Urban Development Patterns Research Articles

Evolution of urban morphological polycentricity and the thermal response in Wuhan from 2000 to 2020

The emergence of urban polycentric development patterns in response to the pressure of rapid urbanization can profoundly affect the urban heat island (UHI) effect. However, little research has been conducted on this issue at a high spatio-temporal resolution level. To investigate the evolution of urban polycentricity and the accompanying changes in the urban thermal environment, data for 2000 to 2020 from Wuhan in China obtained by multiple sensors were used to extract the urban morphological centers each year and generate annual summer mean land surface temperature (LST) with a 30 m resolution. Results show that the number and size of urban morphological centers in Wuhan increased significantly, from five centers covering 29.75 km2 in 2000 to 15 centers covering 171.72 km2 in 2020. The annual average growth rate was rapid (0.152 km2/a) from 2000 to 2012, then slowed down (0.026 km2/a). The location of newly emerged urban centers aligned with Wuhan's urban development planning. Meanwhile, the urban thermal environment also changed considerably. The summer mean LST have risen by around 1 K, whereas the area of high LST centers fluctuated in the recent two decades. The evolution of urban morphological centers and high LST centers was not always synchronized, with changes in the former showed hysteresis behind the latter, and overlapping areas between the two reaching the maximum at an interval of about nine years. These findings will further our understanding of the urban polycentricity, as well as the evolution of the urban thermal environment in this context.

Optimization and Simulation of Mountain City Land Use Based on MOP-PLUS Model: A Case Study of Caijia Cluster, Chongqing

Mountainous cities face various land use challenges, including complex topography, low land use efficiency, and the insufficient control of land use in small-scale areas at the urban fringe. Considering population changes, environmental conservation, and urban planning, this study first established three scenarios: economic priority (Econ. Prior.), ecological priority (Ecol. Prior.), and balanced development (BD), and then used the Multi-Objective Planning (MOP) model to calculate the optimal land use structure. Finally, it carried out land use spatial layout optimization based on the Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model in 2035, Caijia Cluster, Chongqing, China. This approach, known as MOP-PLUS modeling, aimed to optimize land use. Meanwhile, the applicability of the PLUS model in simulating land use changes was discussed in small-scale mountainous areas. The results show the following: (1) The “quantity + space” approach in the MOP-PLUS model demonstrated the feasibility of the PLUS model in simulating land use change in small-scale mountainous areas. The overall accuracy (OA) of land use change simulation reached 81.60%, with a Kappa value of 0.73 and a Figure of Merit (FoM) coefficient of 0.263. (2) Land use optimization: Under the Econ. Prior. scenario, economic benefits peaked at 4.06 × 1010 CNY. Urban expansion was the largest, leading to increased patch fragmentation. The Ecol. Prior. scenario yielded the highest ecological benefits, reaching 7.46 × 107 CNY. The urban development pattern exhibited inward contraction, accompanied by urban retrogression. In the BD scenario, economic benefits totaled 3.89 × 1010 CNY, and ecological benefits amounted to 7.16 × 107 CNY. Construction land tended to concentrate spatially, leading to relatively optimal land use efficiency. Therefore, based on a comprehensive consideration of the regional land use constraint policies and spatial layout, we believe that a balance point for land use demands can be found in the BD scenario. It can ensure economic growth without compromising the ecological environment.

The detection of residential developments in urban areas: Exploring the potentials of deep-learning algorithms

A rich volume of research has detected urban growth by quantifying the land use/land cover (LU/LC) changes based on remote sensing technologies. However, the research has limitations in identifying various formats of urban growth, particularly small-scale urban growth, such as infill development or redevelopment in urban areas, prompted by smart growth and sustainable urban development. This paper aims to design a framework for the accurate detection of residential infill development in the City of Los Angeles by employing a deep-learning method that has been increasingly applied to analyze phenomena in cities. In order to do so, this paper develops six models that reflect the variations of image classification methods, deep-learning algorithms, and estimation types. The results from the models emphasize the potential of the deep-learning models for the detection of micro-urban growth at a city scale. However, there is room for the improvement of estimation accuracy in the cases that detect some new developments and replacements as not developed parcels. The findings suggest that the performance of the models depends primarily on the articulations of the training dataset rather than the types of deep-learning algorithms. Findings from the models provide the city with insights into land use and transportation planning decision-making based on a better understanding of the spatial distribution patterns of urban growth and development.

