Journals >Geographical Research
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2020
Volume: 39 Issue 5
15 Article(s)
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Yi LIU
Relational economic geography is one of the most influential schools of studies in economic geography. Many economic geographers of China have recognized and applied its key analytic framework, the alleged Global Production Network, whereas they have seldom tackled on the perspective of relational economic geography. BRelational economic geography is one of the most influential schools of studies in economic geography. Many economic geographers of China have recognized and applied its key analytic framework, the alleged Global Production Network, whereas they have seldom tackled on the perspective of relational economic geography. By identifying this theoretical gap, this paper critically reviews the origin, development, formation and recent refinement of the school of relational economic geography. It has three major conclusions. First, this paper affirms that relational economic geography has salient geographical nature, though it deals with relation, and has become a core strand of studies in the research of economic globalization, regional development and industrial upgrading. It has positively improved the relevance of economic geography in various disciplines such as development studies, international political economy and management. Second, the existing problems of relational economic geography rest in the complexity of the analytic framework and research variables which include a lot of factors, process and mechanisms. The typology of strategic coupling, the central explanatory variable, is mainly derived from empirical observation and lacks of theoretical deduction. In the meantime, studies in this school so far still heavily rely on qualitative approaches, such as case studies, after forty years of development. Third, this paper argues that theorizing back based on China's reform and opening-up in the past forty years via the perspective of relational economic geography is quite innovative and valuable. To this vein, a few Chinese geographers have made great attempts and got publications in various decent international journals. This paper offers a critique on two series of studies to elaborate how to make theoretical contribution to relational economic geography based on China's experiences. One is related to the concept of embeddedness and firm-state relationship in the transitional institutional environment in China. The other is the investigation of strategic coupling in major regional economies in China. All these studies have shown great potentials of using China's experiences to revise and advance the western-origin theories in economic geography. This paper would have salient implications for improving international relevance of the economic geography of China, as well as theoretical innovation based on China's experiences..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1005 (2020)
Wenying FU, and Jiarui YANG
Through the critical engagement with current literature on the geography of innovation, this paper proposes that this sub-discipline of human geography has been developing within the context of post-Fordist and neoliberal transformation of western society since the 1990s whereby international and inter-regional competiThrough the critical engagement with current literature on the geography of innovation, this paper proposes that this sub-discipline of human geography has been developing within the context of post-Fordist and neoliberal transformation of western society since the 1990s whereby international and inter-regional competition became the accepted development ideology and policy discourse. Thus, the endogenous nature of local and regional traits and their role in promoting innovativeness and development are highly emphasized in the face of place competition, whilst paying undue attention to exogenous dynamism in innovation processes. With the recent new technological progress, as well as the increasing needs of innovation to address grand societal challenges, however, it becomes more pressing to upscale process of innovation activities. Moreover, the exogenous processes have been playing a key role in China’s after-reform development, and the globalization and localization has become highly interdependent and dialectical against the context of gradual institutional reform. Therefore, this paper attempts to discuss the potentials of Chinese studies to advancing the field from three aspects. First, it analyses the specific institutional arrangements of innovation through its evolution from pre-reform to post-reform era, and summarizes how it is characterized as a state-led system with aggressive investment in innovative inputs. Secondly, the development of territorial innovation system in China has been analysed through the lens of inter-scalar processes. It is noted that we must highlight the interplay between scalar forces, as illustrated in modern and global innovation systems framework to address the challenges such as aging society, public health, and climate change. Last but not least, the Chinese innovation dynamics within the emerging context of worldwide economic restructuring has been envisaged. As China’s innovation organization has been centered around the rising notion of techno-nationalism, the geopolitical tensions and power struggle inexorably influences the innovation processes. In general, it advocates that the diverse geography, governmentality and exogenous-driven model of Chinese innovation system jointly define the significance of Chinese studies to reconceptualise modern innovation geography. Finally, it is suggested that contemporary worldview should incorporate China into the fundamental system of global capital circulation, so that the dialectical geographic process of multi-scalar and multi-processes nesting and feedback system of innovation could be reflected in depth..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1018 (2020)
