A Functional Zoning Visualization System for Sustainable Development in China
中国可持续发展功能分区可视化系统研制

Functional zoning information for sustainable development with multidimensional spatio-temporal characters is the basis of regional planning and management. The adoption of geo-visualization technology to reveal underlying trends of sustainable development functional zoning along spatial and temporal gradients is also necessary. Based on visualization technology, component GIS and a spatial database engine we developed a system for sustainable development functional zoning visualization(SDFZV) that includes layers based on data source, meta-data, software components and functional modules. The data source layer integrated spatial data and socioeconomic data organized with the spatial database engine SuperMap SDX+. The meta-data layer was composed of a meta-data repository and meta-data engine. Meta-data were stored in the meta-data repository using uniform rules and standard formats. The meta-data engine encapsulated all meta-data repository operations and this ensured all components of the system had uniform access to meta-data with stable security. Software components were higher level abstractions than objects in object-oriented concepts. Software components were re-useable ingredients, which combined all kinds of objects. The SDFZV system made use of Microsoft.NET technology and SuperMap Objects as GIS platforms..NET wrapped COM components contained in SuperMap Objects into Windows Forms, which made it easily integrated with other components in.NET. The functional modules layer was composed of query, display and analysis, graph-visualization and geo-visualization modules. The query module had many search functions and spatial analysis abilities to find useful information spatially. The display and analysis module shows query results to users in table format and provides filtering, statistical analysis and indicator calculation functions. The graph-visualization module had seven types of charts and multiple settings to control the appearance of the graph. The geo-visualization module gave users four types of thematic maps including range maps, symbol maps, dot density maps, and graph maps. Integration with fundamental geographic data at the scale of 1:1 000 000, socioeconomic data at the county level and the functional zoning system of China, meant that we were able to construct the SDFZV system for China. This system can display functional zoning information, bi-directionally query between maps and attributes, analyze query results, and construct graphs and thematic maps for functional division results. Based on the SDFZV system for China presented here, policy makers, researchers and the public can better obtain and use functional zoning results.