Abstract
This paper discusses the relationship between the polycentric spatial structure and jobs-housing matching and its influencing factors in the urbanized area of Hangzhou City in China. First, 42 employment centers are identified while using the method of the threshold value of employment density and employment to residence ratio based on the places of employment and residence that were identified from cellphone signaling data. This study found that Hangzhou have remarkable features of a polycentric system. Second, we use the jobs-housing matching rate index to measure the jobs-housing matching characteristics of employment centers. We found that the polycentric structure does not guarantee jobs-housing matching of all centers, although nearly half of the employment centers had good jobs-housing matching and 14.29% do not achieve jobs-housing matching, which indicates the uncertainty of “co-location hypothesis” in China. Employment centers of different levels, industry types, and locations also display certain regularity in their jobs-housing matching level. Third, by using correlation analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis, we found that, besides the polycentric factor, the spatial and industrial factors also exert a certain effect on jobs-housing matching, reasonable control of the employment center size, employment to resident ratio, and industrial diversity are the determinants that affect the jobs-housing matching level.
Highlights
Since the late 1980s, the ideas of ‘employment subcenters’ and ‘polycentricity’, as represented by retail corridors, high-tech industrial clusters, high-density office space, etc. as shown by Giuliano et al [1], have appeared in large cities in North America, such as Los Angeles [2,3,4], San Francisco [5], Chicago [6], Atlanta [7], and Montreal [8]
This study examines the effect of sustainable urban spatial structure on jobs-housing matching from three aspects
From the location quotient (LQ) analysis of employment centers, the study showed that Hangzhou has significant characteristics of polycentric economic agglomeration: most of the employment centers’ functions are comprehensive services and manufacturing, and the suburban agglomeration is different from most of North America; the Hangzhou traditional city center still has strong economic agglomeration capacity, while the latter is opposite
Summary
Since the late 1980s, the ideas of ‘employment subcenters’ and ‘polycentricity’, as represented by retail corridors, high-tech industrial clusters, high-density office space, etc. as shown by Giuliano et al [1], have appeared in large cities in North America, such as Los Angeles [2,3,4], San Francisco [5], Chicago [6], Atlanta [7], and Montreal [8]. Polycentricity as phenomenon and as a planning tool are two different meanings, it is not clear why there is a consequential relationship between the two, but several studies have concluded that it is difficult to identify empirical evidence to support the positive claims made in policy makers asked [16]. Urban and regional planning scholars tend to believe that the jobs-housing mismatch is a key factor that explains urban congestion and increased commuting time, and have recommended that the government adopt policies to improve the relationship between employment and housing in job centers and increase the mobility of polycentric cities. The hypothesis that the evolution of a polycentric spatial structure in large cities could provide more employment opportunities and achieve better spatial matching has not been sufficiently supported by empirical research
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