Analysis Of Urban Spatial Network Structure In Northwestern China Based On Social Network

Since the implementation of the western development strategy,the economy of the five provinces in northwestern China has developed rapidly.However,due to the differences in geographical location,natural resources,culture and customs,etc.the regional development gap among the five provinces is gradually widening,which further leads to the huge differences in the external competition and factor attraction in various regions.The “One Belt and One Road” strategy was put forward to open the door of northwestern China to the outside world.The five northwestern provinces are important regions for the “One Belt and One Road” strategy,and many cities in these provinces are important nodes along the “One Belt and One Road”.The development of these cities and their spatial connection are not only critical to the development of the northwest region,but also play key roles in promoting the construction of the “One Belt and One Road” and strengthening China's external relations.Based on the relevant theories of geography,we selected 41 prefecture-level cities(autonomous prefectures)in the northwestern China as the research object,and analyzed the spatial connection intensity of these cities by using the method of social network analysis: Firstly,the evaluation index system of city comprehensive quality level has been constructed.And the Principal Component Analysis was applied to calculating the city's comprehensive development quality level;secondly,according to different transportation modes and the city's comprehensive development quality level,the traditional Gravitational Model can be revised,and then the intensity matrix of urban spatial connection can be constructed;lastly,based on the intensity matrix of urban spatial connection,the Social Network Analysis was used to explore the intensity of urban spatial connection in the five northwestern provinces.The primary conclusions are as follows:(1)The city's comprehensive development quality level in five provinces in northwest China is significantly different.Xi'an has the highest level of comprehensive development quality,while Guoluo has the lowest level.Among the five provinces in northwestern China,the comprehensive development quality level of provincial capitals and some cities in Shaanxi province is relatively high,while that of many autonomous prefectures in Qinghai province is relatively low.(2)The intensity of urban spatial connection calculated by the revised Gravitational Model revealed that: There is a slight directional difference in the intensity of urban spatial connection in northwestern China.And there is a big gap in the total intensity of urban spatial connection.Cities with higher intensity of urban spatial connection are Xi'an,Xianyang,Jiuquan,Jiayuguan,Weinan,Xining,Haidong,Lanzhou,Tongchuan,and Baoji.The intensity of inter-provincial city connection was weaker than that of intra-provincial city connection.The intensity of intra-provincial city connection from strong to weak is Shaanxi,Gansu,Ningxia,Xinjiang and Qinghai.And the inter-provincial city connection is characterized by spatial gradient proximity.(3)Urban spatial connection network based on the Social Network Analysis indicated that: The overall external radiation capacity of northwestern China is equal to the external attraction capacity.The intensity of the external radiation capacity and the external attraction capacity from strong to weak is Shaanxi,Gansu,Ningxia,Qinghai and Xinjiang.Regional city connections rely on a few “media cities”,such as Jiayuguan and Haidong.The overall urban network density in northwestern China is relatively low and the urban network structure exhibits “sparse in the west and dense in the east”.The urban network density of each province is higher than that of the whole northwestern region.And the urban network density of five provinces from strong to weak is Ningxia,Shaanxi,Xinjiang,Gansu and Qinghai.The urban network system in northwestern China can be divided into 8 tertiary subgroups and 4secondary subgroups,which can form the Shaanxi-Longnan urban subgroups,Ningxia urban subgroups,Lan-Bai-Xi urban subgroups and Xinjiang-Longxi urban subgroups.(4)The formation and development of urban spatial connection in northwest China results from the interaction of terrain factors,river factors,traffic infrastructure factors and administrative constraints.In the early stage of development of regional urban space network,natural environment factors play a dominant role.With the development of urban space network,social development factors play an increasingly obvious role.(5)Recommends to solve the problems in the urban connection network:Strengthening the spatial connection between cities and improving the advantages of the urban network system;improving the infrastructure network system and promoting regional accessibility;building a regional coordination and cooperation mechanism and strengthening regional control;strengthening the core functions of the central city and fostering new growth poles for regional development;constructing the spatial connection form of multi-form cities and promoting the interconnected development of urban agglomerations and urban belts;improving the importance in allocating resources between market and government and optimizing the industrial structure.