Abstract
Wharves, which play a vital role in ensuring and promoting social progress and national economic development, are important in water transportation. At present, studies on related fields mainly focus on ports. A robust research system has been formed through the continuous development of port geography from the perspective of space. However, the number of relevant studies on wharves is limited. This study explores the spatial distribution characteristics of wharves in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration by using spatial analysis methods, such as nearest neighbor index, multi-distance spatial clustering, kernel density estimation, and standard deviation ellipse. Moreover, it evaluates the allocation level of wharves from different scales by constructing an index system based on the location data of 1264 wharves in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration. Results show that the spatial pattern of wharves exhibits evident aggregation and regional differences. The spatial distribution of wharves is characterized by a “band” structure, which is densely distributed along the Yangtze River and the eastern coast. The allocation level of wharves presents evident agglomeration at different scales. The relationship between the spatial wharf pattern and the economy shows that high gross domestic product and total imports and exports correspond to a considerable number of wharves.
Highlights
Ports consist of water and land facilities, including port waterways, breakwaters, terminals and ancillary facilities
The results show that the GDP and the total imports and exports are positively correlated with the number of wharves, which is similar to the results of the Pearson correlation coefficient
This study utilizes the geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis method and index system construction to analyze the spatial pattern of wharves in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration
Summary
Ports consist of water and land facilities, including port waterways, breakwaters, terminals and ancillary facilities. The main function of ports is to provide logistics services for cargo transportation. Based on this fact, wharves are the most important part of a port, playing a vital role in water transportation. Wharves are the most important part of a port, playing a vital role in water transportation These structures are constructed to enable ships or ferries to berth on the seashore and riverside, to provide access for passengers, and for cargo to load and unload. Since the 13th Five-Year Plan, China has strengthened the construction of urban infrastructure, including wharves. By the end of 2017, 6209 and 12,120 berths for major ports and wharves along the coast and the inland river had been constructed, respectively.
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