Xiaohui HU, Shengjun ZHU, and HASSINK Robert
The restructuring of old industrial areas is one of the most important research topics in economic geography. In the macro context of the slowdown of globalization and the worldwide decrease of manufacturing production and demand, old industrial areas as typical problem regions have increasingly become a core target inThe restructuring of old industrial areas is one of the most important research topics in economic geography. In the macro context of the slowdown of globalization and the worldwide decrease of manufacturing production and demand, old industrial areas as typical problem regions have increasingly become a core target in national development strategies among many countries. Drawing upon an in-depth critical review of recent literature on the restructuring of old industrial areas in the past decade, this paper addresses the growing trend of variegated adoptions of paradigms in the research including four key approaches, namely, evolutionary economic geography, relational economic geography, institutional economic geography and geographical political economy. It also stresses that the gaps yet comparative merits in conceptual thinking, scale focus, tempo-spatial sensitivity and mechanism/process explanation among these paradigms have not generated enough intellectual interplays and complementation, but rather, have led to paradigmatic fragmentation and even repellence with each other. Despite the diversification in paradigmatic use for research, the increase of “fragmented” rather than “engaged pluralism” potentially hinders the explanatory power of existing theories and approaches in empirical research. In particular, we argue that evolutionary economic geography, arguably the most popular paradigm used in explaining and understanding the restructuring of old industrial areas, clearly suffers from a neglect of the role of multi-scalar and multi-actor agencies and a lack of multiple units of analysis in affecting the restructuring processes, mechanisms, outcomes and their geographies of old industrial areas. Given this, the paper integrates the multi-level perspective (MPL) in sustainability transition studies into the evolutionary economic geography approach. It builds up a multi-scalar analytical framework incorporating analyses of both downward and upward causation with different geographical scales, in which the interplay of micro-level change agency-based niche, meso-level regional path developmental regime and macro-level political-economic context landscape is positioned as the core for analyzing the restructuring of old industrial areas. This comprehensive multi-scalar framework is able to offer a better understanding of the restructuring of old industrial areas. Based on that, we further suggest several key orientations and agendas for future research on the topic..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1028 (2020)
Shengjun ZHU, Wenwan JIN, and Xiaohui HU
Chinese economic development has experienced a rapid transformation since 1978 due to the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy. Arguably the research of regional industry dynamics is at the core of economic geography. Traditional researches in economic geography tend to focus on individuals such as firms,Chinese economic development has experienced a rapid transformation since 1978 due to the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy. Arguably the research of regional industry dynamics is at the core of economic geography. Traditional researches in economic geography tend to focus on individuals such as firms, industries and regions, ignoring the relationship between them. Over the past few years, much progress has been made in researches on the relatedness of firms, while the relatedness of industries and regions is still not paid sufficient attentions. From the perspective of relatedness, this paper attempts to shed some light on the linkages of industries and regions, and explore their formation mechanisms. It puts forward that the translocal linkages and resource mobilization on different scales are sources of the relatedness of firms, industries and regions. In addition, this paper also sketches out how industrial relatedness and regional relatedness influences regional industrial dynamics. As for industrial relatedness, evolutionary economic geography (EEG) theories based on a network model named the "product space" have adopted a view that regional spillovers from related, yet not too proximate industries will endogenously induce new industries in a region through processes of recombinatorial innovation. The vast majority of empirical case studies have confirmed these theories. Regional industrial dynamics has thus far largely been conceptualized as an endogenous process, underplaying exogenously-driven forms of regional relatedness. Then, this paper provides a systematic conceptual analysis of the role regional relatedness