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China’s regional transport dominance: Density, proximity, and accessibility

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Abstract

Transport infrastructure plays an important role in shaping the configuration of spatial socio-economic structures and influences regional accessibility. This paper defines transport dominance from three aspects: quality, quantity, and advantage, measured by density, proximity, and accessibility indices. County is the basic unit for analysis. The results reveal: (1) Transport dominance statistically follows a partial normal distribution. A very few counties, 1.4% of the total, have extremely high transport dominance which strongly supports the socio-economic development in these areas. In contrast, one eighth of all counties have poor transport dominance which impedes local socio-economic development to some extent. The remaining areas, about 70% of the counties, have median transport dominance. (2) Transport dominance is spatially unevenly distributed, with values decreasing gradually from the coastal area to the inland area. Areas in the first-highest level of transport dominance are mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, the Greater Beijing area, and the Pearl River Delta. Areas in the second-highest level are focused in Chengdu, Chongqing, and Wuhan metropolitan areas. Provincial capitals and a few other counties belong to the third-highest level.

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Correspondence to Fengjun Jin.

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Foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.40635026; 40701045; Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.KZCX2-YW-Q10-4

Author: Jin Fengjun (1961–), Professor, specialized in regional planning and studies.

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Jin, F., Wang, C., Li, X. et al. China’s regional transport dominance: Density, proximity, and accessibility. J. Geogr. Sci. 20, 295–309 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-010-0295-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-010-0295-6

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