Study on Influencing Factors and Planning Strategies of Population Spatial Distribution in Urban Fringe Areas from the Perspective of Built Environment—The Case of Wuhan, China

Abstract

Rationally relieving the population of urban centers in large cities, such as megacities and supercities, is one of the current goals of population development in China. The fringe area of a large city is a potential area to undertake the population of the central area. Studying the relationship between the population and the built environment in this area can help urban planners formulate targeted construction strategies to attract the population of the city center to move to the fringe areas. This paper takes the fringe areas of Wuhan in 2010 and 2020 as its specific research object and puts forward the “5D” index system of built environments that affects the spatial distribution of population based on population data and built environment data. The OLS model is used to screen the influencing factors. This paper analyzes the correlation between population and built environment using a multi-scale geographic weighted regression model as well. According to the results of the regression analysis combined with the development and construction of the fringe areas of remote urban areas in Wuhan over the past 20 years, some suggestions are put forward for the planning and construction of remote urban areas. The results show that the “5D” index system of the built environment covers the influencing factors of the spatial distribution of the population. MGWR reveals the correlation between the influencing factors and the spatial distribution of population in the marginal areas on the global scale and the local scale, respectively, which provides a clear direction for the development of planning and construction to improve the attractiveness of the non-central areas to the population.

Interpretation of Hot Spots in Wuhan New Town Development and Analysis of Influencing Factors Based on Spatio-Temporal Pattern Mining

“…Fourthly, as indicated by 5.3, population factors have a significant impact on the formation of most emerging hot spots in Wuhan New City. Population aggregation can have a positive impact on urban economic development, and urban development and industrial agglomeration can attract more population inflows [1,47]. Currently, the economic development of Wuhan New City is showing an upward trend, requiring a more competitive modern industrial system to enter.…”

“…By the end of 1990s, problems such as space constraint and reduced operation efficiency appeared in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. In order to expand urban space, evacuate urban populations, and optimize urban structure, the construction of new cities with the core concept of pursuing ideal cities, seeking regional coordination, urban-rural coordination, and interpersonal harmony has become a widespread concern [1]. COVID-19, which broke out at the end of 2019, shows that excessive agglomeration can easily cause big cities to face difficulties in the face of emergencies, and scientific and reasonable urban layout structure can help to enhance urban resilience [2,3].…”

Delineating and Characterizing the Metropolitan Fringe Area of Shanghai—A Spatial Morphology Perspective

“…This is generally accepted as the main measurement basis. Long et al follow the "5D" evaluation indexes in the metropolitan fringe area of Wuhan to investigate the relationship between the population and the built environment [37]. Zhang and Zhang investigate the spatial and scale distribution characteristics of rural settlements in the metropolitan fringe area of Nanjing and find that the distribution of rural settlements has been affected by factors such as terrain, river system, traffic, culture, and policy [38].…”

“…It is clear that the metropolitan fringe area has become a strategic area for a city's future growth; thus, obtaining a better understanding of the development of the metropolitan fringe area is of great significance to a city's high-quality development [37]. This study shows that the metropolitan fringe area can not only be understood from the traditional perspectives of land use or population density but also can be interpreted from a spatial morphology perspective, which we believe could contribute to the planning and design of the metropolitan fringe area.…”