Wang Chengjin

Research method of inter-urban traffic flow fields: A case study of railway passenger flow in China

Since the traffic flow reflects the socio-economic relationship of cities and also has the spatial attributes of flow fields,its study can reveal the urban interaction to some extent.Based on the review of flow fields,this paper introduces the basic concept and theoretical points,and then designs a spatial recognition model,i.e.factor analysis including R-mode and Q-mode.In this paper,we also introduce the models study process,parameters and the software(SPSS).Finally,using inter-urban railway passenger flows in 1990(197 cities) and in 2006(249 cities),this paper studies the spatial field of traffic flows,i.e.the centralization field and decentralization field,especially focusing on the number,structure,hub nodes,catchment areas and the evolution from 1990 to 2006.Then,we design some indices to analyze the hierarchical structure of the flow field and find that the traffic flows in China exhibit four levels of centralization and decentralization fields.According to the spatial distribution of traffic flows,centralization and decentralization fields have distinct communicating circles around provincial capitals and stop in the boundaries of provinces.Also,the two types of spatial flow fields are overlapped spatially and developed stably.The traffic flow fields centered in Shanghai and Guangzhou are playing more and more important roles.According to the study of spatial fields through railway passenger flows,this paper discovers the interaction of Chinas urban system and offers some suggestions for railway planning and urban planning.