Investigating the central place theory using trajectory big data

Abstract

The human settlement system is central to land use, infrastructure development, and environmental impacts. Although central place theory (CPT) was proposed about 90 years ago and has been extensively examined by many researchers, to what extent CPT can explain the current rural settlement system in the changing age of informatization and geospatial reconstruction remains to be explored. This paper aims to contribute fresh evidence for settlement systems and examine the applicability of CPT's quantitative laws by using the trajectory data of 2.0362 billion trips from 37.53 million mobile phone users in China's Jing-Jin-Ji region (218,000 km² area). We found that the settlement system's distribution patterns and service range conformed with the hierarchical law in CPT. However, the former was closer to the administrative principle (K = 7) in Christaller's theory, while the latter was nearer to the marketing principle (K = 3). The basic service range of all levels of settlements for rural residents was approximately 3 km, which was reflected by the rural residents' 3 km travel volume peak point. When exceeding this distance, the relationship between travel volume and distance distribution changed from linear increase to power-law attenuation. The traditional three principles of CPT influenced the settlements’ service range and K value. Nevertheless, the specific roles of the influencing factors varied in space. The findings of this paper would enhance our knowledge of CPT and settlement systems in the context of a fast growing and rapidly urbanizing society.