Spatial patterns and drivers of urban expansion: an exploratory spatial analysis of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile, from 1997 to 2013
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Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier LTD
Abstract
Urban expansion is a global phenomenon rapidly transforming the earth's land surface, causing negative social and environmental impacts. Analysing its spatial patterns and underlying factors is crucial to promoting sustainable urban forms, especially in developing countries experiencing further increases in expansion. This study quantifies and explores the spatial pattern of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago (Chile) between 1997 and 2013, correlating it with explanatory factors at the municipal level using land cover maps and a Moran Index. The results reveal an urban expansion of 124 %, mainly towards rural and peri-urban municipalities, concentrated in the north and south of the region. The bivariate analysis highlights a positive correlation between factors such as population growth rate, household income, slope, and urban regulations with urban expansion, concentrated in rural-peri-urban areas. On the other hand, the urban area defined by the Santiago Metropolitan Regulatory Plan (PRMS) and population density negatively correlates with urban expansion. The study suggests that the city expanded into municipalities outside the urban area defined by the PRMS, and urban regulations promoted expansion into agricultural and public land. This research has important practical significance for understanding the spatial patterns of urban expansion and its drivers. The study has practical significance in understanding the spatial patterns and their drivers, highlighting priority areas that require urban policy intervention to promote sustainable urban forms.
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Keywords
Urban expansion, Spatial data analyse, Urban planning, Metropolitan Region of Santiago of Chile, Moran index