Spatial patterns of urban land expansion of super-cities of China in 1990s

Based on two-phase remotely sensed data (1990 and 2000), the spatial features of urban land expansion of 13 super-cities (identified by a large shares of non-agricultural population and an absolute numbers of over 2 millions) in China were analyzed. The results show that: (1) the built-up areas of all 13 super-cites expanded substantially, mostly at the cost of preciously arable land; (2) several patterns of urban expansion co-existed; (3) the succession of industrial structure in urban areas, the improvement of transportation and the increase of urban residents´ incomes have heavily affected urban land expansion