Cities are social-ecological systems characterized by remarkably high spatial and temporal heterogeneity, which are closely related to myriad urban problems. However, the tools to map and quantify this heterogeneity are lacking. We here developed a new three-level classification scheme, by considering ecosystem types (level 1), urban function zones (level 2), and land cover elements (level 3), to map and quantify the hierarchical spatial heterogeneity of urban landscapes. We applied the scheme using an object-based approach for classification using very high spatial resolution imagery and a vector layer of building location and characteristics. We used a top-down classification procedure by conducting the classification in the order of ecosystem types, function zones, and land cover elements. The classification of the lower level was based on the results of the higher level. We used an object-based methodology to carry out the three-level classification. We found that the urban ecosystem type accounted for 45.3% of the land within the Shenzhen city administrative boundary. Within the urban ecosystem type, residential and industrial zones were the main zones, accounting for 38.4% and 33.8%, respectively. Tree canopy was the dominant element in Shenzhen city, accounting for 55.6% over all ecosystem types, which includes agricultural and forest. However, in the urban ecosystem type, the proportion of tree canopy was only 22.6% because most trees were distributed in the forest ecosystem type. The proportion of trees was 23.2% in industrial zones, 2.2% higher than that in residential zones. That information “hidden” in the usual statistical summaries scaled to the entire administrative unit of Shenzhen has great potential for improving urban management. This paper has taken the theoretical understanding of urban spatial heterogeneity and used it to generate a classification scheme that exploits remotely sensed imagery, infrastructural data available at a municipal level, and object-based spatial analysis. For effective planning and management, the hierarchical levels of landscape classification (level 1), the analysis of use and cover by urban zones (level 2), and the fundamental elements of land cover (level 3), each exposes different respects relevant to city plans and management.

中文翻译：

---

整合结构和功能：绘制城市景观的分层空间异质性

城市是一种社会生态系统，其特征是时空异质性极高，与各种各样的城市问题密切相关。但是，缺少映射和量化这种异质性的工具。我们在这里通过考虑生态系统类型（第1级），城市功能区（第2级）和土地覆盖要素（第3级），制定了新的三级分类方案，以绘制地图并量化城市景观的分层空间异质性。我们使用基于对象的方法对该方案进行了分类，使用非常高分辨率的图像以及建筑物位置和特征的矢量层进行分类。通过按照生态系统类型，功能区和土地覆盖要素的顺序进行分类，我们使用了自上而下的分类程序。较低级别的分类基于较高级别的结果。我们使用了基于对象的方法来进行三级分类。我们发现，城市生态系统类型占深圳市行政区域内土地的45.3％。在城市生态系统类型中，居住区和工业区是主要区域，分别占38.4％和33.8％。树冠是深圳市的主要元素，占包括农业和森林在内的所有生态系统类型的55.6％。但是，在城市生态系统类型中，由于大多数树木分布在森林生态系统类型中，因此树冠的比例仅为22.6％。工业区的树木比例为23.2％，比住宅区的树木比例高2.2％。在通常的统计摘要中，“隐藏”到深圳整个行政单位的信息具有改善城市管理的巨大潜力。本文采用了对城市空间异质性的理论理解，并用其生成了一个分类方案，该方案利用了遥感图像，市政一级的基础设施数据以及基于对象的空间分析。为了进行有效的规划和管理，对景观分类进行分级（第1级），对城市区域的使用和覆盖进行分析（第2级），对土地覆盖的基本要素（第3级）分别暴露与城市相关的不同方面计划和管理。本文采用了对城市空间异质性的理论理解，并用其生成了一个分类方案，该方案利用了遥感图像，市政一级的基础设施数据以及基于对象的空间分析。为了进行有效的规划和管理，对景观分类进行分级（第1级），对城市区域的使用和覆盖进行分析（第2级），对土地覆盖的基本要素（第3级）分别暴露与城市相关的不同方面计划和管理。本文采用了对城市空间异质性的理论理解，并用其生成了一个分类方案，该方案利用了遥感图像，市政一级的基础设施数据以及基于对象的空间分析。为了进行有效的规划和管理，对景观分类进行分级（第1级），对城市区域的使用和覆盖进行分析（第2级），对土地覆盖的基本要素（第3级）分别暴露与城市相关的不同方面计划和管理。