Study on the Evolution of River Networks during Urbanization since the Development and Opening of Pudong New Area, Shanghai

摘要

Pudong New Area of Shanghai, as a reform and opening front of China, holds the balance in economic development of Yangtze Delta and even of China. After a large-scale infrastructure and function development in the past decade, it has become "the miniature of modernization construction in Shanghai" and "the symbol of reform and opening in China". But, due to the rapid urbanization and associated environmental issues, rivers in the studied area remain seriously polluted and are also diminishing. Consequendy this damages the features of the water village and investment setting in the Pudong New Area. On the basis of analyzing the aero photographs (1989, 1994 and 1999) and land use data by Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, this paper illustrated that: 1) The river density of the studied area has dedined by 1/3 from 1989to 1999; 2) Since the development and opening of Pudong, the river system has experienced two declining phases: rapid declining (1989-1994) and slow declining (1994-1999); 3) The fast urbanization of land-use is a primary threat to the river system,which is particularly prominent within the Inner Belt Way and in the developed zone of Pudong area.