Analyze Chinese Urban Network Through Air Connections:Network Structure And Evolving Feature

Globalization has deeply changed the spatial pattern of urban interaction at global scale in the information age. Both theories and methodologies of urban geography have offered various explanations on such changing pattern under the concept of urban system, urban hierarchy and urban network. Generally, the notion of urban system often simply refers to a set of cities within a particular spatial scale. Urban hierarchy and urban network can be considered as two different ways of how urban system is spatially organized. Cities are vertically connected in urban hierarchy and are both vertically and horizontally connected in urban network. A review of recent literatures reveals a predicted shift from urban hierarchy paradigm to urban network paradigm. Adapted from Castells’s theory of space flow, more scholars start to consider cities as nodes in global networks of various flows of people, commodity and information. A network flow model has been built to examine relationships between cities based on these different flows.The spatial evolution of the Chinese urban network is accompanied by rapid urbanization and globalization since the start of the opening and reform era in 1978. A more complicated Chinese urban network still remains under-examined in both theory and empirical studies. Air connection offers a notable aspect to reveal the changing connections between Chinese cities since air transportation is a basic carrier for urban interaction. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on the spatial evolution of the Chinese urban network under the background of globalization and urbanization and proposes that network structures, such as revealed by air connections, provides an appropriate explanation on three key questions. Firstly, what is the formation mechanism of Chinese urban network driving by globalization, urbanization and marketization? Secondly, what is the structure of current Chinese urban network and how does it evolve? Thirdly, what is the relation between network connectivity and regional development?In order to answer the questions above, this dissertation conducts a study from both theoretical and empirical perspectives based on the simultaneous role of network paradigm. In theory, this dissertation explores the relevance of air connections and urban network, as well as the impact of globalization and urbanization on spatial pattern of Chinese urban network. And then, this dissertation proposes a new explanatory framework for the spatial organization of Chinese cities. In empirical study, this dissertation starts from the distinction of two major features of urban network, namely fluidity and nodality. By analyzing the fluidity of Chinese urban network from scales of national, transnational and global, this dissertation reveals the structure and evolving feature of Chinese urban network. By proposing a case study of Airport Economic zone at Zhengzhou (ZAEZ), this dissertation also provides an additional explanation on the nodality of Chinese network by coupling global production network and aerotropolis development.This dissertation consists of three parts, including 8 chapters in total. The first part is composed of the first three chapters, which aims to propose an analytic framework by reviewing previous literatures. The second part is composed of the following three chapters, which aims to reveal the structure and evolving feature of Chinese urban network through the perspective of air connections. The third part is composed of chapter 7, which examines the relations between network connectivity and regional development.Chapter 1 is the introduction. Mainly introduces the research background, objectives, theory and practice meaning, and the analytic framework of the dissertation. In addition, the methodology and dataset are introduced as well.Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 are the literature review and theory discussion. Firstly, this dissertation goes back to the origin of urban network and clarifies difference between such similar concept of urban rank size rule, urban hierarchy and urban network and summarizes the current study on urban networks. Secondly, this dissertation demonstrates the relevance of air connections and urban network. Thirdly, this dissertation proposes a triangle model to explain how Chinese cities are connected in a network under the background of globalization, urbanization and marketization.Chapter 4,5 and 6 analyze the changing structure of national, transnational and global urban network using the methodology of social network analysis. Firstly, this dissertation examines the connectivity of top Chinese cities in global urban network and finds that Beijing and Shanghai are the newly emerging cities in global urban network by playing the role of bridges connecting China and outside world. Secondly, this dissertation adopts the idea of 2-mode network from social network analysis and proposes an analytical framework of Chinese transnational urban network. The results show that the growth of transnational connections has experienced a rapid growth rate between 2002 and 2007. Most of the transnational connections of Chinese cities are concentrated in the large cities of coastal area. Western Cities has achieved higher positions in the transnational urban network. Thirdly, this dissertation analyzes the structure of Chinese national urban network using the measurement of centrality and subgroups. The results show that a rapid increase of network density appears. With increasing connectivity, the four national centers (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu) appear as a diamond structure that forms the basic spatial framework of the Chinese urban network in 2012.Chapter 7 examines the relations between network nodality and regional development using the case of Zhengzhou. Firstly, this dissertation demonstrates the connection between global production network, air connections and regional development and proposes a composite network model. Secondly, this dissertation conducts specific analysis on the newly emerging aerotropolis of Zhengzhou and finds that leading transnational company Foxconn and local government have played an important role in this progress. Thirdly, based on the summarize of Zhengzhou case, this dissertation proposes a triple coupling model for regional development including the local coupling between globalization and urbanization, the strategic coupling between transnational company and local government, the spatial coupling of aerotropolis development.Chapter 8 is the conclusion and prospect. Here this dissertation concludes the theoretical achievements and main findings from the empirical study. Furthermore, due to the limit of dataset, some work need to be done in future. Therefore, in the last part of the dissertation, this dissertation discusses some relevant issues and the direction in which further study will be carried on.