Tesis por compendio / [ES] Esta tesis aborda el desarrollo y análisis de nuevas herramientas y métodos para monitorizar y caracterizar el crecimiento urbano utilizando datos geográficos y bases de datos de usos y coberturas del suelo (LULC), así como explorar sus relaciones con factores socioeconómicos, aportando nuevas evidencias sobre el uso de los datos LULC para la caracterización urbana en diferentes niveles mediante métodos espaciales y estadísticos. En primer lugar, se compilaron e implementaron las métricas espacio-temporales más comunes dentro de una herramienta software, IndiFrag. A continuación, se presenta una metodología basada en métricas espacio-temporales y se propone un nuevo índice que cuantifica la desigualdad entre el crecimiento de la población y las zonas edificadas, para analizar y comparar los patrones de crecimiento urbano en diferentes niveles. Esto permitió una distinción de los patrones de crecimiento, además el análisis a diversos niveles contribuyó a una mejor comprensión de los patrones. En segundo lugar, se cuantificaron relaciones bidireccionales entre la estructura urbana de las ciudades y su situación socioeconómica a partir de métricas espaciales extraídas de mapas de zonas climáticas locales en 31 ciudades en Renania del Norte-Westfalia (Alemania). A partir de estos datos se cuantificaron relaciones con indicadores socioeconómicos mediante modelos de regresión lineal múltiple, explicando gran parte de su variabilidad. El método propuesto es transferible a otros conjuntos de datos, niveles y regiones. En tercer lugar, se evaluó el uso de las métricas espacio-temporales derivadas de los mapas LULC para identificar patrones espaciales de crecimiento urbano. Se utilizaron modelos de cambio de usos del suelo para simular diferentes escenarios de crecimiento urbano a largo plazo siguiendo varios patrones espaciales en diversas formas urbanas de partida. A continuación, se calcularon las métricas espacio-temporales para los escenarios simulados, se seleccionaron las más explicativas aplicando análisis discriminante y se clasificaron los patrones de crecimiento utilizando métodos estadísticos de agrupación. Por último, se identificaron relaciones empíricas entre indicadores socioeconómicos y su evolución a lo largo del tiempo con la estructura espacial de los elementos construidos y naturales en hasta 600 áreas urbanas de 32 países. Se aplicaron modelos de regresión random forest y las métricas espacio-temporales fueron capaces de explicar considerablemente la variabilidad de los indicadores socioeconómicos, confirmando que los patrones espaciales y sus cambios están vinculados a los indicadores socioeconómicos. Este trabajo contribuye a una mayor comprensión de los patrones de crecimiento urbano y amplía el conocimiento sobre las relaciones entre la estructura espacial urbana y los factores socioeconómicos. Se describen nuevos métodos para monitorizar y evaluar la sostenibilidad urbana a partir de bases de datos LULC, que podrían ser utilizadas por los investigadores, planificadores urbanos y responsables políticos para garantizar un futuro sostenible en los entornos urbanos. / [CAT] Aquesta tesi aborda el desenvolupament i l'anàlisi de noves ferramentes i mètodes per a monitorar i caracteritzar el creixement urbà utilitzant dades geogràfiques i bases de dades d'usos i cobertures del sòl (LULC), així com explorar les seues relacions amb factors socioeconòmics, i aportar noves evidències sobre la utilització de les dades LULC per a la caracterització urbana en diferents nivells mitjançant mètodes espacials i estadístics. En primer lloc, es van compilar i implementar mètriques espaciotemporals dins d'un programari, IndiFrag. A continuació, es presenta una metodologia basada en mètriques espaciotemporals i es proposa un nou índex que quantifica la desigualtat entre el creixement de la població i les zones edificades, i serveix per a analitzar i comparar els patrons de creixement urbà a diferents nivells. Això va permetre una distinció dels patrons de creixement, a més l'anàlisi a diversos nivells va contribuir a una millor comprensió dels patrons. En segon lloc, es van quantificar relacions bidireccionals entre l'estructura urbana de les ciutats i la seua situació socioeconòmica a partir de mètriques espacials extretes de mapes de zones climàtiques locals en 31 ciutats a Renània del Nord-Westfàlia (Alemanya). A partir d'aquestes dades es van quantificar relacions amb indicadors socioeconòmics mitjançant models de regressió lineal múltiple, explicant gran part de la seua variabilitat. El mètode proposat és transferible a altres conjunts de dades, nivells i regions. Seguidament, es va avaluar l'ús de les mètriques espaciotemporals derivades dels mapes LULC per a identificar patrons espacials de creixement urbà. Es van utilitzar models de canvi d'usos del sòl per a simular diferents escenaris de creixement urbà a llarg termini seguint diversos patrons espacials en diverses formes urbanes de partida. A continuació, es van calcular les mètriques espaciotemporals per als escenaris simulats, es van seleccionar les més explicatives aplicant anàlisi discriminant i es van classificar els patrons de creixement utilitzant mètodes estadístics d'agrupació. Finalment, es van identificar relacions empíriques entre indicadors socioeconòmics i la seua evolució al llarg del temps, amb l'estructura espacial dels elements construïts i naturals en fins a 600 àrees urbanes de 32 països. Es van aplicar models de regressió random forest i les mètriques van ser capaces d'explicar considerablement la variabilitat dels indicadors socioeconòmics, això confirma que els patrons espacials i els seus canvis estan vinculats als indicadors socioeconòmics. Aquest treball contribueix a una major comprensió dels patrons de creixement urbà i amplia el coneixement sobre les relacions entre l'estructura espacial urbana i els factors socioeconòmics. Es descriuen nous mètodes per a monitorar i avaluar la sostenibilitat urbana a partir de bases de dades LULC, que podrien ser utilitzades pels investigadors, planificadors urbans i responsables polítics per a garantir un futur sostenible en els entorns urbans. / [EN] This thesis addresses the development and analysis of new tools and methods for monitoring and characterizing urban growth using geo-data and land-use/land-cover (LULC) databases, as well as exploring their relationships with socio-economic factors, providing new evidences regarding the use of LULC data for urban characterization at different levels by means of spatial and statistical methods. First, the most common spatio-temporal metrics were compiled and implemented within a software tool, IndiFrag. Then, we present a methodology based on spatio-temporal metrics and propose a new index that quantifies the inequality of growth between population and built-up