Author(s)

Zijiang Yang, Xiong He, Kun Zhang & Jun Zhang

Abstract

The topic of sustainable development of cities is a hotspot and focus of urban research. The expansion of urban space is the most intuitive embodiment of sustainable urban development. To explore the current status and trends of urban space expansion in Kunming and Yuxi, the central cities of Yunnan Province in china, this study uses land use data from 2000 to 2015 to analyze, the spatial shape and expansion trend of Kunming and Yuxi using the compactness index and the lacunarity index. results show that the most obvious urban space expansion in 2000 to 2005 is characterized by the expansion of the urban center circle and the independence of each central space. urban space expansion from 2005 to 2010 is characterized by the relative expansion of the city and integration of the built-up area. The expansion of urban space from 2010 to 2015 is distinct and shows a trend of continuous expansion. Finally, preliminary conclusions are drawn indicating that the urban space in the selected case study area is sustainable. The sustainable development model of urban space in china’s central Yunnan is represented by regional urban integration.

Keywords

integration, Lacunarity, spatial expansion, sustainability.