Publication Type
Master Thesis
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
6-2024
Abstract
This paper investigates the relationship between city shape, commuting time, and workplace choice within the context of Chinese cities. Using an urban form measure, nCohesion, and nighttime light data, I constructed the China City Shape Database for 263 Chinese cities. The empirical analysis reveals a counterintuitive finding: cities with less compact shapes, despite having longer within-city distances, are associated with shorter commuting times. This is because residents in poorly shaped cities tend to select workplaces closer to their homes to mitigate commuting difficulties. The findings suggest that improving city shape alone may not reduce commuting times; instead, enhancing transportation infrastructure and promoting local employment can mitigate the adverse effects of poor city shapes.
Keywords
City shape, Commuting time, Workplace choice, Urban form, Urban spatial form, Urban morphology
Degree Awarded
Master of Philosophy in Econ
Discipline
Asian Studies | Urban Studies
Supervisor(s)
MA, Lin
First Page
1
Last Page
56
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
FU, Shen.
City shape, commuting time and workplace choice: Analyzing urban spatial form in China. (2024). 1-56.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/627
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.