Spatial-temporal Dynamics And Driving Mechanisms Of Urban Network Connections In Yellow River Jiziwan Region

In the context of ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin,it is required the Yellow River Jiziwan region to fully leverage its intermediary role and demonstration effect,to gather regional development potential around core cities,and to radiate and drive the development of small and medium-sized cities within the basin.This will support the coordinated development of the upper,middle,and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin with a wider economic hinterland.In the face of the realities of internal development disparities,weak connection,and difficulties in industrial collaboration,it is of great guiding significance to clarify the evolution and driving mechanism of the urban network structure of the region as a whole and by sub-regions under the elements flow.This will enhance the connectivity,cooperation,and coordinated development among urban entities.Against this backdrop,this paper takes 20 cities in the Yellow River Jiziwan region as the research object.Using enterprise registration data from 2005 to 2021,an enterprise contact value system is constructed to scientifically quantify the contact value of different types of enterprises.By using the enterprise chain network model to construct a city connection matrix,the spatial and temporal dynamic characteristics of the urban network connection formed by the flow of different industries,including living service industry,productive service industry,productive manufacturing,and other industries within and between external network and internal network are analyzed.The spatial pattern changes of internal enterprise flow in different regions are also deeply analyzed.Using social network analysis methods and taking the flow of different types of enterprises as an example,this paper analyzes the evolution characteristics of the internal urban network structure and network resilience of the region.By using a spatial panel econometric model,the impact of urban development factors on the network connections among cities under different perspectives and different enterprise flows is explored,and their driving mechanisms are analyzed.Finally,the main problems in the urban network connections of the Yellow River Jiziwan region are summarized,and strategies for optimizing urban connections are proposed.The research conclusions are as follows.① From the perspective of enterprise flow,the scale of connections among different types of enterprises in the Yellow River Jiziwan region has significantly increased.The external network connections depict a tightly connected provincial network dominated by Beijing,supplemented by the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta,forming an overall spatial pattern of enterprise inflow with Yinchuan as the dominant city in the west,Hohhot,Baotou,and Yulin jointly controlling the central part,and Taiyuan as the center of the east.The regional flow connections present a sub-regional spatial contact structure dominated by Yinchuan,Hohhot,and Taiyuan,with obvious network core-periphery features,but weak cross-domain and cross-city connections.② Within each regional network,the urban network connection in Ningxia region is controlled by Yinchuan,with strong interaction and locking with each county-level node along the Yellow River,but the network node hierarchy system is not perfect.The connection between Hohhot,Baotou,and Ordos is gradually strengthening,evolving into a regional network structure dominated by Hu-Bao-E region,but with weak connections to the western and northern Shaanxi regions.The Shanxi region relies on the strong radiation of Taiyuan to establish a nested regional network at various levels,but the strong interaction between county-level nodes mainly concentrates in the central Shaanxi region.③ The urban network density in the region increases slowly,and the network centrality fluctuates greatly but the overall change is small.The urban network output connections are mainly led by Yinchuan,Hohhot,and Taiyuan,while other nodes are mainly in inflow state,making it difficult to upgrade the network connectivity level.Apart from Yinchuan,Hohhot,Taiyuan,Baotou,Ordos,and Jinzhong,which have high connectivity weights,the diversity of network connectivity weights in other cities is low.Although the effective connection paths between internal network nodes tend to be complete,some nodes still have few effective connection paths,and the regional network structure is relatively fragile.④ The driving mechanisms of urban networks under the perspectives of external network and internal network are as follows:The driving mechanism of urban networks is influenced by factors such as overall urban development,social consumption,innovation,and financial capital,which not only improve the network connection level in the city itself but also generate and amplify competitive effects with surrounding cities.However,the unreasonable spatial distribution of enterprise flow has affected the overall external and internal connectivity of the region.The region’s green transformation has weakened the provincial and city enterprise connections of the original development path,but it has also driven the emergence and extension of new enterprise connections.The borrowing advanced function is beneficial for regional flow and external connection of this city and other cities.The development of the service industry strengthens the regional enterprise connections of this city while weakening the inflow of enterprises from other provinces.Industrial development and an open business environment have no significant impact on provincial inflows,but have a significant negative suppressive effect on regional flows.However,the formation of a large-scale open business environment can help accelerate the flow of regional enterprises.⑤ Optimization recommendations for urban network connections.From the perspective of network hubs,it is recommended to strengthen the core position and regional service center positioning of Yinchuan,Hohhot,and Taiyuan,and promote the internal radiation and external connections of service-oriented functions.From the perspective of network connection,optimize the reality foundation and management system of elements flow,coordinate the relationship between attracting industries and going out,and improve urban network connection through multiscale flow.From the perspective of network structure,efforts will be made to improve the hierarchical structure of the network,mainly to enhance the radiation-driven capacity of Yinchuan to counties and districts along the Yellow River,promote the integrated development of urban connections between Taiyuan and Jinzhong,Lvliang,Xinzhou,and Yangquan,and strengthen the connections between Hohhot,Baotou,and Ordos to form a more stable "internal circulation"pattern of enterprise flow.From the perspective of network characteristics,this emphasizes the functional role positioning and highlighting of development characteristics of each node,focusing on the complementary differences in enterprise flow with neighboring areas and strengthening connections with core cities.