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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]

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]

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]