An Analysis of the Spatial Structure of Cities from the Perspective of Spatial Balance in the Distribution of Functions and the Formation of Multi-Core Pattern (Case Study: Tabriz City)

Subject Areas : Urban Development

Ahmad Asadi ¹ , Mohsen Ahadnejad Reveshty ² , Hossein Tahmasebi Moghaddam ³

1 -
2 -
3 -

Received: 2023-09-07 Accepted : 2023-11-09 Published : 2024-06-09

Keywords: Tabriz city, Urban Functions, Single-core Pattern, Multi-Core Pattern, Urban Spatial Structure,

Abstract :

The multi-core spatial structure is one of the important and basic topics in urban planning studies, which is considered both as a framework for evaluating urban development and as a basic spatial development goal. Considering the importance of the multi-core spatial structure pattern, especially for large cities with high populations and diverse and complex activities, the present study aims to evaluate the spatial structure of Tabriz city from the perspective of multi-core pattern development based on the spatial distribution of functions and population across the city. The present study employs a Quantitative Correlational Research method. The documentary method is used for data collection, and various techniques such as mean center, standard deviational ellipse, kernel density estimation, location quotient (L.Q.), nearest neighbor index, and geographically weighted regression are applied for data analysis. The study examines six functions: religious, educational, commercial, healthcare, industrial, and administrative. The findings suggest that the spatial distribution of functional cores, except for industrial and commercial functions, exhibits a single-core spatial structure in the city center. Also, the results indicate that the correlation between functional cores and the population of Tabriz city, based on the spatial regression test, is moderate. Accordingly, an imbalance in the distribution of functional cores in Tabriz City is evident. Therefore, Tabriz is located in a single-core state, and due to the increase in the distribution of administrative and medical functions in the eastern and industries in the western, it can become a multi-core model.

References:

