Analysis of Spatial Pattern of Urban System along the Overland Silk Road Economic Belt Using DMSP-OLS Nighttime Light Data

Abstract

As China promotes the Belt and Road (BAR) initiative, the overland SREB development is widely concerned. The cities (including towns), population centers, of urban system are the cores of the economy along the SREB. Therefore, it is necessary to monitoring the urbanization of the belt so that the new growing points of urban development and the valid coupling mechanism between human and nature will be explored to promote the regional socio-economic sustainable development and effectively implement the BAR initiative. Using the DMSP-OLS stable nighttime lights (NTL) data in 1992, 2003, and 2014, in this paper we studied the urbanized spatial patterns of and the urbanized characteristics and trends of the main city system along the SREB in the view of the whole regionalized economic zone and typical cities and settlements (towns). The results showed that in general the NTL intensities in the SREB's city system had the obvious geographical differentiation characteristics where there was maximum brightness of NTLs over the western European countries as well as being gradually decreasing from west to east. There were obvious increases of the NTL digital number (DN) values and NTL covering areas in 2003 and 2013 comparatively with that of 1992, which indicates the great urbanization development during this period. As for the four types of urban development process, there was an apparent consistency in a certain local area but a large heterogeneity among different areas. By analyzing the 273 pivot cities and the most pivot 26 cities, we found the number of the relatively small cities being decreasing but that of the large and medium-sized cities increasing. This study would provide the scientific support for the related researches and decision making of urbanization and urban economic development to promote the socio-economic comprehensive development of the overland SREB.