Comparison of the spaces of call and traffic flows: An empirical study of Qianzhong urban region, China

Abstract With the rapid growth of transportation and communications technologies, intercity relations are reshaping the urban networks. Although previous studies have explored urban networks, they were mostly from the perspective of the space of places or a single flow, and could not sufficiently and accurately capture the reshaping effect of information flow on urban networks. This study addresses this gap by employing a comparative analysis of cyberspace measured by call flows and physical space measured by highway traffic flows. The analysis provides empirical evidence for the Qianzhong urban region (QZUR), a less developed area of China, concerning the integration and centralization of the urban network. And three main conclusions were drawn: (1) Compared to physical space, the centralization of an urban network in cyberspace is strengthened. The connection between the core and peripheral cities in cyberspace becomes strong, and the status of important intermediate cities is weakened, forming a disintermediation effect. (2) The integration level of urban networks in cyberspace has not been significantly improved compared to that in physical space. (3) geographical distance has a friction effect on intercity traffic and call flows, and the friction effect in physical space is significantly greater than that in cyberspace.