Abstract
Modern cities form city networks through complex social ties. City network research is widely applied to guide regional planning, infrastructure construction, and resource allocation. China put forward the Yellow River Basin Development Strategy in 2019, but no research has been conducted on regional social connections among cities. Based on the gravity model modified by two-way “time distance” between cities, this is the first study to empirically examine the intensity and structure of the entire city network in the Yellow River basin using the social network analysis method and ArcGIS software. The connection rules of the cross-city transfer of city officials in the basin are also investigated to illustrate the official ties between cities. The results suggest that the intensity of two-way connections between cities is generally low in the Yellow River basin and there is a positive correlation between city network development level and regional economic development level. The development gap between cities on the north and south banks is larger than that between the east and west regions, and some cities in the middle and upper reaches of the river are marginalized in the network. The status of the central cities in the Yellow River basin is distinct, but their connecting and leading abilities are not strong, showing an inverted T-shaped spatial distribution. The subgroups of city networks have strong internal connections, while the connection among subgroups is weak and the development shows a partitioned and fragmented pattern, making it difficult to form linkages among the upper, middle, and lower reaches. The “beaded chain” spatial development strategy can be adopted in the river basin planning, giving priority to strengthening the links within subgroups of cities and among adjacent subgroups, building central city chains, and reinforcing the overall basin management.
Highlights
Modern metropolises and towns of different sizes have formed “macro-” social networks with various complex ties in politics, economy, and culture and have become a special field of social network research [1, 2]. e main research contents of the analysis and graph mining of city networks include identifying the connection among cities, measuring the intensity of city network connections, and depicting the forms of city networks [3]
Analysis of the Strength of Two-Way Economic Connection between Cities in the Yellow River Basin. e intensity of the two-way economic connection between cities in the Yellow River basin is calculated by modifying gravity model formulas (1) and (2), and a diagram of two-way connection intensity is plotted using ArcGIS 10.2 software, as shown in Figures 3 and 4
A F1/F2 greater than 1 is mainly seen in the four capital cities, namely, Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Jinan, and Taiyuan, indicating that the connection of these four cities with other cities is significantly stronger than the connection of other cities with these four cities, which reflects the characteristics of central cities
Summary
Modern metropolises and towns of different sizes have formed “macro-” social networks with various complex ties in politics, economy, and culture and have become a special field of social network research [1, 2]. e main research contents of the analysis and graph mining of city networks include identifying the connection among cities, measuring the intensity of city network connections, and depicting the forms of city networks [3]. It is an effective method to reveal regional economic patterns, population distribution, and land development intensity and has been widely used in regional, spatial, and industrial planning, infrastructure construction layout, and other fields [4]. According to the China Statistical Yearbook, from 1978 to 2019, China’s urbanization rate increased from 17.9% to 60.6%, the number of cities increased from 193 to 672, the urban population increased from 170 million to 840 million, and the urban construction land area increased from 6,720 square kilometers to 56,075.9 square kilometers. Driven by infrastructure construction such as highways, railways, and civil aviation systems, connection among cities has been continuously strengthened, forming many complex city networks [5]. Research on city networks in river basins is a topic of significant current interest
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