4. Comparative Analysis on Land Use Distributions and Their Changes in Asian Mega Cities

Distribution of land use and its chronological changes are the mirrors that directly reflect the present situation and changes in the natural and socioeconomic environments in the region concerned, and they serve as indexes to measure the effects of people’s activities on the ground. As such, analysis of land use is the basis for academic fields that approach the relationship between human activities and nature from a spatial perspective, such as geography. The purpose of this study is to establish the versatile method to create land use mesh data from topographic maps including old-edition maps of various countries, and to comparatively analyze spatial characteristics of land use distribution in respective cities in respective periods, and their chronological changes. As a result, I was able to analyze and interpret the land use distribution patterns and changes in the past century in seven cities in Asia. The method of this study is considered to be versatile for preparing the same standard land use maps, targeting a relatively wide range, such as metropolitan areas, and using overseas maps and old-edition maps.