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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]

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]

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]

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]