Change Of Urban Hinterland Base On Highway Network Accessibility

With the rapid development of urbanization process in China, the competition for space between cities is increasingly fiercely, the study of urban hinterland has drawn more and more attention. An exact and reasonable space scope of the urban hinterland zone is the key that ensuring the reasonable conformity of the cities’functions. It is also the foundation of various researches on the urban system. Therefore, research on the urban hinterland and its changes are always the main problem discussed in academia. The close and direct extent of economic elements contact between regional urban and the surrounding area mainly depend on the transitivity, convenience and accessibility of regional highway network. The rapid development of highway network has a gradually important impact on the spatial structure of urban system, making the cities attractiveness and the scope of radiation on the surrounding area are undergoing profound changes. Therefore, the research on urban hinterland can not be separated from the highway network accessibility.As one of the fastest growing areas in China, Yangtze River Delta region has given high priority on the highway network planning and urban planning. The region has formed a relatively complete network-like highway network. Under the continued expansion of the highway network, the spatial structure of urban system and urban hinterland of Yangtze River Delta region have been undergoing continuous change.This paper combed urban hinterland and related theories and achievements at home and abroad. By constructing index system of measuring urban-scale, using the principal component analysis method, the comprehensive scale value of the25prefecture-level and above cities in Yangtze River Delta in2000and2010is calculated. Then, Yangtze River Delta region is divided into195758grids, the scale of which is lkm×1km, with the support of ArcGIS software. And measure the urban hinterland of the Yangtze River Delta region in2000and2010in accordance with the potential model. Then compare the urban hinterland characteristics and the scope of change in different periods. Next by comparing their area with the municipal boundaries, the visualization of measuring and analyses the city hinterland is implemented. Finally, the urban transport, economic development and social factors of production are combined to analysis the influencing factors of urban hinterland changing, and summarize the law of its development and changing.This article follows a number of conclusions through the analysis of urban hinterland and its changes in the Yangtze River Delta region:First, the comprehensive scale of Shanghai’s urban has always been ranked first during2000and2010, but its absolute advantage in2010declined. Comprehensive level of development in Jangsu Province is better than in Zhejiang Province during the10-year process of economic development. Yangtze River Delta regional development structure is gradually reasonable, but the development is still very uneven, the gap between cities is very large. Second, the hinterland area of Shanghai urban is the largest and has a larger proportion in the Yangtze River Delta during2000and2010. The hinterland area between cities are quite different in the Yangtze River Delta, but2010compared to2000, the differences tend to balance. The city hinterland development is along the development direction of road network, especially the highway network. Cities hinterland area is not entirely proportional to the city’s comprehensive scale. Big cities would capture the surrounding hinterland of the medium and small cities, the distance between the small cities and large cities also affect the size of the city hinterland. Third, in Yangtze River Delta region, the hinterland change of Cities can be divided into dilated, conservative type, and contraction type from2000to2010. The scope of the urban hinterland is mainly affected by the urban economy and social factors, and is constrained by a number of factors such as transport accessibility, district area and natural conditions. The hinterland change of cities is a dynamic and complex process, and during the process, the influence in change is larger by transport accessibility and economic development level.To discuss the characteristics and variation of the urban hinterland in the Yangtze River Delta region based on highway network accessibility, this paper mainly consists of six parts:The first chapter, it discusses research background and meaning, purpose, content and programs. The second chapter combed the research progress of urban hinterland and related theories and achievements at home and abroad. The third chapter sort out urban hinterland and related theories, summary and analyze the methods of the urban hinterland division and select the method used in this article. The fourth chapter, establish the index system and use principal component analysis method to measure the city’s comprehensive scale, then measure the cities hinterland of the Yangtze River Delta region in2000and2010in accordance with the potential model under the support of ArcGIS technology. The fifth chapter, summary the urban hinterland of characteristics and variation in accordance with the dividing result in the cities hinterland of Yangtze River Delta region in2000and2010. And analyze the factors affecting the urban hinterland of Yangtze River Delta region combined with urban transport, economic development and social factors of production. The sixth chapter is the conclusion of this paper and special considerations based on the results of analysis.