Impacts of virtual amenities on residential relocation and decentralization of megacity: An empirical study in wuhan, China

Abstract

Clarifying the impact of urban virtual amenities (VAs) based on online and offline services on residents and urban spaces is important in the context of mobile internet access. However, the measurement of VA usage and its association with urban space have limited its theoretical development. This study identifies relocation directions through changes in residential locations and measures the four types of VA usage via mobile app data. An ordered logistic regression model is constructed to measure the correlation between VA usage and residential locations. The results show a significant association between VA usage and residential location. Residents who use VA-shopping are inclined to live outside the central region, while the opposite is true for residents who use VA-life and VA-public service. Because the users and usage intensity of VA-shopping are greater than those of other services, we summarize the VAs that drive outward relocation and urban decentralization because virtual amenities liberate the constraints on residential mobility imposed by the proximity of functional urban amenities. The findings are informative for understanding urban spaces under mobile ICTs and conducting behavior research on virtual-real interactions.