Comparing the Digital Economy Urban Network: Study Based on the Human Resource Needs in the Yangtze River Delta, China
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 148, Issue 4
Abstract
Digital economy has been given a critical mission and momentum to promote high-quality integrated development in the Yangtze River Delta of China. Based on previous research on the spatial distribution of the digital economy and urban networks, this paper creatively utilized the data on human resource needs in the digital economy to compare the urban network. Using Kriging interpolation, network density, clique analysis, GIS technology, and other tools and methods, the evolution of network characteristics and the structure of digital economy companies in the Yangtze River Delta were described. The study found that (1) the digital economy of the Yangtze River Delta cities has developed rapidly, but the industry segmentation, spatial distribution, and scale are not balanced; (2) the networked pattern of the digital economy has taken shape, and the collaborative governance effect of the digital economy network based on the human resource supply chain and the urban network is beginning obviously; and (3) the core cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou still occupy a dominant position in the digital economy, although there have been formed several cliques, most cities in the network have not yet been able to form subclusters independently.
Practical Applications
The urban agglomeration spatial structure attracts scholars, urban managers, and policymakers. Many scholars have researched the network structure of urban agglomerations from transportation and population flow perspectives. It is a new attempt to analyze the urban system through the spatial relationship of human resource demand. In recent years, as a new development content, the digital economy has attracted the attention of urban managers and markets around the world. From the perspective of urban planning, describing the network distribution of digital economy enterprises' human resource needs in the urban agglomeration space is conducive to better grasping the structural characteristics of China's Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and understanding the urban system within the urban agglomeration. At the same time, it also provides a basis for the organization and resource allocation of the digital economy in space.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Hangzhou ‘131’ Talent Cultivation Program (No. 2017: 340, Hangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau); National Philosophy and Social Science Fund Major Project (No. 17ZDA070); the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71774140). We are also very grateful to the anonymous reviewers and editors for their constructive comments and work, which helped improve the quality of the paper.
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Published In
Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 148 • Issue 4 • December 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 21, 2021
Accepted: Jun 30, 2022
Published online: Sep 7, 2022
Published in print: Dec 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Feb 7, 2023
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