An alternative definition and use for the constraint function for rule-based methods of functional regionalisation

Abstract

The paper addresses the issue of the constraint function and its use in methods of regional taxonomy and assessment of regional systems. It proposes an alternative definition for the constraint function for rule-based methods of functional regionalisation, such as the delineation of local labour-market areas, including alternative conceptions of the self-containment of the regions, and the trade-off between size and self-containment. An alternative constraint function has been applied in the territory of the Czech Republic as shown in the paper's illustrative example of its use from the original CURDS algorithm.

A functional interaction approach to the definition of meso regions: The case of the Czech Republic

“…On the other hand, these methods are not able to make amendments during the running of the procedure. Multistage methods are able to set several criteria for each step in a procedure and to control the required size and selfcontainment of the resulting regions (Coombes et al, 1986;Coombes, 2010;Casado-Díaz, 2000;Halás et al, 2015).…”

“…In this paper its adjusted third variant (Coombes and Bond, 2008;Coombes, 2010) has been applied. The adjustments are discussed in Halás et al (2015). The third variant has a more general hierarchical clustering character -from the beginning of the procedure it considers all basic spatial units as proto-regions.…”

Conceptualising patterns of spatial flows: Five decades of advances in the definition and use of functional regions

“…Based on our own earlier work (Klapka et al, 2013a;Halás et al, 2015) and inspiration drawn from Goodman (1970), Smart (1974), Bezák (2000), Karlsson and Olsson (2006), Farmer and Fotheringham (2011), we venture to put forward a simple and general concept of a functional region for theoretical discussion. In this respect, a functional region is seen as an organisational structure based on patterns of any relevant horizontal spatial relationships (e.g.…”

“…The rules are often used iteratively in order to reach or approximate an optimal solution. Minor adjustments to the algorithms regarding the constraint function were proposed by Casado-Díaz (2000) and Halás et al (2015). Apart from the above-mentioned works concerning the territory of Great Britain, multistage methods were applied in a number of mainly European countries: Italy (Sforzi, 1997), Slovakia (Bezák, 2000;Halás et al, 2014), Spain (CasadoDíaz, 2000), New Zealand (Papps and Newell, 2002;Newell and Perry, 2005), Australia (Watts, 2004), Belgium (Persyn and Torfs, 2011), Poland (Gruchociak, 2012), and the Czech Republic .…”

“…Mitchell and Watts, 2010). Halás et al (2015) proposed a procedure to mitigate the effects of arbitrary choice in the CURDS algorithms.…”