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

摘要

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.