High land surface temperatures (LSTs) disproportionately affect vulnerable socioeconomic groups in Barranquilla, Colombia

Temperatures in urban areas usually exhibit distinct spatial patterns and disproportionately affect lower-income communities as they are frequently located in warmer neighborhoods. Our study focuses on the urban area of the metropolitan area of Barranquilla on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. We examined heat disparities at the block level and used, 2018 census data to test whether population groups with high socioeconomic vulnerability were also exposed to higher land surface temperatures (LST). Specifically, we defined populations with high and low socioeconomic vulnerability based on their socioeconomic level, educational attainment, age, population density and percentage of migrant population. We tested whether those groups had differences in LST and other temperature-related variables, including NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index), NDBI (normalized difference built-up index) and distance to water. Finally, we generated a heat risk map based on socioeconomic vulnerability and heat exposure. Our results showed that high and low-vulnerability groups had significant differences in LST and distance to water compared to marginal differences in NDVI and NDBI. Spatially, due to historical urban development patterns, areas at higher heat risk were found to the south of the study region, where there is a combination of low socioeconomic level, higher population density and high LST.

Simulating the effect of urban sprawl on air quality and outdoor human thermal comfort in a cold city, Erzurum, Turkey.

Research on climate-sensitive urban planning is important to improve the quality of city life. Cold climate cities should respect climatic characteristics to diversify outdoor uses and increase air quality to maximize the benefits of winter. This study is aimed to explore the impact of changing urban pattern on air pollution and outdoor human thermal comfort conditions (HTCCs) in a newly developed urban area in Şükrüpaşa neighbourhood, Erzurum, among the coldest cities in Turkey, with high PM10 and low HTCCs levels. Sensitivity of urban development pattern to climate conditions and its suitability to eliminate the winter disturbances caused by HTCCs and air pollution were investigated by producing maps for HTCCs and air pollution using morphological, meteorological and spatial data and ENVI-met model in winter period of 2017 and 2022. It was found that newly developed areas increase the unfavourable conditions in terms of air quality, temperature and HTCCs due to the reasons like improper land uses, urban sprawl, high urban density and ventilation problems. In high-elevated cold cities, spatial planning and design principles should strictly be followed by incorporating climate knowledge and without revising the spatial decisions.

An Integrated Analysis of the Urban Form of Residential Areas in Romania

Romanian cities are facing two opposing patterns of urban development that are common worldwide: a significant number of small cities are undergoing a process of shrinkage, while large cities are experiencing dense urban sprawl. This study examines the framework of the current legislation and urban codes that impact the growth of Romanian cities. The aim is to establish a critical analysis of the current urban codes of residential areas in Romania and to create a framework for an integrated neighbourhood tool of analysis for Romanian residential areas, using urban form as a starting point. This direction starts from the fact that international documents such as the “New Leipzig Charter” recommend a resilient and environmentally friendly approach to urban development, while current Romanian normative documents on resilience and sustainability focus mostly on buildings, ignoring a broader vision that includes the urban scale of the neighbourhood or city while considering the multidisciplinary requirement for understanding urban morphology and phenomena. Existing urban legislation in Romania is characterised by several deficiencies resulting from the fragmentation of outdated regulatory bodies in the field of urban planning. Furthermore, this study has demonstrated that urban indicators can serve as a versatile tool for the assessment and enhancement of residential areas in the country.

Global evidence of rapid urban growth in flood zones since 1985.

Disaster losses are increasing and evidence is mounting that climate change is driving up the probability of extreme natural shocks1-3. Yet it has alsoproved politically expedient to invoke climate change as an exogenous force that supposedly places disasters beyond the influence of local and national authorities4,5. However, locally determined patterns of urbanization and spatial development are key factors to the exposure and vulnerability of people to climatic shocks6. Using high-resolution annual data, this study shows that, since 1985, human settlements around the world-from villages to megacities-have expanded continuously and rapidly into present-day flood zones. In many regions, growth in the most hazardous flood zones is outpacing growth in non-exposed zones by a large margin, particularly in East Asia, where high-hazard settlements have expanded 60% faster than flood-safe settlements. These results provide systematic evidence of a divergence in the exposure of countries to flood hazards. Instead of adapting their exposure, many countries continue to actively amplify their exposure to increasingly frequent climatic shocks.

