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Lijiang City has undergone rapid economic development, and it is important to evaluate factors that will contribute to future development and how to make that development more sustainable. In this paper, we used ecological footprint (EF) and ecological carrying capacity (ECC) to assess economic development in Lijiang City from 1995 to 2007. The results show that there was a sharp increase in EF and a minor decrease in ECC. The large increase in EF might be caused by rapid economic development, which consumed energy and other resources but did not cause serious observable damage to ECC. In the final analysis, this is because the tourism industry plays a prominent role in economic growth in Lijiang City, and is far more important than the two sectors that have a more severe environmental impact: agriculture and general industry. The economic development of Lijiang City depends mainly on comprehensive development of tourism; cultural resources and ethnic cultures are the critical drivers of tourism development in the city. Vigorously developing integrated tourism, combined with addressing concerns over sustainability and protective development of ethnic cultures, is the best approach to sustainable development of Lijiang City. To assure the success of this approach, we proposed a number of strategic measures, such as payment for both ecological and cultural services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability assessment is an essential requirement for constructing sustainable cities. In this paper, we develop a comprehensive method to assess the sustainability level of development of cities (SLDC) in China, and use data from the China City Statistical Yearbook to calculate assessment indicators for Lijiang City between 2003 and 2008. Ten indicators covering residents' welfare, urbanisation and environment were selected. The results showed that Lijiang's SLDC experienced a ‘slow decline’ stage followed by a ‘rapid improvement’ stage, and the sustainability of Lijiang's development has been steadily enhanced during the second phase. This assessment indicator system could readily be applied to assess the SLDC of other Chinese cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the understanding of temporal and spatial behaviour of tourists is important for enhancing sustainable management of tourism. In recent years, with the emergence of photo-sharing Internet communities, many photographers have posted their photographs on the Internet and made them freely accessible. Generally attached to these shared photos is information about where and when the photos were taken, providing clues to establish the temporal and spatial distribution of the photographers. In this paper, we described a photography-based approach to analyse Chinese tourists' temporal–spatial behaviour identified from 1308 photos taken in the Old Town of Lijiang. We estimated tourists' temporal variation, length of stay, daily average number of tourists, individual movement traces and tourist hotspots. The results suggest that the photo-based methods have obvious advantages. We believe that this wealth of publicly available data sources with spatio-temporal information will provide a new perspective in analysing tourist flow distribution and tourist hotspots and will be helpful to plan tourism resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scientific approach to urban planning is required to ensure environmental protection and ecological sustainability. This paper presents a range of urban land-use scenarios and their implications for urban development and economic demand in the Old Town of Lijiang. Using geographic information system (GIS) and questionnaire analysis, three future urban planning scenarios were created based on data and storylines for the Lijiang region. In all scenarios, urban growth arises from population increase due to tourism and economic change. However, the spatial patterns differ due to varying assumptions about urban development processes or purposes. The modelling results are successfully illustrated in the scope of possible land-use scenarios for the future and provide useful input for starting discussions on future urban development planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid growth in land use has caused problems such as waste of natural resources, geological disasters and damage to heritage through the social, economic and environmental impacts of urban sprawl. In this paper, a new model and index system of urban ecological risk assessment (ERA) based on geographic information system (GIS) was built. To identify and classify urban ecological risk factors, three crucial parameters are described: land use features, spatial distance between receptors and risk sources and developed area. World Cultural Heritage conservation areas serve as key receptors, while expansion of land use for construction results in massive urbanisation as a risk source. To analyse the relationships between the receptors and risk sources, a spatial interaction model (SIM), spatial analysis with GIS and geostatistical methods were used. The results show that urban sprawl land threatens Lijiang's land-use patterns. The Lashihai wetland and Wenbi reservoir are at highest risk, while Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is only slightly affected. This research provides further and more comprehensive technical support for identifying potential ecological risk and guaranteeing ecological security in zoning and achieving sustainable development of Lijiang City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are facing considerable challenges resulting from imminent climate change impacts. Urban planning to minimise adverse impacts of climate change at the city level can establish a climate-resilient city. Mitigation strategies to reduce CO2 emissions would lead to a climate-friendly city. Integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation into sustainable city planning should not be merely added as a single level of sustainable city planning, but requires a wide range of multi-level cooperation. Lijiang City has experienced climatic change during the last half century, and its CO2 emissions have increased faster than the GDP growth. Nearby glaciers on Yulong Snow Mountain have been retreating and losing mass since the early twentieth century. In this paper, we identify economic sectors that are vulnerable to climate change, including tourism, agriculture and water supply, and propose mitigation and adaptation strategies to cope with climate change in this tourism city. As energy use is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, renewable energy has enormous CO2 reduction potential. Land use practices, a sectoral approach and public participation are all considered adaptive in climate planning. The proposals outlined are valuable as they provide an understanding of how to implement integrated climate planning and integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation into sustainable city planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integrity of the living space of villages with rich historical settings and traditional culture is increasingly challenged by modern economic development. Sustainable development of such villages will be impractical unless their space is protected. In this paper, the living space for Yuhu Village, an important tourist attraction in Lijiang City, is introduced and analysed on the basis of in situ observations, and principles and strategies for living space protection are proposed based on the historical background and current status. Although Yuhu Village is an excellent place for the local people to live and for tourists to visit, traditional land use, rural scenery, native species and Naxi culture need to be protected, and improvements are needed in water systems, roads and agriculture. Such an integrated effort will help to create a balance between heritage protection and economic development and lead to the creation of a harmonious modern society with intact historical