Abstract
Spatial inequality in transport access is both the driver and outcome of rising economic inequality in Southeast Asia. Unlike many regional disparity studies that focus on national economic indicators, this paper takes an urban network approach to assess the spatial inequality in Southeast Asian intercity transport network. We analyze urban connectivity in intercity road, rail, and air networks for a total of 47 Southeast Asian cities. Spatial inequality at the city and network level is revealed via centrality measures and community detection, respectively. Gini coefficients for individual centrality rankings point to a hierarchical degree distribution, a rather even distribution of closeness centrality, and a highly concentrated distribution of betweenness centrality. Four network communities are identified, reflecting the influences of entrenched uneven development, fragmented geography, and economic and political policies.
The authors would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable insights and suggestions, which have significantly helped to improve the manuscript. All errors remain our own. This study is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41501177) and HKU Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research (201504159017). The usual disclaimer applies.
The authors would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable insights and suggestions, which have significantly helped to improve the manuscript. All errors remain our own. This study is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41501177) and HKU Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research (201504159017). The usual disclaimer applies.
Notes
The authors would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable insights and suggestions, which have significantly helped to improve the manuscript. All errors remain our own. This study is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41501177) and HKU Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research (201504159017). The usual disclaimer applies.
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Notes on contributors
Xingjian Liu
Dr. Xingjian Liu is with Department of Urban Planning and Design, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; and HKU Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation, Shenzhen, China;
Liang Dai
Ms. Liang Dai [[email protected]] and Dr. Ben Derudder are with Department of Geography, Ghent University, Belgium.