Research On The Structure, Matching And Optimization Of Jobs-Housing Space In Megacities

During the process of the rapid development of China’s economy,society and urbanization,the segregation of employment and residential functions has become a common phenomenon in megacities.The jobs–housing segregation has led to serious traffic congestion and environmental pollution,which would reduce the efficiency of urban operation and the quality of life.Existing studies have confirmed that the organization and distribution of workplaces and residences can largely determine the overall traffic volume and directly affect the commuting behaviors of residents.Therefore,revealing the structural relationship,measuring the matching situation and analyzing the formation mechanism of jobs–housing space would help to formulate policies for rational distribution of employment and residential functions,and then improve the development quality of the megacities.Based on this realistic background and research objectives,the thesis has formed three research questions:(1)how to identify the structure of jobs–housing space in megacities to reveal the organizational relationship between employment and residential functions;(2)how to evaluate the matching situation of jobs–housing space to locate the areas with low jobs–housing balance levels;(3)how to explain the causes of jobs–housing space to provide corresponding optimization strategies.After reviewing literature on related works,this thesis constructs a theoretical framework for the study on the jobs–housing space in megacities.First,the theoretical framework clarifies the concept and connotation of jobs–housing space.Second,it analyzes the component elements and static and dynamic spatial manifestations of jobs–housing spatial structure.Third,it proposes the geographical and individual dimensions of jobs–housing spatial matching investigation.Fourth,it analyzes the influencing factors of jobs–housing space in megacities.Then,by looking at the case of Tianjin,the thesis applies this theoretical framework to empirically analyze the three research questions above.In terms of the identification of jobs–housing spatial structure,the thesis introduces a spatial structure identification method that combines static and dynamic characteristics,and applies it at macro-and meso-scales of megacity.The results show that the characteristics of the jobs–housing space in megacities present constrained and dispersed features at different scales,including the static characteristics of polycentricity and the dynamic characteristics of two types of commuting communities.In terms of the evaluation of jobs–housing spatial matching,the thesis comprehensively measures the macro-and meso-scales of jobs–housing space of megacity in both geographical and individual dimensions.In the geographical dimension,most commuting communities at different scales can maintain approximate the same number of jobs and employed residents,the higher internal commuting rates and the lower external commuting rates,manifested as jobs-housing balance regions.In the individual dimension,at macro-scale,the areas with low jobs–housing balance levels are mainly located at the intersection of administrative boundaries of districts and counties from the perspective of residents,while these areas are widely distributed outside the central urban area from the perspective of jobs;at meso-scale,the areas with low jobs–housing balance levels are mainly distributed along the outer ring of the central area from the perspective of both residents and jobs.In terms of the formation mechanism of jobs–housing space in megacities,the thesis summarizes it by regions according to the core–periphery characteristics of the spatial development.For the core area,the jobs–housing space is formed through renewal and transformation on the basis of the homogenized space during the planned economy period.For the core–periphery area,the formation of jobs–housing space relies on the two–way drive of the core and peripheral areas.For the peripheral area,the jobs–housing space presents a leaping and independent development pattern driven by the regional development strategies.Then,the thesis provides relevant advice and policies for the above three urban regions.The main innovations of this thesis are as follows.First,the thesis introduces a spatial structure identification method that combines static and dynamic characteristics.Second,the thesis proposes a comprehensive research perspective of jobs–housing spatial matching,including both geographical and individual dimensions.Third,the thesis proposes the concept of commuting community,which is the spatial mapping of the community structure of the commuting network,and indicates that most commuting communities have a good jobs–housing balance at both macro-and meso-scales in the geographical dimension.