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ABSTRACT
This paper tried to advance the theory of world city networks (WCNs) by uncovering the distinct spatial patterns and network structures of WCNs based on three common types of international sports tours (ISTs), namely the Tours of Tennis, Athletics and Marathon. We identify the distinct spatial trend of the “universalization of particularism.” The spatial features range from regional/domestic for ISTs in which everyone can participate, to global Northern for highly professional ISTs, and global for ISTs in which athletes represent their countries. The spatial pattern indicates that particularism takes place at the regional/global scale due to sports diversity. Also, our exploration reveals a unique city network composed of three subnetworks with both stable and unstable structures because of the domination of multiple actors. The pluralized spatial pattern and complicated network structure expand the research field of WCNs and provide a multiscale perspective for global-local interaction studies in the sports context.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available at www.olympic.org and other official website of International Sports Federations.
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Notes on contributors
Yubin Ou
Yubin Ou is an PhD student in the school of geography and planning, Sun Yat-sen University. His research focused on the spatial characteristics and evolution mechanism of the world city network from sport perspectives. His work has been published in Journal of Geographical Sciences and Journal of Urban affairs.
Gengzhi Huang
Gengzhi Huang is a professor in the school of geography and planning, Sun Yat-sen University. His research focused on informality, labor geography and urban social space. His work has been publish in Antipode, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Urban Studies, Geoforum, Cities, Applied Geography, Urban Geography and other SCI/SSCI journals.
Desheng Xue
Desheng Xue is the professor and Dean of school of geography and planning, Sun Yat-sen University. His research focused on world cities, urban geography and urban planning. His work has been published in Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Antipode, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Urban Studies, Geoforum, Cities and other top SCI/SSCI journals.