A spatial‐adjacency‐based approach for analyzing urban landscape structure

Rapid urbanization can cause remarkable and high fragmentation of urban landscapes, which will affect the function and services of landscapes and result in a series of ecological and environmental problems. To identify the spatial structure and explore the effects of internal features on this structure, we propose a spatial‐adjacency‐based method for interactions between urban main roads (main road corridors) and the urban landscape. Dongguan was used as the research area, for the sample period 1997–2013. Urban land patches were analyzed comprehensively, based on the spatial relationship with main roads, and according to landscape indices and landscape gradients. Furthermore, to explore the overall spatial attraction and spillover effects of the main road corridors, an extended Voronoi‐based spatial‐adjacency measuring index (EVSAI) was proposed to measure geographic adjacency. Finally, we established one complete set of classification criteria relevant to the changing patterns of the spatial structure. The experimental results indicated a dense network of main road corridors in the regions adjacent to the central area of Dongguan. The findings further revealed that the landscape pattern experienced three stages of spatiotemporal changes spanning the 16 years: central sprawl (1997–2005), peripheral sprawl (2005–2009), and central sprawl (2009–2013).