Vegetation Analysis and Silvicultural Suggestions for Mitigating Fire Danger and Protecting Nature the Case of a Natura 2000 Site in Southern Greece

Purpose: The development of a methodological approach for the estimation of the wildfire danger in a protected area, located near a big city, based on the dominant factors contributing to a fire-prone environment and affect fire behavior. Theoretical framework: Vegetation management in protected areas characterized by sprawling of adjacent urban and suburban development patterns, is a complicated task, especially under Mediterranean climate due to the high vulnerability to wildfires. They should aim, among others, to mitigate forest-fire occurrence risk, eliminate the wildfire damages as well as to protect humans, and conserve the high biodiversity of the protected areas. Method: We generated a forest fire occurrence danger zone map based on: i) historical fire data ii) types of vegetation and forest ecosystem characteristics, iii) topographical characteristics, iv) distance from the settlements, and v) distance from the roads. A probability model equation for forest fire occurrence was produced. Wildland-Urban Interface mapping was also considered. Results and conclusion: Four categories of forest fire occurrence danger zones, ranging from very high to low, were classified. The zones with high and very high fire occurrence danger cover a low percentage of the study area (6.84% and 5.76%, respectively). In the very high fire danger zones, Pinus halepensis forest and evergreen sclerophyllous vegetation, prevail. A great part of the Wildland-Urban Interface WUI belongs to the zones of high and very high fire occurrence danger. Research implications: Several silvicultural and policy measures for creating fire-resilient ecosystems and mitigating the possibility of a wildfire occurrence and damages, are suggested. Originality/value: The determined site-specific vegetation management and policy measures are of great importance for land management in similar areas.

Global urban high-resolution land-use mapping: From benchmarks to multi-megacity applications

Timely and reliable land-use maps are of great importance in urban planning and environmental monitoring. With the rich spatial structure information, very high resolution (VHR) imagery is an important data source for identifying complex urban land use. However, the existing scene datasets and land-use mapping products based on VHR images have the following three problems: 1) accurate geographic boundaries of urban land parcels are lacking; 2) the category systems are inconsistent with the definitions in urban land use; and 3) it is difficult to achieve efficient and fully automated mapping in multiple cities. To tackle these problems, the GlobalUrbanNet-based automatic multi-city mapping and analysis (GAMMA) framework is proposed in this article. The GAMMA framework is made up of the GlobalUrbanNet (GUN) dataset, the multi-city fully automatic urban land-use mapping (AutoULUM) method, and the analysis of urban development patterns. Specifically, the large-scale 42-category fine-grained VHR urban land-use dataset—the GUN dataset—was constructed to deal with the above global urban land-use mapping problems, which contains 1,846,151 samples and 42 land-use categories covering six continents. The GUN dataset samples with land-use semantics and parcel boundaries were generated automatically based on the open-source area of interest (AOI) data from OpenStreetMap (OSM). In addition, the AutoULUM method is proposed to automate the process of OSM road network rectification and land parcel generation. On this basis, efficient and complete multi-city land-use maps can be produced using the GUN-pretrained scene classification models. To establish a benchmark for urban land-use classification, the representative urban land-use classification methods were evaluated on the GUN dataset. For further application, eight megacities from six continents were selected for automatic land-use mapping and analysis, i.e., Shanghai, Wuhan, and Chengdu in Asia, Helsinki in Europe, Nairobi in Africa, New York in North America, Rio de Janeiro in South America, and Sydney in Oceania. The results show that the models trained on the proposed GUN dataset have good generalizability in global urban areas, the AutoULUM method achieves efficient and fully automatic land-use mapping, and the GAMMA framework will help boost the coordinated development of multiple cities around the world.