may play for industrial dynamics in regions. Good connections between the regions improve matching on labour markets, speeding up knowledge flows and plausibly fostering learning which will contribute to the reciprocal industrial dynamics of geographically distant regions. Accordingly, this paper argues that future studies can further investigate the regional development from a relatedness perspective: (1) pay more attention to the industrial relatedness, such as its indirect links, link strengths and industrial relatedness dynamics; (2) enhance the understanding of the properties of regional relatedness and draw on network analysis approaches; (3) forge a link between industrial relatedness and regional relatedness. Emanated from different disciplines, the new perspective of relatedness in the study of regional industry dynamics provides a sound basis for understanding China's special development path and deserves the attention of economic geography scholars. Besides, there is rapidly expanding various data of relatedness which will make the perspective of relatedness more potential in the future..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1045 (2020)
Yuefang SI, Liuxia YAN, and Yi ZHANG
R&D internationalization refers to the behavior of multinational companies (MNCs) engaged in research and development abroad. R&D internationalization has become an increasingly important strategic choice for enterprises in emerging economies such as China to acquire advanced technological resources as well as R&D internationalization refers to the behavior of multinational companies (MNCs) engaged in research and development abroad. R&D internationalization has become an increasingly important strategic choice for enterprises in emerging economies such as China to acquire advanced technological resources as well as create and maintain competitive advantages in the global market. The R&D internationalization of Chinese MNCs serves two major political strategies of China as well: “full improvement of the open economy strategy” and “innovation-driven development strategy”. It is an essential frontier of geography research which should arouse more scholarly attentions. To improve the understanding of R&D internationalization of Chinese MNCs, this paper systematically reviews the definition, theoretical foundation, research themes, data and methods of literature about R&D internationalization of Chinese MNCs. With the rapid development of R&D internationalization activities operated by Chinese MNCs over the past decades, we find that the classical international business theories based on the practice of MNCs from developed countries could not fully explain the R&D internationalization behavior of Chinese MNCs, and the existing empirical studies in research perspectives, content, and methods have the following limitations: focusing on firm perspective, lack of regional perspective related to the R&D internationalization activities; focusing on R&D in developed economies, lack of empirical research on Chinese R&D in developing economies; focusing on analysis of existing firm database, and lack of targeted firm surveys. Economic geographers have traditionally examined the spatial location of economic activity, therefore, we argue that firstly the geographers should carry out multi-scalar research so as to comprehensively understand the interaction between firms’ internationalization and regional economy; secondly geographers should carry out case studies on R&D internationalization of Chinese MNCs in focal countries, in Belt and Road countries in particular, to promote the heterogeneity of Chinese R&D internationalization empirical studies and to unpack the impact of regional differences on the R&D internationalization behavior of Chinese MNCs; thirdly geographers should carry out multi-data and multi-method empirical studies, based on the traditional strength of field study in geography discipline. The multi-data and multi-method approach provides a good empirical basis for the theoretical framework, so as to fully understand the spatial distribution, process and mechanism of Chinese MNC’s R&D internationalization..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1056 (2020)
Weinan GU, Hui LIU, and Liang WANG
Scientific collaboration has become an important part of the people-to-people exchanges in the Belt and Road Initiative, and remarkable progress has been made since 2013. Taking the 65 countries in the Belt and Road regions, hereafter called the BRI countries, as the research areas and using the collaborated WOS core cScientific collaboration has become an important part of the people-to-people exchanges in the Belt and Road Initiative, and remarkable progress has been made since 2013. Taking the 65 countries in the Belt and Road regions, hereafter called the BRI countries, as the research areas and using the collaborated WOS core collection papers to construct the inter-national scientific collaboration matrix, the paper explores the multiple structure and formation mechanisms of the scientific collaboration network of BRI countries through the GIS spatial analysis, social network analysis and negative binomial regression. The results show that: (1) at the global scale, knowledge flow is becoming more and more frequent, and the degree of internal collaboration within BRI countries is not as close as that of collaboration with other countries in the world. All the sub-regions of BRI regions have the most external collaboration links