Analysis of Spatial Structure in the Kashgar Metropolitan Area, China

Jiangang Li, Songhong Li, Jun Lei, Xiaolei Zhang, Jianwei Qi, Buayxam Tohti and Zuliang Duan
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Jiangang Li: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Songhong Li: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Jun Lei: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Xiaolei Zhang: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Jianwei Qi: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Buayxam Tohti: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Zuliang Duan: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-22

Abstract: Taking metropolitan areas as space carriers has become the engine of the Chinese government in its promotion of high-quality development, and this has also become an important measure by which to balance regional development. We used Zipf’s law and the gravity model to study the urban scale distribution characteristics of the Kashgar Metropolitan Area (KMA) in this paper. We also constructed a spatial structure judgment vector for the KMA and put forward the development objectives of different circles. The findings show the following: (1) large cities have a high primacy of development, while small and medium-sized cities are underdeveloped. At present, the KMA is a concentrated monocentric-pattern metropolitan area, with Kashgar City as its core city. (2) The urban built-up area of Kashgar City is expanding to the east and south, where it has broken through the administrative boundary and become integrated with the urban built-up area of Shule County. The spatial structure characteristics of the KMA have been further clarified. The KMA forms three circles: core, middle, and outer. (3) Tumxuk City, Bachu County, Yecheng County, Shache County, and other counties are far from the core city and cannot be connected with Kashgar, but they are closely related to the surrounding cities, forming the Bachu–Tumxuk Urban Group and the Shache–Zepu–Yecheng Urban Group. This study contributes to the understanding of the characteristics of urban scale distribution and the spatial structure of metropolitan areas in arid regions, as well as providing guidance for the formulation of policies for the development of different circles in the KMA.

Keywords: spatial structure; Zipf’s law; gravity model; judgement vector; Kashgar Metropolitan Area; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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