Understanding the pattern and mechanism of spatial concentration of urban land use, population and economic activities : a case study in Wuhan, China

Abstract

Quantifying the aggregation patterns of urban population, economic activities, and land use are essential for understanding compact development, but little is known about the difference among the distribution characteristics and how the built environment influences urban aggregation. In this study, five elements are collected in Wuhan, China, namely population density, floor area ratio, business POIs, road network and built-up area as the representative of urban population, economic activities and land use. An inverse S-shape function is employed to fit the elements’ macro distribution. An aggregation degree index is proposed to measure the aggregation level of urban elements. The kernel density estimation is used to identify the aggregation patterns. The spatial regression model is used to identify the built environment factors influencing the spatial distribution of urban elements. Results indicates that all urban elements decay outward from the city center in an inverse S-shape manner. The business Point-of-Interest (POI) density and population density are highly aggregated; floor area ratio and road density are moderately aggregated, whereas the built-up density is poorly aggregated. Three types of spatial aggregation patterns are identified: a point-shaped pattern, an axial pattern and a planar pattern. The spatial regression modeling shows that the built environment is associated with the distribution of the urban population, economic activities and land use. Destination accessibility factors, transit accessibility factors and land use diversity factors shape the distribution of the business POI density, floor area ratio and road density. Design factors are positively associated with population density, floor area ratio and built-up density. Future planning should consider the varying spatial concentration of urban population, economic activities and land use as well as their relationships with built environment attributes. Results of this study will provide a systematic understanding of aggregation of urban land use, population, and economic activities in megacities as well as some suggestions for planning and compact development.