Xiaoma Li

Research Interests

Our world is now undergoing rapid urbanization, which has significant ecological and environmental consequences. Understanding the spatial pattern, drivers, and environmental impacts of urban growth is of great importance. My past work focused on mapping urban growth in Beijing based on multi-sources remote sensing images and identifying the related driving factors using logistical regression.

Currently, horizontal urban expansion is well understood and successfully simulated by many kinds of urban growth models. However, few studies focus on vertical urban expansion and no model has been built to simulate three-dimensional urban expansion. I am building an urban growth model to simulate vertical and horizontal urban expansion, forecast global three-dimensional urban expansion to 2050, and study environmental and ecological impacts of urban expansion under different scenarios.  

Education