with Europe outside BRI regions. The global scientific collaboration network based on the BRI countries has changed from a "tripod" framework of Europe, USA, China to the "polygon" framework of Europe, USA, China, Japan, Canada, Australia and other dense regions. (2) The spatial structure of the collaboration network within the BRI countries is transformed from the "dual-core" type (China and Central & Eastern Europe) to the "multipole" type (Central & Eastern Europe, Russia, China, Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, etc.). The hierarchical structure presents a typical "core-periphery" pattern, the core countries of which change from single core (China) to dual cores (China and India). In terms of control structure, the type has changed from one superpower (China) to multi great powers including China, India, Russia, Poland, Czech, Turkey, Malaysia and Iran, which presents a pattern of "high in the surroundings while low in the middle". (3) The main formation mechanisms of scientific collaboration network of BRI countries depend on scientific research ability, the level of economic development, the level of foreign linkage, and proximities such as geographical proximity, social proximity and language proximity. Among them, scientific research ability and social proximity play the most important role, while geographical distance gradually weakens the hindrance to scientific collaboration..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1070 (2020)
Wei WANG, and Fengjun JIN
Shipping enterprises are the organizers of container transportation. Their choice of routes and ports directly affects the construction of container network. In this paper, using the schedule data, 18 of the top 20 shipping enterprises are selected as the research objects to analyze the similarities and differences of Shipping enterprises are the organizers of container transportation. Their choice of routes and ports directly affects the construction of container network. In this paper, using the schedule data, 18 of the top 20 shipping enterprises are selected as the research objects to analyze the similarities and differences of their route network patterns, and to explore the influencing factors of their route configuration. We can find that, the route network of each enterprise has the characteristics of small world and scale-free, which means that it is controlled by a small number of highly connected hub ports. East Asia is the primary agglomeration area for each company’s schedule. Singapore, Shenzhen, Busan, Hong Kong and Shanghai occupy an important position in the route network of each company. And the enterprise route network shows a certain hub-and-spoke feature, which is a hybrid network where the hub-and-spoke connection and the point-to-point connection coexist. The differences of their networks are as follows: the market coverage and depth of each enterprise varies greatly, shipping giants such as Maersk and Mediterranean take both breadth and depth into account, CMA CGM and ZIM focus on market breadth, while Korea Marine Transport Company and Hamburg Sud tend to dig deep into the regional market; there are large differences in the spatial distribution of each company’s schedule, according to which, the shipping enterprises can be divided into four types, and as one of the types, Korea Marine Transport Company, Hamburg Sud, United Arab Shipping Company and Wan Hai Lines focus on specific regional market segments; the hub ports chosen by shipping enterprises are quite different, and some enterprises such as Korea Marine Transport Company and United Arab Shipping Company have their own hub ports that are not global hubs. The route configuration of shipping enterprises is affected by a variety of factors, such as source of goods of port hinterland, natural conditions and operation efficiency of ports, maritime protection policy, and enterprise scale and port investment. This study enriches the theory of transport geography, and reveals the route organization mode of shipping enterprises, which can provide guidance for the decision-making by port managers..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1088 (2020)
Xuepeng JI, Yaya SONG, Yanwei SUN, Danyang WANG, Hao MENG, Shengfeng LI, and Xianjin HUANG
Chemical industry plays an important role in the development of national economy and society, and imposes direct impacts on all other social and economic sectors. Meanwhile, due to chemical industry characteristics of both severe environmental pollution and high accident frequency, it also threatens the regional ecologChemical industry plays an important role in the development of national economy and society, and imposes direct impacts on all other social and economic sectors. Meanwhile, due to chemical industry characteristics of both severe environmental pollution and high accident frequency, it also threatens the regional ecological environment, human health and life safety. From the perspective of industrial park admission rate of chemical enterprises, and based on the chemical enterprises detailed data, we systematically analyzed and revealed the spatial-temporal patterns and its influencing factors of chemical industry in the Yangtze River Delta from 1998 to 2013 with the integration of mean center, standard deviation ellipse, kernel density and spatial autocorrelation. The results showed that chemical enterprises exhibited a generally growing trend in the study area from 1998 to 2013 with a continuing rising