remnants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of Lijiang City, many empty spaces have been exploited and the built-up land is becoming increasingly crowded. This has caused degradation of the urban environment. In this paper, we analyse the fractal dimension of built-up land in Lijiang City in an attempt to improve environmental quality. TM image data acquired in 2000 and 2006 were used to derive land-use data through a back-propagation neural network realized using Matlab software. Urban form was quantified with the box-counting method. The fractal dimension of built-up land increased from 1.73 in 2000 to 1.84 in 2006, meaning that the respective amounts of built-up land and green space have become disproportionate over time. To obtain a better balance between green areas and built-up land, the area–radius relationship method and the Smeed model were used to find the optimum range, within which increasing green areas will bring greater ecological benefits. This range was within a 2000-m radius of the entrance to the Old Town of Lijiang. Increasing green areas in this range is recommended to increase ecological benefits to the whole city, and the emphasis of planning studies in Lijiang City in future should be on the rational layout of built-up land within this range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World cultural and natural heritage sites are an important part of the wealth of humankind, but their protection is threatened by rapid urbanisation. In this paper, we assessed urbanisation-related pressures on the Old Town of Lijiang, using an integrated method based on the analytic network process (ANP). In addition to the data from the governmental census, we also employed satellite images, ecosystem services and sewage treatment data. The results of quantitative assessment of 16 indicators demonstrated that the pressure on the Old Town of Lijiang from 1978 to 2009 has increased with urbanisation and economic development, with the highest pressure occurring in 2009 and the lowest in 1978. The pressure more than doubled between 2000 and 2009, and there was an exponential relationship between urbanisation rate and pressure, suggesting that a small increase in urbanisation rate can trigger a large increase in urbanisation-related pressure. It was found that increases in population and tourism are the most crucial of the pressure indicators. The findings have significant implications for promoting the protection of the Old Town of Lijiang and other world heritage sites under similar pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid economic development has led to urban sprawl and threatens river systems. In this paper, we used geographic information system (GIS) techniques to examine the effects of urbanisation on the water resources of the Yanggong River watershed in Lijiang City, and analysed the temporal changes in river systems and their impacts on watershed ecosystem functions. The total length of the river systems in the Yanggong River watershed decreased from 786.9 km in 1995 to 674.2 km in 2009 and is predicted to continue to decrease by 35.5 km in the next 11 years according to various data sources. The decrease in river system density started in the Old Town of Lijiang and gradually spread to the surrounding areas. Our analysis shows that urbanisation is failing to take into account the impacts on river systems and their functions, which could cause a reduction in the size of the river systems and degradation of watershed ecosystem functions in the Yanggong River watershed of Lijiang City. It is suggested that protecting the natural river network and making full use of the advantages of the distinctive terrain in the Yanggong River watershed could contribute to the sustainability of urban development in Lijiang City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic and population growth increasingly threaten the sustainable development of world heritage sites. Given the lack of emphasis on the notion of sustainable development for cultural (and, to a lesser extent, natural) diversity in planning development in and around such sites, the notions of sustainability and heritage need to be combined in a conceptual perspective. The need for such an integrated approach and possibilities for it are explored in this Special Issue, with a focus on Lijiang City (China), a famous tourist city with UNESCO world heritage status due to rich cultural and natural diversity. The city is experiencing rapid development, characterised by human population growth, natural/cultural attractions and socio-economic pressure. Tourism development in Lijiang City has resulted in urbanisation, which alters the existing landscapes and threatens the integrity of the world heritage. Tourism development as currently practiced is unfavourable to the health of the industry in the long term. This self-contradictory mechanism explains the major conflict between short-term destructive development and sustainable development in Lijiang City. By reviewing 15 studies, this Special Issue highlights the economic, tourism and ecological challenges in sustainable development of Lijiang City and its surrounding area, and suggests a variety of solutions, including green spaces, digital technology in heritage protection, climate-sensitive land resource planning, etc. This preliminary work will provide a useful focus for sustainable development studies and assessment of performance of Lijiang City to both researchers and administrators, and will contribute to sustainable development of world heritage areas in China and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With growing water scarcity and water quality deterioration, water resource assessment has become a major focus of research in many areas of the world. Understanding water consumption and its structure is essential for assessing a city's ability to achieve sustainable water resource utilisation. Based on the concept of the water footprint (WFP), we quantified direct and indirect water consumption in various sectors and used a water stress index (WSI) and water self-sufficiency (WSS) to evaluate the sustainability of water resource use in Lijiang City. The results showed that the WFP of the city in 2008 was 995 Mm3, and that the average WFP per capita was 815 m3, with a WSI of 8.36% and WSS of 100%. Agricultural water use was responsible for 93% of total local water consumption, with 62% for crops and 38% for animals. Lijiang City will face little stress from water resource use in the short term; however, its water use efficiency is relatively low, and the current water resource use is unsustainable in the long term. We recommend the assessment of direct and indirect water use as a necessary step in developing effective water management policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientifically sound planning of green-space networks is essential for improving the quality of the urban environment. This article introduces an investigation on design of a green-space network for Lijiang City, a world natural and cultural heritage site undergoing rapid urbanisation. Land-use changes were examined using China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite-02B (CBERS-02B) imagery. We divided the urban green-space network into five major components: a linear strip, a corridor and three separate series of green-space clusters. We suggest that the future development of a green-space network in Lijiang City should include an appropriate mixture of the five green-space components. While the current emphasis on green-space layout relies on individual components of the green space, the future layout should be more focused on green spaces along streets and rivers, and should utilise a greater variety of shapes, including dots, linear strips and irregular shapes. The final green-space network should form an urban garden and green-space network that combines multipurpose vegetated areas having different structures. This green-space network will be an integral part of the sustainable urban development of Lijiang City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]