City networks are multiplex and diverse rather than being regarded as part of a single universal model that is valid worldwide. This study contributes to the debate on multiple globalizations by distinguishing multiscale structures of world city networks (WCNs) reflected in the Internet webpage content in English, German, and French. Using big data sets from web crawling, we adopted a complex-network approach with both macroscale and mesoscale analyses to compare global and grouping properties in varying WCNs, by using novel methods such as the weighted stochastic block model (WSBM). The results suggest that at the macro scale, the rankings of city centralities vary across languages due to the uneven geographic distribution of languages and the variant levels of globalization of cities perceived in different languages. At the meso scale, the WSBMs infer different grouping patterns in the WCNs by language, and the specific roles of many world cities vary with language. The probability-based comparative analyses reveal that the English WCN looks more globalized, while the French and German worlds appear more territorial. Using the mesoscale structure detected in the English WCN to comprehend the city networks in other languages may be biased. These findings demonstrate the importance of scrutinizing multiplex WCNs in different cultures and languages as well as discussing mesoscale structures in comparative WCN studies.
Understanding the spatial structure of a megaregion with urban and rural areas is crucial for promoting sustainable urbanization and urban–rural integration. Compared to the city network (or the network of urban areas), however, fewer studies focus on the network connecting rural areas or on the comparison of regional structures between urban and rural networks. Using weighted daily mobility flows from the massive mobile-phone signaling data, this study constructs an urban–urban mobility (UUM) network and an urban–rural mobility (URM) network in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. A weighted stochastic block model (WSBM) was adopted to identify and compare the latent mesoscale structures in the two networks. Results investigated a gradient community mesoscale structure nested with typical core–periphery (CP) structures in the UUM network and an asymmetric bipartite mesoscale structure mixed with CP hierarchies in the URM network. In a comparison of the different spatial configuration of urban/rural nodes and groupings of their roles, positions, and linkages, the study yielded empirical insights for renewed urban–rural interaction and potential planning pathways towards urban–rural integration.
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