areas to analyze and compare urban growth patterns at different levels. This allowed for a differentiation of growing patterns, besides, the analysis at various levels contributed to a better understanding of such patterns. Second, we quantified the two-way relationship between the urban structure in cities and their socio-economic status by means of spatial metrics issued from a local climate zone map for 31 cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Based on these data, we quantified their relationship with socio-economic indicators by means of multiple linear regression models, explaining a significant part of their variability. The proposed method is transferable to other datasets, levels, and regions. Third, we assessed the use of spatio-temporal metrics derived from LULC maps to identify urban growth spatial patterns. We applied LULC change models to simulate different long-term scenarios of urban growth following various spatial patterns on diverse baseline urban forms. Then, we computed spatio-temporal metrics for the simulated scenarios, selected the most explanatory by applying a discriminant analysis and classified the growth patterns using clustering methods. Finally, we identified empirical relationships between socio-economic indicators and their change over time with the spatial structure of the built and natural elements in up to 600 urban areas from 32 countries. We employed random forest regression models and the spatio-temporal metrics were able to explain substantially the variability of socio-economic variables. This confirms that spatial patterns and their change are linked to socio-economic indicators. This work contributes to a better understanding of urban growth patterns and improves knowledge about the relationships between urban spatial structure and socio-economic factors, providing new methods for monitoring and assessing urban sustainability by means of LULC databases, which could be used by researchers, urban planners and decision-makers to ensure the sustainable future of urban environments. / Sapena Moll, M. (2020). Development and analysis of land-use/land-cover spatio-temporal metrics in urban environments: Exploring urban growth patterns and linkages to socio-economic factors [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/158626 / Compendio

This is a comparative study of the spatial patterns of peasant crop farming in Chibombo District between the 1980s and the 1990s. The study lists and discusses the agricultural support system, communication infrastructure and the crop production and patterns of the 1980s within the environment of centralised planning and then compares these to the structures and patterns of the 1990s in an atmosphere of economic liberalisation. This comparison in crop production, cropping patterns, institutional support systems and the communication infrastructure in five sampled farming wards of Chibombo District, leads to the conclusion that there is a marked change in the structures and patterns of the 1990s from those of the 1980s. Thus, in Chibombo District, the state of the communication infrastructure in the 1990s is generally poorer than the communication infrastructure of the 1980s, the agricultural support system of the 1990s is largely privately owned and found in fewer farming areas while the agricultural support system of the 1980s was state controlled and more widely spread, and crop patterns in some farming wards are different in the 1990s from those of the 1980s. In the 1990s, crop production in farming wards with a supportive environment has increased than it was in the 1980s but decreased in those where a conducive environment lacks. In this line, the study makes several recommendations for consideration on how to mitigate the problems that the peasant farmers are facing or how to enhance the positive changes that have occurred in Chibombo District. / Geography / M.A. (Geography)

This is a comparative study of the spatial patterns of peasant crop farming in Chibombo District between the 1980s and the 1990s. The study lists and discusses the agricultural support system, communication infrastructure and the crop production and patterns of the 1980s within the environment of centralised planning and then compares these to the structures and patterns of the 1990s in an atmosphere of economic liberalisation. This comparison in crop production, cropping patterns, institutional support systems and the communication infrastructure in five sampled farming wards of Chibombo District, leads to the conclusion that there is a marked change in the structures and patterns of the 1990s from those of the 1980s. Thus, in Chibombo District, the state of the communication infrastructure in the 1990s is generally poorer than the communication infrastructure of the 1980s, the agricultural support system of the 1990s is largely privately owned and found in fewer farming areas while the agricultural support system of the 1980s was state controlled and more widely spread, and crop patterns in some farming wards are different in the 1990s from those of the 1980s. In the 1990s, crop production in farming wards with a supportive environment has increased than it was in the 1980s but decreased in those where a conducive environment lacks. In this line, the study makes several recommendations for consideration on how to mitigate the problems that the peasant farmers are facing or how to enhance the positive changes that have occurred in Chibombo District. / Geography / M.A. (Geography)

In recent decades, it was shown that belowground competition for some plants may take form of the tragedy of the commons (TOC). In these plants, the competing neighbours invest more in root systems than would be appropriate for optimal nutrient uptake for the group and also more than they do when grown alone. However, there is also strong evidence that other species do not follow TOC, and tailor their root system to best nutrient exploitation irrespectively of competitor presence. The root investment strategy of these plants should correspond to the ideal free distribution (IFD). In my thesis I focus on two aspects:  I use game theoretical models to explore, whether those strategies can coexist within species and also whether different species can coexist if they have different strategy. From this model I draw predictions, which I test by meta-analysis.  Using Agrostis stolonifera as a model, I test assumptions on nutrient and neighbour perception, which underlie TOC and IFD models. I show that according to mathematical models, those two strategies can coexist in different species in a community, but cannot coexist within a species. Within a species, the TOC strategy should always dominate, once it appears. This can be extrapolated to macroevolutionary scale - once TOC occurs in certain clade, it should...

