The Spatial Pattern of Urban Settlement in China from the 1980s to 2010
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is a good piece of work on detecting settlement pattern changes.
The second section presents a workflow for the paper rather than a conceptual framework. I suggest the second should focus on the conceptualisation. It is important to provide theorisations of the urban development index system via a literature review of international scholarship, which will shed light on the fourth section. The fourth part must be built on a critical literature review. So again, it is better to improve the second part. Then the story in the fourth section will look different. Another minor issue is that more explanations are required for some indicators. You may provide definitions in Table 1. Or it will be difficult for some readers to capture the real meaning of some indicators. For example, what does the mean patch size mean? It could be better to provide references for different indicators in the table. The conclusion is a summary of the paper. However, its critical power could be strengthened if it could be linked to wider policy implications. Another minor issue is the resolution of the maps. It is difficult to read the patterns in the two maps. Why not choosing a higher resolution when exporting the maps? There are several typos and minor grammar errors throughout the paper. Please double-check the language.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 1，
Please see our response to your comments in the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
This manuscript needs serious overhaul. Let´s begin with the title: A method for describing… Where is the method? Figure 1 shows a “conceptual framework”, but it can only be applied in China. If you have a novel method, you need to portray it in a generalizable way that allows other researchers to apply it elsewhere. If there is no general model, maybe it´s just better to publish it in a local journal.
What is novel about this method? What other methods exist? How is this one different? This needs to be discussed in detail.
The abstract needs considerable English editing. The grammar issues affect comprehensibility. The sentence on lines 17-18 has no verb, followed by a comma splice on line 18. On line 20, “mainly” is an adverb that does not fit the noun “force”. It should be substituted for “main”, an adjective. There is another comma splice on line 22. The rest of the manuscript has English language issues, which need to be revised by a language editor.
The abstract also purports that there is causality of population and economic capacity on the evolution of land settlement patterns, which is not adequately proved in the manuscript.
The introduction is too short and does not fit the manuscript in a line of research. Line 28, an index must have a formula; "the development of…" is not an index.
Km2 should be written with superscript throughout the manuscript.
The results are not discussed at all. There is no reference to other studies after line 198 (although there is an incorrect citation to Bemirmen (1972) on line 229. The “discussion” beginning on line 354 is really a monologue, with not a single reference. Research results need to be discussed in the light of previous published studies. Line 392 mentions that studies exist, but are not referenced.
The conclusions do not mention how the results are useful for understanding China, nor how can they inform policy. There is no recommendation for further research.
The research is at a stage where it is appropriate to present as a poster in academic conferences, where other researchers can take a look at your data and maybe suggest what is important in the results and novel in the method. Or maybe it can be published as a working paper, until the contribution of the work can be placed in a line of research.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 2，
Please see our response to your comments in the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
The authors present a timely and novel analysis of land use change in China's urban areas. Using landsat data, they demonstrate that patterns of urbanization dispersed throughout China and were driven by multiple factors such as economic change and industrialization.
The manuscript is clearly presented with articulated research questions, strong data analysis, and clear discussion of results and implications.
I recommend that the authors further contextualize the background and introductory review by situating the history and contemporary patterns of urbanization in China. They should review some of the key works in this field to contextualize for an intention audience.
Some key works include:
"Urban China" by Xuefei Ren
"The Globalizing Cities Reader 2nd Edition" by Xuefei Ren and Roger Keil
Upon revision, I recommend publication.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 3，
Please see our response to your comments in the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript is much better. The end is a bit abrupt. What do the authors recommend for policy and future research?
Minor text editing is necessary. For example:
Line 39, “21st”, not “21th”
Line 80, change understand to understanding
Line 327, remove “of”
Line 380: natural and socio-economic…
Line 434: Patterns?
Line 443: Unclear. “Assemble “ doesn’t´ seem to fit the sentence.
Comma splices on lines 42, 395 and 397.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 2,
Thank you very much for the time you invested to improve our manuscript again. Please see our response in the attached file.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
