2020, the region’s total agricultural area increased by 3.17 Mha and the irrigated area increased by 193,480 ha. Throughout the region, the transition between the different classes of land use and land cover followed different pathways and was strongly influenced by land suitability and also appears to be influenced by Brazil’s new Forest Code of 2012. We conclude that even if conservation restrictions are considered, agricultural area could nearly double in the region, with expansion possible mostly in areas we classify as moderately suitable for agriculture, which are subject to climate hazards when used for rainfed crops but are otherwise fine for pastures and irrigated croplands.

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