Redefining Urban Centrality: Integrating Economic Complexity Indices into Central Place Theory

TL;DR

This paper develops a new metric integrating economic complexity indices with Central Place Theory to better analyze urban spatial structures, demonstrated through Seoul's data, aiding urban planning.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach combining economic complexity indices with CPT to quantify urban centrality and spatial structure.

Findings

PCI and ECI effectively identify key urban centrality features

Metrics align with distribution of economic activities and infrastructure

Provides a privacy-preserving tool for urban analysis

Abstract

This study introduces a metric designed to measure urban structures through the economic complexity lens, building on the foundational theories of urban spatial structure, the Central Place Theory (CPT) (Christaller, 1933). Despite the significant contribution in the field of urban studies and geography, CPT has limited in suggesting an index that captures its key ideas. By analyzing various urban big data of Seoul, we demonstrate that PCI and ECI effectively identify the key ideas of CPT, capturing the spatial structure of a city that associated with the distribution of economic activities, infrastructure, and market orientation in line with the CPT. These metrics for urban centrality offer a modern approach to understanding the Central Place Theory and tool for urban planning and regional economic strategies without privacy issues.