- Acheampong, R., & Agyemang, F. (2016). Quantifying the spatiotemporal patterns of settlement growth in a metropolitan region of Ghana. Geojournal, 84(4), 823–840. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-016-9719-x
- Acheampong, R.A. (2019). Spatial structure, intra-urban commuting patterns, and travel mode choice: Analyses of relationships in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. Cities, 96, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102432
- Altschuler, A., Somkin, C., Adler, N. E. (2004). Local services and amenities, neighborhood social capital, and health. Social Science & Medicine, 59(6), 1219–1229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.01.008
- Ashik, F.R., Alam Mim, S., & Neema, M.N. (2020). Towards vertical spatial equity of urban facilities: An integration of spatial and aspatial accessibility. Journal of Urban Management, (9), 77–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2019.11.004
- Buliung R.N. (2011). Wired people in wired places: Stories about machines and the geography of activity. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 101, 1365–1381. https://doi.org/10.1080/00045608.2011.583568
- Burger, M.J., Goei, B., De van der Laan, L., & Huisman, F.J.M. (2011). Heterogeneous development of metropolitan spatial structure: Evidence from commuting patterns in English and Welsh city-regions, 1981–2001. Cities, 28(2), 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2010.11.006
- Champion, A.G. (2001). A changing demographic regime and evolving polycentric urban regions: Consequences for city population size, composition, and distribution. Urban Studies, 38(4), 657-677. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980120035277
- Chapin. F.S., & Kaiser, E.J. (1984). Urban land use planning. University of Illinois Press Chicago. https://www.amazon.com/Urban-Land-Use-Planning-Fourth/dp/0252021010
- Chen, W., Liu, L., & Liang, Y. (2016). Based on POI data, retail center recognition and spatial aggregating feature analysis of retail formats in Guangzhou. Geography Research, 35 (4), 703-716. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlyj201604009
- Chen, W., Yenneti, K., Wei, Y., Yuan, F., Wu, J., & Gao, J. (2019). Polycentricity in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA): More cohesion or more disparities? Sustainability, 11(11), 3106. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113106
- Criekingen, M., Bachmann, M., Guisset, C., & Lennert, M. (2007). Towards polycentric cities. An investigation into the restructuring of intra-metropolitan spatial configurations in Europe. Belego, 2007(1), 31–51. https://doi.org/10.4000/belgeo.11629
- Ellingsen, W., & Leknes, E. (2012). The city region is a concept, object, and practice. Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography Journal of Geography, 66(4), 227–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/00291951.2012.708359
- Fernandez-Maldonado, A.M., Romein, A., Verkoren, O., & Pessoa, R.P.P. (2014). Polycentric structures in Latin American metropolitan regions: Identifying employment sub-centers. Regional Studies, 48(12), 1954–1971. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2013.786827
- Finka, M. (2009). Sustainable territorial development and concepts of polycentricity in Slovak territorial development. Urban Research & Practice, 2(3), 332–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535060903319319
- Giuliano, G., Redfearn, C., Agarwal, A., Li, C., Zhuang, D. (2007). Employment concentrations in Los Angeles, 1980–2000. Environment & Planning A, 39 (12), 2935–2957. https://doi.org/10.1068/a393
- Glaeser, E.L. & Kahn, M.E. (2001). Decentralized Employment and the Transformation of the American City (February 2001). NBER Working Paper No. w8117, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=259424
- Goess, S., de Jong, M., & Meijers, E. (2016). City branding in polycentric urban regions: Identification, profiling, and transformation in the Randstad and Rhine-ruhr. European Planning Studies, 24(11), 2036–2056. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2016.1228832
- Guo, L., Zheng, C, & Huang, J. (2019). Commuting circle-based spatial structure optimization of megacities: a case study of Wuhan central city. Urban Planning, 10, 43-54.
- He, Q., Zeng, C., Xie, P., Tan, S., & Wu, J. (2019a). Comparison of urban growth patterns and changes between three urban agglomerations in China and three metropolises in the USA from 1995 to 2015. Sustainable Cities and Society, 50, 101649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101649
- He, Y., Zhou, G., Chengli, T., Fan, S., & Guo, X. (2019b). The spatial organization pattern of urban-rural integration in urban agglomerations in China: n agglomeration diffusion analysis of the population and firms. Habitat International, 87, 54–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2019.04.003
- Hoyler, M., Kloosterman, R. C., & Sokol, M. (2008). Polycentric puzzles - emerging megacity regions seen through the lens of advanced producer services. Regional Studies, 42(8), 1055–1064. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343400802389377
- Kauffmann, A. (2015). Is the 'central German metropolitan region' spatially integrated? An empirical assessment of commuting relations. Urban Studies, 53(9), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098015581124
- Krehl, A. (2015). Urban spatial structure: An interaction between employment and built-up volumes. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 2(1), 290-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2015.1034293
- Krehl, A., & Siedentop, S. (2018). Towards a typology of urban centers and subcenters – evidence from German city regions. Urban Geography, 40(1), 58–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2018.1500245
- Kuang, W., Liu, J., Shao, Q., & Sun, C. (2009). Spatio-temporal patterns and driving forces of urban expansion in Beijing Central City since 1932. Journal of Geo- Information Science, 11(4), 428–435. http://www.journalgis.cn/EN/Y2009/V11/I4/428
- Lan, F., Da, H., Wen, H., & Wang, y. (2019). Spatial structure evolution of urban agglomerations and its driving factors in Mainland China: From the monocentric to the polycentric dimension. Sustainability, 11(610), 610. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030610