The financialization of “the urban” in the post-socialist Serbia: Evidence from the Belgrade Waterfront megaproject

ABSTRACT As a leading mechanism of the global neoliberal paradigm, financialization plays a significant role in the growth of economies and changes in urban development patterns. Though particularly significant for post-socialist European countries, research on urban financialization considering both economic (rental income, property sales, interest rates) and noneconomic aspects (social dynamics, social and legal norms, financialized discourses) is yet to emerge in Serbia. Observing the period after the 2008 global economic and financial crisis, and based on multiple analyses (statistical, documentary and discourse), this paper first provides an overview of different global and national financial indicators, then elucidates the impact of market financing on the built environment at the national level, and, finally, illustrates the financialization of urban planning policies and discourses exemplified in the Belgrade Waterfront urban megaproject. The empirical analysis provides not only an insight into a strong structural and dynamic conditionality between various dimensions of financialization, but also highlights the nuances in decision-making, planning and governance influenced by the financialized discourses.

The problem of urban villages in urban planning: historical legacy and future development--Based on a comparative study of the old urban areas of Beijing and Hong Kong

This paper presents a comparative study of two different urban development models and urban planning concepts between the Mainland and the Special Administrative Region, based on an analysis of the historical process of urbanisation in Beijing and Hong Kong. This paper presents a multidimensional observation of the urban village problem in each of the two cities from four perspectives: land use, economic development, urban governance and urban culture. The finding shows that there are significant differences in the urban development patterns and urban planning philosophies of the two cities, Beijing and Hong Kong, influenced by different historical legacy factors, which have caused different manifestations and solutions of the urban village problem in the two cities. The purpose of this paper is to draw historical lessons from the analysis of the historical process and to provide a pathway solution for urban planning in other regions and for the solution of the urban village problem. This paper presents a comprehensive study on the issue of "urban villages" in two distinctive Chinese cities at the same level of development under the "one country, two systems" policy. The aim is to identify and analyze the social and demographic problems on the basis of an accurate picture of the urban development process, and to provide scientific strategies and suggestions for urban planning and management.

Measuring the Urban Sprawl of a Mega-Urban Agglomeration Area Based on Multi-Dimensions with a Mechanical Equilibrium Model: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta, China

In the context of rapid urbanization, inefficient, disorderly, and low-density urban sprawl often leads to resource waste and ecological damage. Over the decades, many studies on the measurement, analysis, and governance of urban sprawl have emerged. However, existing approaches lack in-depth research on distinguishing effective expansion from inefficient sprawl. Given the limit of land use resources and the demand for urban development, an accurate and reasonable method for urban sprawl measurement is needed. This study proposes an urban sprawl identification method based on a mechanical equilibrium model to analyze the spatial distribution and spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of inefficient sprawl, using the Yangtze River Delta’s (YRD) urban agglomeration as an example. The study found the following: (1) The inefficient sprawl in the YRD was 5219, 1189, and 980 km2 in the three five-year periods between 2005 and 2020. (2) From 2005 to 2020, the inefficient sprawl in the YRD was, on the whole, a weakening trend, but Shanghai and Zhoushan showed an accelerating trend of inefficient sprawl. (3) The proposed method is applicable to most urban development patterns and provides implications for urban sprawl control in mega-urban agglomeration areas, such as the YRD.

The impacts of TOD on sustainability based on the livability prism model

The universal issue for authorities is to plan land use more effectively and efficiently, and to provide more sustainable mobility in urban areas. The sustainable prism model is proposed to achieve the requirements for sustainable development. Transit-oriented Development (TOD) is a city planning method that coordinates the mass transit system and the land use pattern. This article analyzes the sustainable prism and discusses the effect of TOD on sustainabilities in ecology, economy and equality to provide the city planner insight into the urban development pattern. Generally, TOD can reduce the energy consumption in the transport sector and related infrastructure, contribute to the air quality from the environmental aspect, facilitate employment and attract investment in the economic aspect and improve discrepancy in employment availability and transport burden among different groups from the social equality aspect. However, the noise pollution in the environment, the value capture effect in the economic aspect and the TOD efficiency in the social justice aspect are insufficiently discussed.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY MILIEU: A CASE STUDY OF FAISALABAD CITY, PAKISTAN

This research aimed to analyze the spatiotemporal changes in urban development pattern and to discuss the spatial urban pattern in the context of sustainability. For this purpose, geospatial techniques were used to analyze the spatial urban development pattern of study area. The existing development pattern in Faisalabad city is linear sprawl at outer edges of the city along major roads and infill development pattern in the center of the city that has been observed very closely in this research and results also revealed this pattern is likely to sustainable. However, the major finding reflects that Faisalabad city is experiencing phenomenal physical development pattern rather than pre- planned development pattern. So, there is an urgent need of urban lens to facilitate such delineations. The broader purpose of this research work was to conceptualize the urban sustainability for better development and planning of Faisalabad city.

