Urbanization,economic development,and environmental changes in transitional economies in the global south:a case of Yangon

作     者：Peilei Fan Jiquan Chen Cadi Fung Zaw Naing Zutao Ouyang Khaing Moe Nyunt Zin Nwe Myint Jiaguo Qi Joseph P.Messina Soe W.Myint Brad G.Peter 

作者机构：School of PlanningDesignand Construction and Center for Global Change and Earth ObservationsMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI 48824USA Department of GeographyEnvironmentand Spatial Sciences and Center for Global Change and Earth ObservationsMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI 48824USA Department of GeographyUniversity of AlabamaTuscaloosaAL 35487USA Mandalay TechnologyYangonMyanmar Earth System ScienceStanford UniversityStanfordCA 94305USA Yangon City Development CommitteeYangonMyanmar Yangon UniversityYangonMyanmar College of Arts and SciencesUniversity of AlabamaTuscaloosaAL 35487USA School of Geographical Sciences and Urban PlanningArizona State UniversityTempeAZ 85287-5302USA Department of GeosciencesUniversity of ArkansasFayettevilleAR 72701PUSA 

出 版 物：《Ecological Processes》 (生态过程（英文）)

年 卷 期：2022年第11卷第1期

页      面：929-945页

核心收录：

学科分类：0830[工学-环境科学与工程（可授工学、理学、农学学位）] 083001[工学-环境科学] 08[工学] 0713[理学-生态学] 

基　　金：supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)(Grant numbers:NNX15AD51G 80NSSC20K0740). 

主　　题：Urbanization Economic development Environmental change Transitional economy Globalization Extreme climate event Capital relocation Myanmar 

摘      要：Background:Transitional economies in Southeast Asia—a distinct group of developing countries—have experienced rapid urbanization in the past several decades due to the economic transition that fundamentally changed the function of their economies,societies and the environment.Myanmar,one of the least developed transitional economies in Southeast Asia,increased urbanization substantially from 25%in 1990 to 31%in 2019.However,major knowledge gaps exist in understanding the changes in urban land use and land cover and environment and their drivers in its cities.Methods:We studied Yangon,the largest city in Myanmar,for the urbanization,environmental changes,and the underlying driving forces in a radically transitioned economy in the developing world.Based on satellite imagery and historic land use maps,we quantified the expansion of urban built-up land and constructed the land conversion matrix from 1990 through 2020.We also used three air pollutants to illustrate the changes in environmental conditions.We analyzed the coupled dynamics among urbanization,economic development,and environmental changes.Through conducting a workshop with 20 local experts,we further analyzed the influence of human systems and natural systems on Yangon’s urbanization and sustainability.Results:The city of Yangon expanded urban built-up land rapidly from 1990 to 2000,slowed down from 2000 to 2010,but gained momentum again from 2010 to 2020,with most newly added urban built-up land appearing to be converted from farmland and green land in both 1990–2000 and 2010–2020.Furthermore,the air pollutant concen-tration of CO decreased,but that of NO_(2)and PM_(2.5)increased in recent years.A positive correlation exists between population and economic development and the concentration of PM_(2.5)is highly associated with population,the economy,and the number of vehicles.Finally,the expert panel also identified other potential drivers for urbanization,including the extreme climate event of Cyclone Nargis,capital relocation,and globalization.Conclusions:Our research highlights the dramatic expansion of urban land and degradation of urban environment measured by air pollutants and interdependent changes between urbanization,economic development,and environmental changes.