Relationships between Street Centrality and Land Use Intensity in Wuhan, China

Abstract

Although the relationships between street centrality and land-use intensity have been documented, only a few studies have explained the disparities in the global relationships among different land-use types or explored the local spatial relationships among such types. In this paper, the previously mentioned problem is addressed by investigating the main urban area of Wuhan, China. The street centrality indicators of closeness, betweenness, and straightness are expanded by considering the node-based weight of the road grade and road width. Land-use intensity is measured based on the building and economic activity density in the different land-use types. Kernel density estimation is used to convert the measures to a basic raster unit, whereas the geographically weighted regression (GWR) method is used to explore the spatial heterogeneity in the relationships. The results indicate strong relationships between street centrality and land-use intensity. Furthermore, the relationships vary not only among the different land-use types but also in the different categories of a single land-use type. Spatial heterogeneity also exists in these relationships. This finding confirms that street centrality plays a crucial role in shaping urban structure and land-use intensity, and understanding the formation of urban fabrics and the advancement of human civilization.