Urban planning mainly concentrates on the management of cities as an administrative unit. Urban regions, their state and development, constitute the major interaction of urbanization processes. Such regions comprise the urban core and its associated peri‐urban and rural areas. Urbanization processes along the rural–urban continuum need to be monitored by a complex set of indicators. In this paper the phenomena of growth and shrinkage patterns are investigated for an inner urban to peri‐urban gradient. The area of investigation is a transect covering the eastern part of the urban region of the city of Leipzig, Germany, with its surrounding communes. Selected patterns of spatial processes are analysed for the gradient using Satellite pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) XS data, and additionally, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data where SPOT data were missing. Further statistical information on social, economic and environmental sustainability issues related to land‐use changes is analysed. These spatial and statistical analyses are data‐driven and reflect a wide range of spatial, socio‐economic and ecological development being mutually intertwined. It will be shown how suburban communes and local districts within the city have developed disregarding sustainable planning. By the end of the 1990s peri‐urban communes started to be organized in a better coordinated regional development plan, this case study being part of the Grüner Ring Leipzig (Green Belt of Leipzig).

Analysis of urban dynamics is a pivotal step towards understanding landscape changes and developing scientifically sound urban management strategies. Delineating the patterns and processes shaping the evolution of urban regions is an essential part of this step. Utilizing remote-sensing techniques and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, we performed an integrated analysis on urban expansion in Srinagar city and surrounding areas from 1999 to 2017 at multiple scales in order to assist urban planning initiatives. To capture various spatial indicators of expansion, we analysed (i) land use/land cover (LULC) changes, (ii) rate and intensity of changes to built-up areas, (iii) spatial differentiation in landscape metrics (at 500, 1000 and 2000 m cell-size), and (iv) growth type of the urban expansion. Global Moran’s I statistics and local indicators of spatial association (LISA) were also employed to identify hotspots of change in landscape structure. Our methodology utilizes a range of geovisualization tools which are capable of appropriately addressing various elements required for strategic planning in growing cities. The results highlight aggregation and homogenization of the urban core as well as irregularity and fragmentation in its periphery. A combination of spatial metrics and growth type analysis supports the supposition that there is a continuum in the diffusion-coalescence process. This allows us to extend our understanding of urban growth theory and to report deviations from accepted stages of growth. As our results show, each dominating growth phase of the city—both diffusion (1999) and coalescence (2009 and 2017)—is interspersed with features from the other type. An improved understanding of spatial differentiation and the identification of hotspots can serve to make urban planning more tailored to such local conditions. An important insight derived from the results is the applicability of remote-sensing data in urban planning measures and the usefulness of freely available medium resolution data in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of cities.

The aim of this study is to provide an integrated indicator framework for the Assessment of Multifunctional Green Infrastructure (AMGI) to advance the evolution of the Green Infrastructure (GI) concept, and simultaneously deliver an approach do conduct a GI assessment using remote sensing datasets at multiple spatial and spectral scales. Based on this framework, we propose an explicit methodology for AMGI, while addressing the multi-dimensional pillars (ecology, socio-economy, socio-culture, and human health) for urban sustainability and the multifunctionality of GI. For the purpose of validation, we present the extensive process of employing our framework and methodology, and give an illustrative case exemplified in a European city, i.e., Leipzig, Germany. In this exemplification, we deployed three stages regarding how a single assessment can be conducted: from conceptual framework for priority setting, contextual assessment, to retrospective assessment. In this illustrative case study, we enclosed 18 indicators, as well as identified hot and cold spots of selected GI functions and their multifunctionality. A clear framework and methodology is crucial for the sustainable management of spatially oriented GI plans over time and for different stakeholder groups. Therefore, GI planners and policy makers may now refer to our integrative indicator framework and provided application methodology as common grounds for a better mutual understanding amongst scientists and stakeholders. This study contributes to discourses regarding the enhancement of the GI concept and is expected to provoke more discussion on the improvements of high-quality Remote Sensing (RS) data as well as the development of remote sensing-based methods at multiple spatial, temporal, and spectral scales to support GI plans.

Interrelationships between urban and rural areas are fundamental for the development and safeguarding of viable future living conditions and quality of life. These areas are not well-delineated or self-sufficient, and existing interrelations may privilege one over the other. Major urban challenges facing China and Europe are related to changes in climate, environment, and to decision-making that makes urban and rural landscapes more susceptible to environmental pressures. Focusing on the six European and Chinese cities and surrounding rural areas, under study in the joint EC and MOST-funded REGREEN project, we examine how nature-based solutions (NBS) may assist in counteracting these pressures. We explore urban-rural dependencies and partnerships regarding NBS that can enhance resilience in Europe and China. We analyse differences between European and Chinese systems of governance, reflecting on the significance of the scale of research needed to understand how NBS provide benefits. We highlight interactions between differently delineated sheds (watershed, airshed, natureshed, and peopleshed), which influence the interrelationships between urban and rural areas. There may be one-way or two-way interdependence, and the impact may be uni or multi-directional. The European and Chinese solutions, exemplified in this article, tackle the nexus of environmental and peoplesheds. We discuss complex human interactions (and how to model them) that may, or may not, lead to viable and equitable partnerships for implementing NBS in cities within Europe and in China.

Mapping urban structures is a vital prerequisite for urban planners to enhance their databases for liveable cities dedicated to sustainable development. Therefore, it is important to measure urban grey and green structures at the scale of local districts to understand the urban structure and residential needs for urban ecosystem services. Our detailed analysis incorporates digital orthophotos (DOP), LiDAR data and vital statistics. We used remote sensing techniques to create an Object-based Image Analysis (OBIA) that differentiates grey and green structures with high precision and at a refined scale. This spatial information is linked with allocated population and health-related indicators to identify building types with the highest population densities and local districts lacking in different green structures. Our results show the share of built-up structures and the contribution of green structures to urban ecosystem services, human health and well-being at the local district level.