Quantifying night-time light change drivers in China’s Yangtze River economic zone

ABSTRACT Nighttime light (NTL) is a valuable data source for understanding urban sprawl and human activities. Radiometric quantification of NTL data can be used to explain the reasons for changes in NTL. We used average annual NTL data from 2013 to 2020 to investigate the magnitude and distribution of NTL change in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) in China. We found that NTL increased annually, with 93.06% of the area experiencing brightening. The annual NTL in 2020 was 2.42 times higher than that in 2013, and the NTL in the densely populated eastern provinces was 16.17 times higher than that in the west. Therefore, the east-west development of the research area is extremely uneven. Urbanization is often accompanied by dramatic NTL brightening, and the area of cropland being brightened is the largest of all landuse types. Urban development inevitably encroaches on cropland space. To address this issue, future policies should focus on sustainable regional development, for example encouraging urban densification development patterns. This will help to avoid the negative impact of urban expansion on the entire ecosystem.

Does polycentric spatial structure narrow the urban-rural income gap? – Evidence from six urban clusters in China

As urbanization and economic development continue to accelerate, social equity issues are becoming increasingly prominent and the urban–rural income gap is an important manifestation of this. This study uses the data of urban clusters from 2010 to 2019 and focuses on the relationship between the polycentric spatial structure of urban clusters and the urban–rural income gap. The findings show that the development of urban cluster polycentricity can reduce the urban–rural income gap, and the higher the degree of polycentricity in morphology, the smaller the gap. However, the relationship between polycentric spatial structure and the urban–rural income gap is “U” shaped, indicating the need for rational planning of urban polycentric development patterns rather than simple expansion. In addition, the polycentric spatial structure of urban clusters can reduce regional disparities by promoting factor mobility and industrial structure optimization. However, this depends on the level of industrial development and infrastructure. This study highlights the importance of a balanced approach to urban development that takes into account regional disparities and issues of social equity.

Effects of open space configurations and development patterns on future urban wildlife habitats and populations

The viability of wildlife populations in cities is strongly associated to the qualities of urban open spaces and development patterns. Open space systems can serve as armatures to address adverse effects of urbanization on biodiversity. Landscape planners and designers use spatial concepts to translate principles of landscape ecology into working diagrams of land use and land cover to anticipate ecological effects. This paper investigates the consequences of adopting different open space spatial concepts (corridors, patches, and network) in combination with development patterns (compact and dispersed), simulated in eight alternative future scenarios with computer model Envision. Two approaches were used to quantify the effects of the different spatial concepts and urban patterns on Red-legged frog (RLF), Western meadowlark (WML), and Douglas squirrel (DSQ) habitats and populations in an area of urban expansion. First, the amount of habitats was assessed for the initial landscape (ca. 2010) and for the eight future scenarios (year 2060). Second, using the Individual-Based Model (IBM) HexSim, populations of the three species were quantified. All scenarios had increased sums of habitat area, but results showed that differences in open space spatial concepts played a greater role in determining population sizes and were more influential than different development patterns. Network scenarios presented more habitats and the largest populations of RLF. Park and network scenarios showed the most habitats and populations for the WML. No open space and greenway scenarios did not have enough habitats for the WML, but presented the best results for the DSQ. Populations in compact development scenarios showed a small advantage over most dispersed development scenarios. However, in park and network scenarios, dispersed development showed a large influence in the increase of WML population. The study shows that the adopted framework is useful to predict the consequences of landscape plans on wildlife species populations, evaluate trade-offs, and inform planning decisions.