admission rate from 6.19% to 36.98%. Chemical enterprises distributed in the ‘northwest-southeast’ direction, and approximately showed the ‘first southeast, then northwest’ migration path. Compared to other chemical enterprises, chemical enterprises in industrial park had a higher dispersion trend and a larger migration range. And chemical enterprises in industrial park gradually evolved from spatial mismatch to spatial match with all chemical enterprises. Central agglomeration coexisted with the peripheral diffusion, and four major chemical agglomeration areas formed in the Yangtze River Delta, namely Taihu Lake agglomeration area, Hangzhou Bay agglomeration area, Yangtze River concentrated area, and coastal concentrated area. The regional spatial structure of chemical industry tended to be complicated, orderly and stable. Industrial park admission rate of chemical enterprises presented significantly positive spatial autocorrelation in 2003 and 2013, with a rising trend at municipal level. Hot spots gradually transferred from southeast Zhejiang to northwest Jiangsu, Anhui, while cold spots moved from north Anhui to southwest Zhejiang, which led to the symmetry reverse transformation of spatial patterns of chemical enterprises. But industrial park admission rate and spatial density distribution of chemical enterprises had always been in the imbalance and mismatch state. Combined with chemical industry characteristics and the Yangtze River Delta regional features, we qualitatively discussed the influencing factors of the spatial-temporal patterns of chemical industry in the Yangtze River Delta, especially to elucidate the mechanism of park industrializa-tion process of chemical industry..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1116 (2020)
Chunyang TONG, and Yang ZHOU
In response to the UN goal of sustainable development and poverty eradication in 2030, the Chinese government put forward and implemented the national strategy of targeted poverty alleviation in 2014. Scholars have carried out much research from the perspective of poverty factors, poverty types and spatial poverty trapIn response to the UN goal of sustainable development and poverty eradication in 2030, the Chinese government put forward and implemented the national strategy of targeted poverty alleviation in 2014. Scholars have carried out much research from the perspective of poverty factors, poverty types and spatial poverty traps, etc., but the empirical research and policy analysis of specific poverty alleviation measures have not been given enough attention. Based on the data samples of 6378 villages in China, this study analyzed the implementation and progress of the village based assistance measures in the targeted poverty alleviation work, identified the main factors affecting the effectiveness of the village based assistance with the measurement method, and measured the poverty reduction effect of the assistance work. The results show that the first secretary of the village assistance is mainly composed of male cadres sent by county-level units, with an average age of 42 years and education background mainly from universities. During the implementation of the work, the principle of adopting different village strategies according to the needs has been maintained. The specific assistance measures include the development of industry, the cultivation of labor force, the transformation of houses, and the hardening of roads. There are obvious regional differences in the implementation and achievements of these measures. Generally speaking, the poverty alleviation work in the western region is better than that in the central region. The empirical results of the econometric model show that the effect of the assistance work in the village is affected by multiple factors, and the personal characteristics of the first secretary, such as age, education background and work unit, has significant impact on poverty reduction. At the same time, the poverty alleviation measures taken by the task force have a far-reaching significance for improving the public infrastructure in poor areas. The research results will be helpful to provide theoretical basis and decision support for the smooth promotion of the effective connection between targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization in China..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1128 (2020)
Linna SHI, and Qi WEN
The 13th Five-Year Plan Period (2016-2020) is the final rush time for China’s poverty relief. At the present stage, our main task in developing socialism is to realise our first centenary goal: building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. Targeted poverty alleviation is a pillar of China’s new and The 13th Five-Year Plan Period (2016-2020) is the final rush time for China’s poverty relief. At the present stage, our main task in developing socialism is to realise our first centenary goal: building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. Targeted poverty alleviation is a pillar of China’s new and innovative anti-poverty and development strategy. It is the key to implementing the moderate prosperity program in an all-round way. Addressing relative poverty is a key focus of China's post-2020 poverty alleviation campaign. Currently, quantifying and verifying the policy implementation effect is helpful for optimising resource allocation, implementing differentiation support, and promoting the establishment of mechanisms to address relative poverty. This