Urbanisation and associated growth patterns (urban sprawl) are characteristic of spatial temporal land use changes taking place at regional levels. Unplanned urbanization and consequent impacts on natural resources including basic amenities has necessitated the investigation and understanding of mechanisms and dynamics of land use and land-use change on a range of spatial scales and evaluate th...

The population of the southeast United States has experienced the highest growth rate in the nation in recent decades. Florida, in particular, has seen a dramatic population increase since the late 1970s, which has led to increased urbanization and more intense utilization of arable land for agriculture. One consequence of increased agriculture and population growth in South Florida is the pote...

In the context of proposed rapid urbanization in Asia, this article attempts to analyse the pattern, issues and policy aspects of urbanization in the rapidly urbanizing state of India (Karnataka) and its capital city region (Bangalore city). Both India and Karnataka have encouraged 'top heavy character', city region disparities and associated problems of environment and development of Indian ur...

China’s economic reforms and unprecedented growth have generated many fascinating issues for scholarly research. An understanding of urbanization and land use change in China is required for appropriate strategies and policies to facilitate future sustainable development. This paper reviews the literature on urbanization, land use and sustainable development in China with a focus on land use ch...

By 2050, 90% of the population in Latin America will live in cities, but there is a lack of up-to-date spatial information about the urban extent and patterns of urbanization in cities of this region. In this study, we analyzed population growth, urban density and urbanization dynamics between 1992 and 2009 in the major cities of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Perú using Google Earth and DMSP/O...

Modern cities are engines of production, innovation, and growth. However, urbanization also increases both local and global pollution from household consumption and firms' production. Do emissions change proportionately to city size or does pollution tend to outpace or lag urbanization? Do emissions scale differently with population versus economic growth or are emissions, population, and econo...

Maricopa County, Arizona, anchor to the fastest growing megapolitan area in the United States, is located in a hot desert climate where extreme temperatures are associated with elevated risk of mortality. Continued urbanization in the region will impact atmospheric temperatures and, as a result, potentially affect human health. We aimed to quantify the number of excess deaths attributable to he...

In China, as in many other countries undergoing rapid economic growth, increasing socio-economic inequalities and environmental damage are the main threats to sustainable urbanization. Drawing on international experiences, this paper describes the key issues in urban change in China and identifies the types of policy approaches that could support more sustainable urbanization. Urbanization and ...

Rapid urbanization is an important characteristic of African development and yet the structural transformation debate focuses on agriculture’s relative merits without also considering the benefits from urban agglomeration. As a result, African governments are often provided conflicting recommendations on the importance of rural agriculture or urban industry. We develop dynamic economy-wide mode...