Analysis of Spatial Wharf Pattern of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, China

Abstract

Wharves, which play a vital role in ensuring and promoting social progress and national economic development, are important in water transportation. At present, studies on related fields mainly focus on ports. A robust research system has been formed through the continuous development of port geography from the perspective of space. However, the number of relevant studies on wharves is limited. This study explores the spatial distribution characteristics of wharves in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration by using spatial analysis methods, such as nearest neighbor index, multi-distance spatial clustering, kernel density estimation, and standard deviation ellipse. Moreover, it evaluates the allocation level of wharves from different scales by constructing an index system based on the location data of 1264 wharves in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration. Results show that the spatial pattern of wharves exhibits evident aggregation and regional differences. The spatial distribution of wharves is characterized by a “band” structure, which is densely distributed along the Yangtze River and the eastern coast. The allocation level of wharves presents evident agglomeration at different scales. The relationship between the spatial wharf pattern and the economy shows that high gross domestic product and total imports and exports correspond to a considerable number of wharves.

Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Carbon Budget and Carbon Compensation Zoning in the Core Area of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration

“…The balanced zone-optimized development zone is scattered along both sides of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the coastal areas. From the perspective of ports, the Yangtze River, as China's largest river, has a higher port density in its basin compared to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal basin [67], benefiting the county-level cities of Yangzhou, Taizhou, and Nantong adjacent to the Yangtze River, which have a better development potential and become the main industrial receiving sites for first-tier cities. In addition to the development axis along the Yangtze River, coastal cities have also proposed a development axis along the coast.…”

The Spatial Distribution and Influencing Factors of Urban Cultural and Entertainment Facilities in Beijing

“…The nearest neighbor index method calculates the average distance between each element and its neighbors. If the index is less than the average distance of the assumed random distribution, the sample appears to be agglomerated globally; otherwise, it is scattered; if the index is equal to the average distance of the assumed random distribution, the sample is randomly distributed [36][37][38]. The nearest neighbor ratio is represented by R. Values R = 1, R < 1 and R > 1 indicate random, agglomerated and scattered distributions of facilities, respectively, while R = 2.1491 indicates a uniform distribution [23].…”

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“…The standard deviation ellipse consists of three elements: the standard deviation along the long axis, the standard deviation along the short axis, and the angle of rotation. The size of the ellipse reflects the overall concentration of the spatial pattern, and the long half axis reflecting the dominant direction of the pattern [52]. The calculation formula is as follows:…”