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100 _aZhang, Weiyang
_945509
245 _aHow sensitive are measures of polycentricity to the choice of ‘centres’? A methodological and empirical exploration
260 _bSage,
_c2019.
300 _aVol 56, Issue 16, 2019,(3339-3357 p.)
520 _aIn the literature dealing with measuring ‘urban polycentricity’, relatively little attention has been paid to the identification of what constitutes an ‘urban centre’. In this paper, we assess the sensitivity of polycentricity measures to one particular aspect of this identification: using the case of ‘polycentric urban regions’, we empirically examine the sensitivity of the ‘level’ of polycentricity to the number of cities included in the analysis. Using a two-mode firm–city data source, we do so by stepwise measuring the polycentricity of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) as cities are added to the analysis. This measurement of ‘stepwise polycentricity’ is benchmarked against an ideal typical urban system with a rank-size distribution. The results suggest that the measure of polycentricity is indeed highly sensitive to the choice of the number of cities, so that the alleged level of polycentricity is contingent on the choice of a cut-off point. We propose that the analysis of the sensitivity of polycentricity can help researchers to (1) investigate the different role of cities in shaping polycentric structures of urban regions, and (2) better identify mono- or polycentric structures of urban regions. Analyses of trends in the ‘stepwise polycentricity’ of the YRD and seven other urban regions along the Yangtze River Economic Belt serve to illustrate.
650 _aChina,
_945510
650 _apolycentricity,
_945023
650 _arank-size,
_945511
650 _asensitivity analysis,
_943495
650 _aurban regions,
_945512
650 _aYangtze River Delta
_945513
700 _a Derudder, Ben
_939996
773 0 _011188
_915499
_dsage, 2019.
_tUrban studies
856 _uhttps://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019843061
942 _2ddc
_cART