Socioeconomic factors: Significant negative relationships
between the probability of urban expansion and the distance to
socioeconomic centers (the city center or the county center) and
the distance to roads were found in this study, suggesting that the
closer an area is to the socioeconomic centers and roads, the higher
its likelihood of urban development. These results were consistent
with previous findings (Dubovyk et al., 2011; Luo & Wei, 2009;
Poelmans & Van Rompaey, 2009). This finding may be due to
locations closer to the socioeconomic centers offering more
opportunities to access socioeconomic resources (e.g., employment,
urban infrastructure).