is important for the promotion of the targeted poverty alleviation strategy and the implementation of the rural revitalisation strategy. This study chooses Pengyang, a poverty-stricken county located on the Loess Plateau, as the study area. The study relied on the approach of Alkire and Foster to measure multidimensional poverty, and used PSM to analyse poverty reduction effects. The main conclusions were as follows: (1) The Pengyang county has achieved remarkable results in targeted poverty alleviation and multi-dimensional poverty reduction. The index number of multidimensional poverty, k, decreased by 51.66%. (2) The poverty reduction effects varied from different dimensions, which were (from high to low) life, assets, housing, income, education, and health dimensions. (3) Based on the poverty reduction effect, this paper analyses the poverty alleviation plight of Pengyang county and proposes further research on its optimisation strategy. These new strategies could enable the resolution of problems from the root, such as providing public goods and services that fill gaps in the current health care, housing options, and the operation of transport facilities at the village level. This could help mitigate welfare loss by farmers and reduce the negative impact on health, housing, education, and other dimensions of poverty. Finally, we put forward the corresponding suggestions on the establishment of the mechanism of relative poverty..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1139 (2020)
Zhiyu GAO, Xueyan ZHAO, Haixia LAN, and Yuzhong SHI
The main function of the key ecological functional area is to provide stable and sustainable ecological services. Farmers, as the basic unit to maintain the function and the main economic activity subject in the area, face multiple pressures such as natural pressure, social pressure and political pressure. The interactThe main function of the key ecological functional area is to provide stable and sustainable ecological services. Farmers, as the basic unit to maintain the function and the main economic activity subject in the area, face multiple pressures such as natural pressure, social pressure and political pressure. The interaction of pressure not only enhances the vulnerability of farmers’ livelihood, but also affects the main function of the area. Therefore, identifying the impact of multiple pressures on farmers’ livelihood will help to formulate effective mitigation measures for livelihood vulnerability. This paper takes the Yellow River Water Supply Area of Gannan as an example. Based on 549 household survey data and ordered logistic regression methods, we explored the key pressures of farmers and discussed the influence of living pressures’ interaction on livelihood capital availability. The results showed that: (1) Most farmers in the study area are under natural and economic pressures. The key protective region and restoration region are under the pressure of nature and economy, and the economic demonstration region is under the pressure of economy and society. (2) Under the multiple pressures, the social capital availability of farmers in the key protective region and restoration region is in a stable state, and the availability of other capital is decreasing. However, the financial capital availability and social capital availability of farmers in economic demonstration region are in a stable state, and the availability of other capital is decreasing. (3)The interactions of high marriage expenses and low prices of agricultural products, livestock diseases and shortage of drinking water, high tuition expenses for children and high marriage expenses as well as low prices of agriculture products and pension insecurity, high expenses for building houses and the ecological policy, and low employment rate for adult children and agricultural pests have the greatest impact on the availabilities of natural capital, physical capital, financial capital, social capital, and human capital, respectively..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1152 (2020)
Jinyue TANG, Weiyang ZHANG, and Yifei WANG
Population movement is the main carrier of inter-city factor flow and resource alloca-tion. It is also one of the main forms of regional network construction. As the Yangtze River Delta integration has become a national strategy, in order to promote inter-city population movement and regional integration, it is of greaPopulation movement is the main carrier of inter-city factor flow and resource alloca-tion. It is also one of the main forms of regional network construction. As the Yangtze River Delta integration has become a national strategy, in order to promote inter-city population movement and regional integration, it is of great importance to recognize the pattern of population movement and analyze the influencing factors. This study focuses on the inter-city daily mobility within 48 hours, one of the important components of population movement, based on the Weibo sign-in data. It analyzes the pattern of inter-city population movements in the Yangtze River Delta, applying the gravity model to test influencing factors, from perspectives of movement cost and city characteristics. The results indicate that: (1) population movements in the study area have multiple cores, and connections between cores and their hinterlands are relatively balanced. In addition, there are three communities in this region, and Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou belong to the same community. (2) Strong population movements occur within each province, and population movement systems of the three provinces are different. Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces have formed a relatively mature multi-level population mobility system, while the population mobility system in Anhui Province needs to be improved. (3) Movement cost and city characteristics complement the inter-city mobility model shaped by physical distances, and compared with movement cost, city characteristics have a greater impact on population movement. (4) Compared with the inter-province movement, population movements within each province are stronger, and are more likely to occur between cities with different cultures. The greater the differences between the two cities, regarding economic scale and administrative level, the stronger the population movements between them. Besides, differences in industrial structure will inhibit intercity mobility, while differences in education level can promote mobility. This paper expands the applications of the gravity model, analyzes inter-city daily movement mechanism, and provides references for understanding the process of the Yangtze River Delta integration, as well as optimizes policies from the perspective of daily population movement..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1166 (2020)
Jinping LIN, Jun LEI, Shixin WU, Zhen YANG, and Jiangang LI
The study of rural settlements is the core content of rural geography. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to explore the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of regional rural settlements. Based on the remote sensing interpretation data, the spatial pattern and influencing factors of ruralThe study of rural settlements is the core content of rural geography. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to explore the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of regional rural settlements. Based on the remote sensing interpretation data, the spatial pattern and influencing factors of rural settlements in Xinjiang oasis areas were analyzed by using the methods of spatial analysis and geographical detector technique. To reveal the rural settlement spatial influencing mechanism, and explore the rural settlement space reconstruction and optimization approaches, we selected Altay area, north slope of Tianshan Mountains area, Turpan Basin area and Kashgar area as sample areas for further analysis. The results show that: the oasis rural settlements in Xinjiang are small both in density and in scale, and are mainly concentrated in the distribution mode, characterized by a spatial distribution pattern of "dense plain, sparse mountain, no village desert", which presents two major density core belts of oasis on the north and south slopes of Tianshan Mountains. Firstly, rural settlements are mainly distributed in middle- and high-altitude areas (500-3500 m), flat and gentle slope areas (<15 °) and warm areas (annual average temperature 0-10 ℃). Secondly, rural settlements are distributed near the center of towns, which are less affected by the radiation from the center of cities and counties. Finally, rural settlements obviously gather along the roads and rivers, with the feature that the closer they are to the roads and rivers, the larger the number and scale of rural settlements. The spatial distribution of rural settlements in Xinjiang is mainly influenced by factors such as the accessibility of roads to towns, the accessibility of roads to counties, slope, proximity to rivers, temperatures and elevations. In other words, under these extreme geographical and ecological environment conditions in arid areas, the natural environment and geographical conditions are still the main influencing factors, and the traffic factors play an important guiding role, while the influence of economic and social factors are not significant. There are obvious differences in natural conditions and social-economic development levels in the four sample areas, and so do the dominant factors of the distribution of rural settlements. The north slope of Tianshan Mountains area and Kashgar area are affected by road accessibility factors, while Altay area and Turpan Basin area by terrain and water source, respectively. Road accessibility factors have different influences on the spatial distribution of rural settlements in various areas. In the future, the optimization and development of rural settlements should focus on the strengthening of the planning of transportation lines and the improvement of transportation infrastructure, so as to promote the flow and sharing of urban-rural elements, as well as the integration and sustainable development of urban and rural areas..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1182 (2020)
Rui SUN, Shaohui CHEN, and Hongbo SU
