Evaluating the Impact of Mega-Sports Events on Urbanization Focusing on Land-Use Changes Using a Scenario-Based Model

• Main Authors: Jinjin Fan, Yue Li, Wenquan Zhu, Yan Chen, Yao Li, Hao Hou, Tangao Hu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: mega-sports event; urban development; scenario simulation; driving factors; Hangzhou
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/1649

Mega-sports events have a profound impact on promoting the urbanization process, optimizing the urban spatial structure, and improving the competitiveness of the host city. Taking the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 (AGH) as an example, we used remote sensing data and a scenario-based model to simulate land-use changes and developments from 2005 to 2025. By setting two scenarios, natural development and AGH-driven development, we explored the impact of AGH on urban development and its driving factors. The results show that (1) cultivated land areas decreased by 369.96 km², while construction land areas increased by 488.33 km² among the main land-use types in Hangzhou from 2005 to 2020. Urban areas quickly expanded with the West Lake as the center. (2) Urban sprawl intensity under the AGH-driven scenario is expected to increase by 0.91% compared to in the natural-development scenario, indicating that hosting AGH would accelerate the expansion of urban land, particularly in districts set with sports venues such as Binjiang, Xiaoshan, and Yuhang. The strategic trend of supporting the Qiantang River is obvious. (3) Under the influence of AGH, the centroid of urban construction land shifted towards the southeast, and the spatial direction was remarkable. The construction of venues and supporting facilities, and construction land for public rail transit, are the main direct driving forces of urban expansion. The AGH enhances the pace of urbanization, significantly altering the urban spatial structure and helping the city achieve a major transition from the West Lake Era to the Qiantang River Era. Furthermore, our research can provide insights into other cities that will host mega-sports events.