Analyzing urban development patterns based on the flow analysis method

Analyzing patterns of urban development should consider the network structure among cities as well as the formation of the function and role of each city in the network. The flow analysis of various factors between cities is based on urban network and space of flow theories. This study used Hebei Province of China as the case. The comprehensive status of each city in the regional urban network was measured by simulating the economic, information, traffic, and financial flow among cities. Results indicate that the development pattern can be divided into three levels with a multi-core and multi-node network structure. In addition, the flow analysis method can predict 67% of urban developmental level. Furthermore, some policy recommendations are put forward to facilitate regional integrated development in Hebei province.