Research on Urban Spatial Connection and Network Structure of Urban Agglomeration in Yangtze River Delta—Based on the Perspective of Information Flow

Qiaowen Lin,Sheng Ye,Hongmei Shao,Jinjiang Yao,Mengyu Xiang,Lu Zhang,Chao Wei

doi:10.3390/ijerph181910288

Abstract

Exploration of urban spatial connections and network structures of urban agglomeration in the Yangtze River Delta, as well as its influencing factors, is of great significance regarding optimization of the development pattern of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and promotion of regional high-quality development. Therefore, based on Baidu index data in 2015 and 2019, this paper first analyzes the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of information-flow connections in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. Then it uses social network analysis to explore the information-flow network structure in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, and finally explores the influencing factors of information-flow intensity in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The total amount of information flow in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration has had no obvious change, and the coverage of information flow in the central urban circle has expanded. (2) The network hierarchy presents a relatively stable “pyramid” distribution pattern, which tends to develop into a “spindle” pattern. (3) The overall network density of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is high and is increasing. The backbone network is a “triangle” structure. The central cities in the region are stable, and the subgroups are adjacent to each other geographically. (4) Gross Domestic Product, resident population of the region and the number of Internet broadband subscribers all have important effects on the total information flow, among which the number of Internet broadband subscribers has the greatest effect on the total information flow. In addition, urban functions and their positioning, urban events, history and culture, and other factors that are difficult to quantify also have a certain impact on the information-flow network among cities.

Highlights

IntroductionThis article is an open access article
This article is an open access articleWith the accelerated development of transportation and information, globalization and informatization have become the trend of social development
The reason is that during 2015–2016, a major event in some cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration led to abnormally high total flow values, such as the major stampede in Shanghai in 31 December 2014

Summary

Introduction

This article is an open access article. With the accelerated development of transportation and information, globalization and informatization have become the trend of social development. Geographical conditions have gradually reduced restrictions on regional exchanges. Capital and technology flows have been accelerated and countries are interconnected and interdependent in terms of economy, politics and trade, forming an organic whole on a global scale [1]. Under this distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons.

Methods

Results

Conclusion