Network Patterns of the Urban Agglomeration of Huaihai Economic Zone in China Based on Baidu Migration Data

The Huaihai Economic Zone Urban Agglomeration (HEZUA) is a strategic development area at the national level in China. Understanding the spatial patterns of population flows is crucial for gaining insights into regional development. Therefore, this paper analyzed the characteristics of the urban network within the HEZUA by using a complex network model. Data of migration among 19 cities in HEZUA from the Baidu Map location-based service (LBS) Open Platform were used to calculate urban network metrics, delineate hierarchical structure, and identify clusters. Results show that:(1) The Primacy Degree of the urban agglomeration in the HEZUA is relatively low, indicating that the advantage of the leading city is not significant. The distribution of migration scales in low-ranking cities is dispersed, and there is a significant difference in their gathering and distributing capacity. In contrast, high-ranking cities have a concentrated distribution of migration scales and stronger gathering and distributing capacity, but their monopolistic position is still weak. (2) Xuzhou, Jining, Linyi, and Suzhou are the four cities with the strongest gathering and distributing capacity, and they are also key hub cities in the network. (3) From the perspective of group structure, Jiangsu, Shandong, and the eastern part of Anhui have already formed a clear trend of group development.(4)There are structural differences between the networks of directed migration flow and net migration flow. Among them, the routes from Huaibei to Suzhou, Rizhao to Linyi, Zaozhuang to Jining, and Suzhou to Xuzhou are ranked in the top four in terms of both directed migration and net migration scale. Xuzhou is the largest population inflow location, while Zaozhuang is the largest population outflow city. (5)Based on the characteristics of inflow, outflow, and centrality, the cities in the HEZUA are divided into six major types, thereby clarifying the comprehensive importance of each city within the region.