An urbanization monitoring data set for world heritage sites in the Belt and Road region

World heritage refers to the properties globally recognized as having outstanding universal value. The urbanization process has changed the land cover and use, transportation, landscape and environment in cities, and thus posed either direct or indirect threats to heritage sites. Based on three global Earth Observation data sets including Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL), global population grid products (Worldpop) and the global night-time light images (DMSP/OLS), an urbanization intensity index (UII) was developed to dynamically monitor the urbanization process in the vicinity of world heritage sites. Large UII values represent high urbanization levels and intense human activities in the study area, and vice versa. The assessment results showed that the mean value of UII at 79 world cultural heritage sites in the Belt and Road region increased from 0.26 in 2000 to 0.29 in 2015.

世界遗产（World Heritage）是指在全球范围内被认可具有突出普遍价值的遗产地。城市化进程改变了城市的土地覆盖与土地利用格局、交通系统、景观风貌与生态环境，由此对遗产地构成直接或间接威胁。本研究基于全球人居图层（Global Human Settlement Layer, GHSL）、全球人口网格产品（Worldpop）以及全球夜间灯光影像（DMSP/OLS）三类地球观测数据集，构建了城市化强度指数（UII），用于动态监测世界遗产地周边区域的城市化进程。该指数数值越高，代表研究区域的城市化水平越高、人类活动强度越大，反之亦然。评估结果显示，一带一路区域内79处世界文化遗产地的城市化强度指数均值从2000年的0.26提升至2015年的0.29。