Urbanisation Induced Landscape Change of Urban Hills in Jinan City, Karst Geological Region of North China

Rapid economic development has induced urbanisation in China, especially in most of China's karst geological mountain regions. Jinan City belongs to the karst geological mountain region of north China and is well known for its fractured karst springs. The spatial pattern of its land use has been profoundly transformed by rapid urbanisation, and the urban hills are facing changes in the city. Although the urban area of Jinan City keeps enlarging and the dwelling conditions are increasingly improving, the destruction of Jinan's urban hills occurs owing to the mass construction of the market housing and excessive real estate investment in the karst mountainous region within the city, thereby resulting in the degradation of the urban mountainous environment and threatening the settlement safety of Jinan's residents.