Back to Search
Start Over
Urban networks among Chinese cities along 'the Belt and Road': A case of web search activity in cyberspace
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 12, p e0188868 (2017)
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2017.
-
Abstract
- “The Belt and Road” initiative has been expected to facilitate interactions among numerous city centers. This initiative would generate a number of centers, both economic and political, which would facilitate greater interaction. To explore how information flows are merged and the specific opportunities that may be offered, Chinese cities along “the Belt and Road” are selected for a case study. Furthermore, urban networks in cyberspace have been characterized by their infrastructure orientation, which implies that there is a relative dearth of studies focusing on the investigation of urban hierarchies by capturing information flows between Chinese cities along “the Belt and Road”. This paper employs Baidu, the main web search engine in China, to examine urban hierarchies. The results show that urban networks become more balanced, shifting from a polycentric to a homogenized pattern. Furthermore, cities in networks tend to have both a hierarchical system and a spatial concentration primarily in regions such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta region. Urban hierarchy based on web search activity does not follow the existing hierarchical system based on geospatial and economic development in all cases. Moreover, urban networks, under the framework of “the Belt and Road”, show several significant corridors and more opportunities for more cities, particularly western cities. Furthermore, factors that may influence web search activity are explored. The results show that web search activity is significantly influenced by the economic gap, geographical proximity and administrative rank of the city.
- Subjects :
- Computer and Information Sciences
China
Economics
0211 other engineering and technologies
0507 social and economic geography
Social Sciences
lcsh:Medicine
Transportation
02 engineering and technology
Economic Geography
Civil Engineering
Development Economics
Microeconomics
Humans
Urban Ecology
Computer Networks
Cities
lcsh:Science
Geographic Areas
Internet
Multidisciplinary
Ecology
Geography
Information Dissemination
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
lcsh:R
05 social sciences
Biology and Life Sciences
Correction
021107 urban & regional planning
Transportation Infrastructure
Roads
Urban Economics
Earth Sciences
Engineering and Technology
Feasibility Studies
lcsh:Q
Economic Development
050703 geography
Research Article
Urban Areas
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 12
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLOS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c0ede546611369d2d4d865ddc1bc27ae