Information Age Regional Spatial Structure

Author: Zhen Feng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Based on a comprehensive summary, review, and analysis of Western research on urban and regional spatial structures in the information age, this book conducts a systematic and integrated study of regional spatial structures under the influence of information technology. It analyzes new spatial forms of the information age, for the first time proposing real space, virtual space, and gray space, and argues that these three types of space will coexist in the long term. Building on an analysis of the factors influencing regional spatial structures, the author concludes that the current spatial structure is undergoing rapid transformation under the combined forces of new and old factors such as information technology, with substantive changes occurring in the points, lines, and surfaces of spatial structures. The author further focuses on the two major characteristics of the information age—information networks and the information industry—analyzing their spatial structural features and their impact on regional spatial structures. Taking the Yangtze River Delta as an example, the book explores the influence of globalization and informatization on the regional spatial structure, proposing the idea of constructing a network spatial structure for the Yangtze River Delta based on metropolitan areas as spatial and economic organizational units. This book serves as a reference for university and college students, researchers, and practitioners in urban and regional studies.