Spatial effect of mineral resources exploitation on urbanization: A case study of Tarim River Basin, Xinjiang, China

Mineral resources exploitation significantly affects the spatial structure and evolutive trend of urbanization in arid areas. In this study, the spatial autocorrelation method and the spatial computation model were used to investigate the spatial impacts of mineral resources excavation and processing on comprehensive level of urbanization in the Tarim River Basin, Xinjiang, China for the years of 2000, 2006 and 2008. The results are as follows: 1) There was a spatial correlation of the development of mineral resources industry and the comprehensive level of urbanization in 2006 and 2008, with the spatial concentration trend rising significantly in 2006 and decreasing in 2008. 2) The patterns of local spatial concentration of mineral resources industry and of the comprehensive level of urbanization were relatively stable, and the two patterns showed signs of spatial correlationship. The higher was the degree of the concentration of mineral resources industry, the stronger was its impact on the spatial clustering of urbanization. 3) In 2000, mineral resources excavation and processing had a significant positive impact on the comprehensive level of urbanization in the region but not in its adjacent regions. However, in 2008, mineral resources excavation and processing significantly raised the comprehensive level of urbanization not only in the region but also in its neighboring regions. This research demonstrates that the development of mineral resources industry can strongly affect the trends and spatial patterns of urbanization.