Eine große Herausforderung für Verkehrsmodelle stellt die korrekte Abbildung der Entscheidungsmuster bei der Zielwahl dar. Diese bestimmt die räumlichen Strukturen der Nachfrage und steht in engem Zusammenhang mit zentralen Ergebnissen der Nachfragemodellierung. Rund ein Drittel der Alltagswege in Deutschland sind Einkaufs- und Erledigungwege. Zahlreiche Arbeiten zeigen die Bedeutung von habitualisierten Verhaltensmustern bei der Wahl eines Einkaufsortes. Die Motive der Geschäftswahl gelten als sehr vielfältig. Besondere Bedeutung wird zudem den Primäraktivitätenorten zugeschrieben. Gleichwohl erfolgt die Abbildung der Zielwahl in der Nachfragemodellierung zumeist sehr vereinfachend. Gewöhnlich wird von einem Versorgungseinkauf mit der Geschäftsgröße und der Anreisezeit ausgegangen. Diese Arbeit zeigt anhand empirischer Auswertungen Möglichkeiten einer verhaltensorientierten Abbildung der Einkaufszielwahl in mikroskopischen Personenverkehrsmodellen auf. Im Fokus stehen die Variabilität der Geschäftswahl, die ausschlaggebenden Motive sowie die räumlichen Bezugspunkte der Suche. Am Beispiel des Erwerbs von Nahrungs- und Genussmitteln, von Textilien sowie von Unterhaltungselektronik werden Unterschiede zwischen Einkaufswaren verschiedener Fristigkeit, aber auch zwischen verschiedenen Personengruppen herausgearbeitet. Simulationsrechnungen mit dem Nachfragemodell TAPAS zeigen, dass eine Differenzierung der Einkaufsart sowie die Nutzung eines motivgestützen Erreichbarkeitsmaßes die Modellierungsergebnisse stark verbessern. Die Arbeit stellt erweiterte Indikatoren für eine Berücksichtigung der räumlichen Bezugspunkte bei der Beurteilung der Modellierungsergebnisse bereit. Auch stehen mit den Analysen der Aktivitätenräume, der Umwegfaktoren, der Lage der Einkaufsorte sowie der kumulierten Reiseweiten Informationen zur Verfügung, die generell für die Definition adäquater Suchräume und Bezugspunkte für die Modellierung städtischer Untersuchungsgebiete genutzt werden können. / A major challenge in travel demand modelling is the correct representation of decision patterns underlying the choice of destinations. This choice determines the spatial structures of demand and is closely related to central modelling results. Around one third of everyday trips in Germany are for shopping and errands. Numerous studies show the importance of habitualised behavioral patterns when choosing a shopping location. The motives for choosing a shop are considered to be very diverse. Particular importance is attributed to primary activity locations. Nevertheless, the representation of the target choice in demand modelling is usually very simplified. Usually, a supply purchase is implicitly assumed, with the size of the shop and travel time from the previous location being the most important choice criteria. Using empirical analyses, this dissertation shows possibilities for a behavior-oriented depiction of shopping location choice in microscopic passenger transport models. These are discussed in terms of their usability for modeling. The analyses focus on the variability of destinations, the decisive motives and the spatial reference points of the location search. Using the example of the purchase of food and beverages, textiles and consumer electronics, differences between shopping goods of different periodicity and also different groups of people are presented. Simulation calculations with the demand model TAPAS show that a differentiation of the type of purchase and the use of a motive-based accessibility measure greatly improves the modelling results. The dissertation provides extended indicators for a consideration of spatial reference points in the evaluation of the modelling results. Furthermore, the analyses of activity areas, diversion factors, the location of shopping locations and cumulative travel distances provide information that can be generally used to define adequate search areas and reference points for the modelling of urban study areas.Einkaufsverhalten