Remote Sensing Characterization of Urban Expansion: A Case Study of Shenyang, Northeast China

Urban expansion is a result of multiple factors and should be under control to guarantee sustainable socioeconomic development. This study examined the northeast Chinese city of Shenyang in Liaoning province using remote sensing data of 1992, 2000, 2008, and 2016. We characterized the urban expansion of the study area through spatial analysis performed in ArcGIS 10.3. Results show that from 1992 to 2016, the area of urban built-up land continued to increase and the expansion intensity gradually increased. The scale and rate of urban expansion were the largest during the period from 2008 to 2016. The findings of this study will provide useful insights into the urban planning of Shenyang.