Abstract/Summary

This thesis is an empirical examination of the spatial mechanisms of city region development in China taking the Mid-Yangtze River (MYR) city region as an example, and investigating in particular, how spatial mechanisms are affected by the relationships between spatial factors and network capital. Conventional city region theory assumes that regional development is spatially homogeneous across spatial units and determined by indigenous factors. By using GIS techniques, Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Spatial Econometric Modelling on data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), the Zephyr database, and the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO), this thesis challenges that assumption. Chapter 2 outlines the interaction between cities and world economy change. Chapter 3 focuses on urban and regional change in the context of globalisation specifically, showing the importance of the city region in a new global economic context. Chapter 4 advances a spatial framework to investigate city region development, while Chapter 5 advances a network framework to investigate city region development, which builds two main research frameworks for the thesis. The next three chapters represent the main empirical contribution of this thesis. In terms of spatial patterns, Chapter 6 shows that the MYR city region is characterised by coexisting spatial associations and heterogeneity. Chapter 7 calculates the network capital that is embedded in cities’ strategic positions across territories. In terms of underlying driving mechanisms, Chapter 8 demonstrates that city region development is affected by the simultaneity of spatial spillovers based on geographic proximity and network capital based on strategic positions over spatial constraints. Chapter 9 discusses the main empirical findings and concludes by operationalising complexity theory as a means of understanding city region spatial driving mechanisms. Combining geo-space and network space mechanisms in analysis is found to have value for dissecting the complexity of city region development.