- Li, Y., & Monzur, T. (2018). The spatial structure of employment in the metropolitan region of Tokyo: A scale-view. Urban Geography, 39(2), 236–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2017.1308182
- Liu, X., Gong, L., Gong, Y., & Liu, Y. (2015). Revealing travel patterns and city structure with taxi trip data. Journal of Transport Geography, 43, 78-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2015.01.016
- Liu, Y., Fan, P., Yue, W., & Song, Y. (2018). Impacts of land finance on urban sprawl in China: the case of Chongqing. Land Use Policy, 72, 420-432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.01.004
- Lizhu, D., Fung-Shuen, S. V., & Yanting, Z. (2013). Formation and delimitation of extended metropolitan regions in Central China: A case study in the changzhutan EMR. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(12), 265–277. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308969739
- Lloyd, K. M. Auld, Ch. J. (2002). The role of leisure in determining quality of life: Issues of content and measurement. Social Indicators Research, 57(1), 43–71. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013879518210.
- Luo, Q., & Li, X. (2019). The spatial differentiation and influencing factors of urban centers in China based on VIIRS night light. Geography Research, 38(1), 157-168. http://www.dqxxkx.cn/EN/abstract/abstract42325.shtml
- Man, J. K., Zheng, S., & Ren, R. R. (2011). Housing policy and housing markets: trends, patterns, and affordability. In Y.J Man (ed.). China's housing reforms and outcomes. Cambridge: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 3–18. https://www.lincolninst.edu/sites/default/files/pubfiles/china-housing-reform-and-outcomes-chp.pdf.
- Master plan of Tabriz (2016). Consulting Engineers of Role of Environment, Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. General Department of Roads and Urban Development of East Azerbaijan Province, approved on 2016/11/14.
- Meijers, E. J., Burger, M. J. (2010). Spatial structure and productivity in U.S. metropolitan areas. Environment & Planning A, 42(6), 1383–1402. https://doi.org/10.1068/a42151
- Mennis, J. (2006). Mapping the Results of Geographically Weighted Regression. The Cartographic Journal, 43, 171-179. https://doi.org/10.1179/000870406X114658
- Nam, K., & Kim, B.H.S. (2017). The effect of spatial structure and dynamic externalities on local growth in the Seoul metropolitan area. Urban Policy and Research, 35(2), 165–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2016.1159554
- Niu, X., Ding, L., & Song, X. (2014). Understanding the urban spatial structure of Shanghai's central city based on mobile phone data. Urban Planning Forum, 6, 71-77.
- Phelps, N. A. (2015). Sequel to suburbia: Glimpses of America's post-suburban future. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- Priemus, H. (2019). How housing, infrastructure, and water determined the spatial structure of the Randstad. European Planning Studies, 26(3), 546–570. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2017.1402867
- Sat, N. (2018). Polycentricity in a developing world: a micro-regional analysis for morphological polycentricity in Turkey. GeoScape, 12(2), 64–77. https://doi.org/10.2478/geosc-2018-0007
- Sheng, J., Han, X., & Zhou, H. (2017). Spatially Varying Patterns of Afforestation/Reforestation and Socio-Economic Factors in China: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 153, 362-371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.06.055
- Shi, G., Jiang, N., & Yao, L. (2017). Study on the identification of urban center system based on GIS and POI-A case study of Shanghai. Modern Surveying and Mapping, 40(6), 27-30.
- Smetkowski, M. (2018). The role of exogenous and endogenous factors in the growth of regions in central and eastern Europe: The metropolitan/non-metropolitan divide in the pre-and post-crisis era. European Planning Studies, 26(2), 256–278. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2017.1361585
- Statistical Center of Iran (1956-2016). General population and housing censuses.
- Sweet, M. N., Bullivant, B., & Kanaroglou, P. S. (2016). Are major Canadian city regions monocentric, polycentric, or dispersed? Urban Geography, 38(3), 445–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2016.1200279
- Sýkora, L., Mulíˇcek, O., & Maier, K. (2009). City regions and polycentric territorial development: Concepts and practice. Journal Urban Research & Practice, 2(3), 233–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535060903319095
- Taubenböck, H., Wiesner, M., Felbier, A., Marconcini, M., Esch, S., & Dech, S. (2014). New dimensions of urban landscapes: The spatiotemporal evolution from a polynuclear area to a mega-region based on remote sensing data. Applied Geography, 47, 137–153. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.12.002
- Trapero, E. S., Sanz, I. S., & Francés, J. M. D. U. (2015). Global metropolitan-regional scale in evolution: Metropolitan intermediary cities and metropolitan cities. European Planning Studies, 23(3), 568–596. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2013.878691
- Veneri, P. (2010). Urban polycentricity and the costs of commuting: Evidence from Italian metropolitan regions. Growth and Change, 41(3), 403–429. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2257.2010.00531.x
- Wang, F., & Niu, F. (2019). Urban commercial spatial structure optimization in the metropolitan area of Beijing: A microscopic perspective. Sustainability, 11, 1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041103
- Wei, C. H., Weidong, L., Wenqian, K. E., & Nyuying, W. (2018). Understanding spatial structures and organizational patterns of city networks in China: A highway passenger flow perspective. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 28(4), 477–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-018-1485-x
- Wei, L., Luo, Y., Wang, M., Cai, Y., Su, S., Li, B., & Ji, H. (2020). Multiscale identification of urban functional polycentricity for planning implications: An integrated approach using geo-big transport data and complex network modeling. Habitat International, 97, 102134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102134
- Zhang, L., Yue, W., & Liu, Y. (2017). Multidimensional analysis of the polycentric urban spatial structure: a case of Hangzhou. Economic Geography, 232(6), 69-77.