Evolving urban spatial structure and commuting patterns: A case study of Beijing, China

This research investigates how evolving urban spatial structure explains commuting patterns in Beijing, China. To describe the dynamic and multi-dimensional urban spatial evolution, we identify emerging-, persisting-, and non-center areas between 2000 and 2008 in Beijing's three subregions-the inner city, inner-ring suburbs, and outer-ring suburbs. Based on individual-level commuting data from the 2010 Beijing Household Travel Survey, we estimate workers' commute distance and time using multi-level regression models with interaction terms that capture the spatial evolution. Results reveal commuting differences among persisting-, emerging-, and non center areas, and, more importantly, varying differences across the subregions: in the inner city, persisting and emerging center areas induce similarly longer commutes than non-center areas. In the inner-ring suburbs, commutes to emerging centers are shorter than those to persisting centers. In the outer-ring suburbs, emerging center areas incur the longest commutes, while persisting center areas the shortest. The results reflect varying economic and urban functions in different subregions of Beijing and caution us that promoting polycentric urban development may increase commutes and relevant negative externalities in Chinese cities.