title: Urban transformation of a metropolis and its environmental impacts: a case study in Shanghai.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this paper is to understand the sustainability of urban spatial transformation in the process of rapid urbanization, and calls for future research on the demographic and economic dimensions of climate change. Shanghai towards its transformation to a metropolis has experienced vast socioeconomic and ecological change and calls for future research on the impacts of demographic and economic dimensions on climate change. We look at the major questions (1) to explore economic and demographic growth, land use and land-cover changes in the context of rapid economic and city growth, and (2) to analyze how the demography and economic growth have been associated with the local air temperature and vegetation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examine urban growth, land use and land-cover changes in the context of rapid economic development and urbanization. We assess the impact of urban expansion on local air temperature and vegetation. The analysis is based on time series data of land use, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and meteorological, demographic and economic data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that urban growth has been driven by mass immigration; as a consequence of economic growth and urban expansion, a large amount of farmland has been converted to paved road and residential buildings. Furthermore, the difference between air temperature in urban and exurban areas has increased rapidly. The decrease of high mean annual NDVI has mainly occurred around the dense urban areas.
authors: Shanghai Climate Center, Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China.
authors: Zhan
authors: Z
authors: Tian
authors: Guiying
authors: G
authors: Cao
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Shi
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: McCallum
authors: Linli
authors: L
authors: Cui
authors: Dongli
authors: D
authors: Fan
authors: Xinhu
authors: X
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000388:Air; D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D004777:Environment; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D010944:Plants; D013696:Temperature; D014505:Urban Population / Q000639:trends; D014507:Urbanization