Urban expansion is one of the major causes of many ecological and environmental problems in urban
areas and the surrounding regions. Understanding the process of urban expansion and its driving factors
is crucial for urban growth planning and management to mitigate the adverse impacts of such growth.
Previous studies have primarily been conducted from a static point of view by examining the process of
urban expansion for only one or two time periods. Few studies have investigated the temporal dynamics
of the effects of the driving factors in urban expansion. Using Beijing as a case study, this research aims to
fill this gap. Urban expansion from 1972 to 2010 was detected from multi-temporal remote sensing
images for four time periods.