A New Perspective: From Network Studies To City Network

With the accelerating process of global integration, it is more exchanged within the interface globalization between and localization around the world. Cities, as the main spatial capacities of human activities, present a series of new characteristics, such as the accelerating liquidity, flatten spatial structure, the diversifying relations between any two cities. That means, we can not keep pace with the requirement of the changes in the new ages if we continue to study the relations between the two of cities by means of hierarchy theory and rank——size distribution law. Therefore, we should attempt to break through some obstacles in the urban system field in order to make up the drawbacks in traditional theories and methods. For example, the breakthroughs mainly include finding new data resources, transforming from close systems to open systems, looking for new methods instead of the traditional methodology in urban studies.According to the thinking above, we need to cross the thresholds, step by step, in the innovative process. In this thesis, I introduce some concepts, methods from other disciplines or sub-disciplines. My thinking of how to organize the structure in this thesis is as follows. Firstly, I trace back to main contents from multi-disciplines about network approach. Secondly, the significance of these theories from other disciplines to urban and regional studies, has been argued. Thirdly, I sum up what are traditional research fields in urban and regional studies. Fourthly, as to traditional viewpoints, the new development of world city network is illustrated. Fifthly, I establish an explanatory, conceptive framework for city network studies. Lastly, according to the network approach, I construct Chinese city network based on basic activities in 2003 and 2007, and then analyze spatial characteristics and complex problems. In particular, the achievement is divided into seven sections.The conclusions are as follows:(1) As to traditional methods, network approach introducing from other disciplines is useful to urban system studies. The achievements are obviously distinguished, for example, changing from attribute to relations, from hierarchy to network, from closed system to open system, from comparative statistics to network analysis approach. (2) Reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of the previous studies in urban system, especially in China, the author constructs a conceptual and explanatory framework for understanding the construction or dynamics of city network. The framework is the interaction of the triads or dyads consisted of social division, technological progress, and local context. (3) From empirical study perspective, urban China can be divided into three parts like north system, Yangtze-river system, and south China system. Urban China displays the pattern that is "three centers, several cores" we called.Network method has intrinsic advantages in solving problems about relations, so it has broad prospects in urban and regional studies because any two cities have relations in urban system. However, new challenges have appeared when we analyze urban system by attribute data. Take data sources retrieving for example, the statistics data based on administrative units, are not useful for relation analysis. What is more, as to system of city, how to deconstruct urban space from network approach is also a tentative research problem.