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Measuring polycentric urban development : the importance of accurately determining the ‘balance’ between ‘centers’

Authors :
Weiyang Zhang
Ben Derudder
Freke Caset
Kang Wu
Xingjian Liu
Mingshu Wang
Department of Geo-information Processing
UT-I-ITC-STAMP
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
Source :
CITIES, Cities, 111:103009. Elsevier
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

In recent years, much research has been devoted to developing appropriate analytical frameworks to capture polycentric urban development (PUD). In a recent contribution to this journal, Bartosiewicz and Marcinczak (2020) present what is arguably the most comprehensive, comparative review to date of the degree to which different analytical frameworks produce consistent results. The purpose of this research note is to show why we believe parts of Bartosiewicz and Marcinczak's (2020) findings need nuance and qualification. Our starting point is that a useful comparison between different studies and measurement frameworks needs to consider the relevance of consistency in several key dimensions, two of which are particularly pertinent here: (1) the careful specification of what constitutes a ‘center’ in a polycentric urban system, and (2) the identification of the ‘balance’ between centers as a measure of the degree of polycentricity. Two brief empirical analyses of the degree of morphological polycentricity in Polish NUTS-3 areas and the Chinese city-regions along the ‘Yangtze Economic Belt’ are included. Finally, suggestions are provided to facilitate future comparative analyses of PUD.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
02642751 and 18736084
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
CITIES, Cities, 111:103009. Elsevier
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....c9d3d5012668502b8d2312295645b8b1