Monitoring peri-urbanization in the greater Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2014

Abstract

Across the globe, urban areas are rapidly expanding, and now the majority of the world's population lives in cities. Peri-urbanization, a specific form of urbanization characterized by rapid and fragmented growth, is also increasing, especially in developing countries. By 2030, it is anticipated that peri-urban areas in East Asia will expand by 200 million people, or 40% of total projected urban population growth, creating in these areas one of the largest and most significant land cover changes in the region. Characterizing and understanding the peri-urbanization process is critical, as these transition zones have a wide range of impacts across multiple scales, including local effects on farmer livelihoods, regional impacts to economic development, fragmented governance, as well as detrimental environmental impacts such as increased air and groundwater pollution, loss of native vegetation, and decreases in biodiversity. Yet the dynamic and piecemeal nature of peri-urbanization presents challenges for monitoring this unique process. This research combines commune-level Vietnamese census information, dense time stacks of Landsat satellite data (1990-2012), and several spatial measures to quantify urbanization and peri-urbanization in the greater Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area from 1990 to 2012. The results indicate that 660.2km2 of cropland was converted to urban uses (a near quintupling of urban land), while 3.5 million persons moved into the region, bringing the total population to nearly 12 million by 2012. The analysis also highlights the rapid, unplanned nature of peri-urban development: approximately one-third of new urban expansion occurs in areas >40km from the core, with nearly 50% of population expansion occurring in communes classified as peri-urban. This pattern of growth is likely linked to policies meant to spur foreign investment, and we expect that these regions will continue to attract much, if not most, of the foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing to the region, since most large manufacturing enterprises now locate in peri-urban areas. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Applied Geography

First Page

377

Last Page

388

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