Understanding the spatio-temporal changes of vegetation and its climatic control factors can provide important theoretical basis for the protection and restoration of ecological vegetation. Based on MOD13A1 and meteorological data, the spatial patterns and trends of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in the Understanding the spatio-temporal changes of vegetation and its climatic control factors can provide important theoretical basis for the protection and restoration of ecological vegetation. Based on MOD13A1 and meteorological data, the spatial patterns and trends of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in the Loess Plateau were analyzed. The response of NDVI to temperature and precipitation was analyzed on the annual and monthly scales. The results showed that the vegetation coverage in the study area was improving continuously, and the climate showed a warm and wet trend. Of the degraded areas in the Loess Plateau, some 83.77% (area only 5.79%) was below 2000 m and the number of vegetation degradation types were not significantly reduced. The altitude distribution and degraded proportion of different vegetation degraded areas were significantly different. The degraded area ratio of wetland was the highest (23.91%), followed by cultivated land (11.88%). On the annual scale, the area with positive correlation between NDVI and precipitation was higher than that of temperature, and about 75.06% of the area was affected by precipitation. Precipitation was the main factor affecting the growth of shrub land (altitude distribution < 2200 m, the same below), cultivated land (< 3000 m), grassland (< 3000 m) and bare land (600-3700 m). Temperature was the main factor affecting the growth of forests (< 1000 m, 1700-3700 m) and wetlands (>2500 m). On the monthly scale, the overall response lag period of the Loess Plateau to temperature was one month, and there was no response lag period to precipitation. The response lag period of different vegetations to hydrothermal conditions was obvious. Grassland (lagging altitude distribution 710-3800 m, the same below), wetland (> 860 m), cultivated land (< 150 m, 350-2250 m, 2550-2900 m, 3430-3560 m) and bare land (760-2100 m) had a one month lag effect on temperature response, while forest (< 2900 m, > 3450 m) and shrub land (< 1270 m, > 1860 m) had no lag effect on temperature response, and six types of vegetation had no lag effect on water condition response. With the time lagging, the proportion of precipitation control gradually decreases. Temperature becomes the main factor affecting vegetation. The main control of water and heat and the lagging distribution of response are obviously affected by altitude. The proper vegetation type should be selected in different areas and altitudes, and water resources should be used reasonably for vegetation restoration..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1200 (2020)
Xiaoqiong LIU, Xiliang SUN, Yansui LIU, Jian ZHANG, Xinzheng ZHAO, and Yang RUI
Southwest China is a special region in the context of global climate change. It is crucial to study the climate change in different parts of this region. In addition, it is important to explore the climate change characteristics of the counties in the study area which have benchmark meteorological stations. In this papSouthwest China is a special region in the context of global climate change. It is crucial to study the climate change in different parts of this region. In addition, it is important to explore the climate change characteristics of the counties in the study area which have benchmark meteorological stations. In this paper, the Rotated Empirical Orthogonal Function (REOF) was chosen to carry out climate regionalization according to annual mean temperature and annual mean precipitation change in Southwest China. Despite that, the Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), Bernaola Galvan heuristic Segmentation Algorithm (BGSA) and other methods were used to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution of climate change in subregions of the study area. Here are the results: (1) According to annual mean temperature and annual mean precipitation changes, the temperature and precipitation changes in the study area could be regionalized into three subregions respectively. The spatial boundaries of these two types of subregions were extremely similar, and the southern boundaries of precipitation subregions II and III were much more boarder than those of the temperature subregions II and III. (2) Annual mean temperatures in three temperature subregions have been rising significantly since 1950, and the temperature changes in Sichuan and Chongqing kept pace with global warming. It is worth mentioning that there were several cold areas sporadically distributed in the western Guizhou, the central Guizhou and the northern Yunnan. In terms of precipitation subregions, the spatial and temporal differences of annual mean precipitation were much larger, and the spatial and temporal differences of the interdecadal variation in the precipitation subregions I and II were more prominent than those in the precipitation region III. (3) The ENSO events had a profound influence on the climate change of Southwest China, and these three temperature and precipitation subregions responded differently to it. (4) The convergence of mutational site of annual mean temperature series in the three temperature subregions was strong (which all began around the year 1997), while that of annual mean precipitation series in the three precipitation subregions was relatively weak. (5) The climate warming trends in the three temperature subregions were obvious, especially in the subregions I and II. Regarding to annual mean precipitation, the trends of the precipitation in subregions I and II had certain randomness, the trend of annual mean precipitation in precipitation subregion I may decelerate with slower deceleration, and that in precipitation subregion II may weakly decelerate, while that of subregion III may weakly accelerate..
Geographical Research
- Publication Date: May. 20, 2020
- Vol. 39, Issue 5, 1215 (2020)