Nighttime light data‐based analysis of spatiotemporal patterns evolution and driving forces of economic development in China at prefecture level (1992–2020)

AbstractIntercity lighting data are an important resource for studying spatial and temporal patterns in regional urban development as an indicator of the intensity of urban social and economic activity. Understanding the evolutionary characteristics of the spatial pattern of regional economic development can support decision‐making in regional economic coordination and sustainable development strategies. Based on a long time series of nighttime lighting data from 1992 to 2020, this study used the Theil index, Markoff transfer matrix, spatial autocorrelation, and spatial regression to analyze spatiotemporal evolutionary characteristics and drivers of urban economic development in China. The study found that from 1992 to 2020, China's economic development hot spots have been concentrated in highly developed urban agglomerations namely the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, Shandong Peninsula, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta. Cold spots were mainly concentrated in the central‐west and southwest of the country. The economic growth rate shows an opposite spatial pattern, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the national coordinated development strategy for regions. The Theil index for urban economic development in China shows an overall downward trend, and the overall economic disparity is mainly due to the relatively low economic development of Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu, and other western provinces. Therefore, regional economic development remains significantly uneven. In China, the economic type of cities is relatively stable, and the probability of leapfrogging types is low; however, the level of cities with high resource dependence or a single economic structure easily downgrades. The level of economic development and the related socioeconomic factors of neighboring cities influence an obvious spatial spillover effect in the development of urban economies in China. The pattern of China's urban economic development is mainly affected by innovation capacity, financial support, capital investment, transportation infrastructure, and industrial structure.

Multi-Dimensional Evaluation of Land Comprehensive Carrying Capacity Based on a Normal Cloud Model and Its Interactions: A Case Study of Liaoning Province

Studying land comprehensive carrying capacity (LCCC) is the foundational and key requirement for determining land development planning and urban spatial development patterns of a region. However, the traditional evaluation method discounts the fuzziness and randomness of the evaluation index and its results. The cloud model combines randomness and fuzziness to reveal the correlation between randomness and fuzziness using numerical feature entropy and is used to represent the granularity of a qualitative concept. This study used the Liaoning Province as the study area, and developed a multi-dimensional evaluation index system for LCCC using a normal cloud model. Based on this, the relationship between the different elements of geological condition, resources and environment, economic scale and urban construction were studied using the coupling coordination degree model that reflected not only the system interactions but also the strengths of its degree of coordination. Our results were as follows: (1) numerical feature entropy were evaluated to determine the carrying capacity level of the land, and comprehensive land carrying capacity evaluations were conducted in terms of both quantitative results and the reliability of the results, promoting the scientific application of uncertainty theory in the field of comprehensive land evaluation as well as carrying capacity. (2) Liaoning Province’s prefecture-level cities had distinctly different LCCC, demonstrating “low in the west and high in the east” spatial distribution characteristics. Cities with established economies and relatively strong infrastructures had larger comprehensive land carrying capacities. Overall, there was considerable consistency across the region, though the “low in the west and high in the east” spatial distribution characteristics affected the degree of coordination.

The Influence of Enterprise Investment Behavior on the Cyberspace Connection of Coastal Cities: Empirical Evidence from China

In the era of globalization and informatization, urban development patterns need to be generated with the network structure between cities taken into account. The urban network constructed based on enterprise connections has recently garnered substantial research interest. However, most of the research efforts have been channeled toward constructing urban networks via the relationship between headquarters and branches within enterprises, with little attention paid to urban networks through the lens of financial connections between enterprises. In this study, the cross-regional investment data of enterprises are used to establish an urban network, revealing its spatial distribution and evolutionary dynamics. The main conclusions are as follows. First, corporate investment behavior somewhat fuels the structure and direction of the urban network. The correlation degree of the network is significantly enhanced, and the network relationship has an apparent economic focus, resource focus, and path dependence characteristics. Spatial connections show the dual characteristics of large-scale preferential connections (outside the region) and small- and medium-scale adjacent connections (inside the region). Second, from 2006 to 2016, cross-regional investment was further concentrated in core cities and hotspot cities, and the flow of funds between regions also changed from being within-region to primarily being inter-regional. However, the dominant role of traditional core cities or hotspot cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Ningbo are apparent, resulting in a network structure in line with a core–periphery model. Finally, compared with other dimensions of urban networks, in addition to the effective play of the investment function of the core cities or the hotspot cities, some small- and medium-sized cities with rich resources also play an important connecting role in the network. These research results provide a decision-making basis for urban spatial structure, functional integration, and collaborative planning; furthermore, they promote the research on urban networks based on actual economic activities among enterprises.