Applying SLEUTH for Simulating Urban Expansion of Beijing

Urbanization often results in intensive land use/cover change, which is more prominent in the urban area of China, a country undergoing rapid urbanization. Simulation of urban expansion thus captures increasing interests in research. SLEUTH model, a cellular automata-based dynamic model, is a powerful tool for simulating complex urban expansion and description of urban spatial dynamics. For further study of the dynamics change of urban expansion, this paper explores the combined application of geographical information systems (GIS), satellite remote sensing (RS) and SLEUTH to the analysis and modeling different policy scenarios of urban growth in Beijing, a typical dynamic spatial complex system in northern China. Both back-past map and different forecasting scenarios simulation of urban growth and sprawl were mapping. The result indicated that SLEUTH applied on city dynamics geospatial change can effectively simulate the city´s expansion and provide useful information for the city´s future planning and development.