A longitudinal study of changes in intra-metropolitan employment concentration in Beijing: Decentralisation, reconcentration and polycentrification

Abstract

This article explores the spatial trend of intra-metropolitan employment concentration in the Beijing metropolitan area from 2004 to 2013. We use multiple-year economic census data and construct a unique longitudinal dataset of employment at the subdistrict level, applying the locally weighted regression method to identify employment centres in Beijing. The results show that jobs continued to decentralise from the urban core to the suburbs in Beijing over the studied period; however, different from the common trajectory of Western metropolitan spatial evolution, decentralised jobs tended to be more concentrated in subcentres and the polycentric urban structure prevailed in Beijing. Polycentricity strengthened in Beijing from 2004 to 2008, but job dispersion increased at the expense of polycentricity during 2008–2013. However, job dispersion did not follow an unstructured model; instead, subcentres played an increasingly important role in structuring the dispersed jobs. Job dispersion in Beijing has been more associated with the scatteration of service jobs, while manufacturing jobs tended to be more concentrated in subcentres, which contributed to the polycentric development of the capital. We also observe the persistence in the location of employment centres in Beijing over the studied period, as well as substantial spatial changes in the boundaries of employment centres, which suggests that the employment concentrations within the metropolitan area are persistent but not static.

Understanding spatial and compositional dynamics of employment centers in urban China: Empirical evidence from Nanjing

“…Since 2000, the situation has been further complicated as the geography of urban employment was embedded into a concurrent process, blending redevelopment and commercial gentrification in the old urban core with a post-suburbanization in the outer areas (Wu & Phelps, 2011). Emerging new towns and university towns (Wei, 2015), and high-tech parks (Zhang & Wu, 2019), as well as the migration of producer services to suburban regions (Yi et al, 2011), and the transformation of development zones to urban areas (Feng et al, 2008), gave birth to either functionally specialized or mixed subcenters (Sun, 2020;Yuan et al, 2017).…”

“…In general, there are two predominant forces determining the employment concentration of metropolitan areas: market forces and state intervention. The market mechanism is reflected in the declining cost of transportation, the increasing importance of proximity in the knowledge-based economy, as well as production-and consumer-side agglomeration economies and their accumulation effects which impact employment concentration (Sun, 2020). Land transactions and functional replacement, which have become the single most important resource for local states and developers since China's marketization reform, affect the evolution of the urban economic landscape (Qian, 2008).…”

“…Through the institutional configuration of "states take the stage while firms perform the opera," the state agency plays its role and draws revenue from land leasing to support infrastructure construction and public service facilities, such as mass transit, hospitals, schools, and parks, which help attract firms and workers thus shaping employment distribution (Wu, 2017;Wu & Phelps, 2011;Zhang & Wu, 2013, 2019. City marketing through mega-projects and big events, such as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (Sun, 2020) and the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, are also approaches used as spatial development strategies that affect urban employment patterns. Studies have found that planned subcenters have greater employment growth and performed better than unplanned ones in terms of their impact on employment and population distribution .…”

“…Geographers examine the spatial patterns and mobility of job opportunities, mainly in relation to labor division and specialization, employment distribution and concentration, labor migration, and the relationship between jobs and people (Angel & Blei, 2016;Chen & Rosenthal, 2008;Gottlieb, 1995;Greenwood & Hunt, 1989;Helsley, 2004;Lee, 2007;Lee & Clarke, 2019;Scott, 2007;Storper, 2010). However, most studies have focused on Western cities, with relatively little attention given to the formation of and spatiotemporal changes in employment centers in the industrializing cities of developing countries, such as China and India (Li et al, 2019;Lv et al, 2017;Sun, 2020;. Many cities in the developing world have undergone a rapid spatial transformation, creating an urgent need for research in such places to guide better urban public policy-making, thereby optimizing the urban spatial structure and producing a sustainable, equitable urban society.…”

“…However, there is a distinct and wide gap between local practice and academic research. Except for major centers, such as Beijing and Shanghai, the spatial distribution and determinants of employment distribution have not yet been statistically investigated for most Chinese cities (Huang et al, 2015;Li et al, 2019;Sun, 2020;, let alone employment centers. Moreover, the role of urban polycentric planning in the formation and development of employment centers, which is considered an important factor in employment and population distribution in China, has not been thoroughly studied .…”