Creative Industries and Urban Spatial Structure: Agent-based Modelling of the Dynamics in Nanjing

252 Pages·2015·9.68 MB·English

by  Helin Liu (auth.)

Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research
Helin Liu
Creative
Industries and
Urban Spatial
Structure
Agent-based Modelling of the Dynamics
in Nanjing
Advances in Asian Human-Environmental
Research
Series editor
Prof. Marcus Nu¨sser, South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Editorial Board
Prof. Eckart Ehlers, University of Bonn, Germany
Prof. Harjit Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Prof. Hermann Kreutzmann, Freie Universita¨t Berlin, Germany
Prof. Ken Hewitt, Waterloo University, Canada
Prof. Urs Wiesmann, University of Bern, Switzerland
Prof. Sarah J. Halvorson, University of Montana, USA
Dr. Daanish Mustafa, King’s College London, UK
AimsandScope
The series aims at fostering the discussion on the complex relationships between
physicallandscapes,naturalresources,andtheirmodificationbyhumanlandusein
various environments of Asia. It is widely acknowledged that human-environment
interactionsbecomeincreasinglyimportantinareastudiesanddevelopmentresearch,
takingintoaccountregionaldifferencesaswellasbio-physical,socio-economicand
culturalparticularities.
Thebookseriesseekstoexploretheoreticandconceptualreflectionondynamic
human-environment systems applying advanced methodology and innovative
researchperspectives.Themainthemesoftheseriescoverurbanandrurallandscapes
inAsia.Examplesincludetopicssuchaslandandforestdegradation,glaciersinAsia,
mountainenvironments,damsinAsia,medicalgeography,vulnerabilityandmitiga-
tionstrategies,naturalhazardsandriskmanagementconcepts,environmentalchange,
impactsstudiesandconsequencesforlocalcommunities.Therelevantthemesofthe
series are mainly focused on geographical research perspectives of area studies,
howeverthereisscopeforinterdisciplinarycontributions.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8560
Helin Liu
Creative Industries and
Urban Spatial Structure
Agent-based Modelling of the Dynamics
in Nanjing
HelinLiu
SchoolofArchitectureandUrbanPlanning
HuazhongUniversityofScienceandTechnology
Wuhan,Hubei
China
ISSN1879-7180 ISSN1879-7199 (electronic)
AdvancesinAsianHuman-EnvironmentalResearch
ISBN978-3-319-16609-4 ISBN978-3-319-16610-0 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-16610-0
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Preface
Creative industries, a collection of booming industries with creativity as the core,
set off for its worldwide spreading in the 1990s. Generally, the discussion of
creative industries originated from discussions on culture’s role in industrial pro-
ductioninthe1940sandlaterinculturalpolicyrealm.Creativeindustries’cultural
origin, together with their close ties with the new media, shapes their multi-
attributednature.Thisgrantscreativeindustriesthepotentialtostandoutinaseries
ofaspectssuchaspromotingeconomicgrowth,increasingemploymentopportuni-
ties and facilitating urban regeneration and sustainable urban development. As a
result,citiesandregionsaroundtheworldtendtofollowthestrategyofcultivating
creativeindustrieswiththeexpectationofpromotingeconomicgrowthandenhanc-
ingurban/regioncompetitiveness.Thispracticetrendisfurtherpushedforwardsby
the theory of “creative city” and “creative class”, and today it is still in the
ascendant.
Fora certain city,the large-scale development of creative industries inevitably
incurs the rising demand for land resources, which is a pressing challenge in the
contextthatlandresourcesarecomparativelylimited.So,thequestionsofhowthe
developmentofcreative industrieswillshape theurbanspatialstructureandwhat
policiescanbeappliedtotacklethischallengebringresearchers,plannersaswellas
urban policy makers to the discussion table. It is argued in this book that these
questionsneedtobeexaminedfromtheperspectiveofcomplexity.Followingthis,
the book presents how an agent-based model is constructed to generate deeper
insightsintotheaboveissuecentrallyconcernedinthecityrealm.
With this aim, eight chapters are arranged for this book to explain. The first
chapter, as always, is an introduction to the backdrop and significance of this
research. To get the readers ready for understanding the rest of the book, this
chapter also spares one section for the explanation of two centrally concerned
concepts in this research, creative industries and creative workers, and another
sectiononabriefintroductionofthecaseofNanjing.
In Chap. 2, the focus is on the theoretical survey of the existent studies on the
locational behaviours of the creative firms and the creative workers and the
v
vi Preface
interactions among themselves and the other two interest groups: the individual
citizens and the urban government. It concludes that the interactions need to be
understoodina“socialnetwork”modeandexaminedinacomplexityperspective.
Bearing this argument, Chap. 3 continues with a brief description of agent-based
modelling, a common approach to complexity. Then it proceeds to introduce the
modeldevelopmentplatformNetLogoandthelocationalutilityfunctionappliedin
themodeltodescribethecreativefirms’andthecreativeworkers’locationalbehav-
iours.Thefinalsectiongoesontoexplaintherequisitedataformodeldevelopment.
Taking Nanjing as the case, Chap. 4 aims to lay the foundations for
parameterising the complex interactions. First, it goes through the development
historyofNanjinginacultureperspective,aimingtopresentthereadersthelocal
context in which creative industries’ development strategy was advocated. Then
two sections are organised to discuss the factors that define the locational prefer-
ence of the creative firms and the creative workers, respectively. Continuing with
this,thechapterproceedstothequestionofhowthesetwogroupsinteractwitheach
otherandwiththeindividualcitizensandtheurbangovernmentintermsofurban
landuse.Thiseffortturnsouttobeaconceptualiseddynamicsframeworkwhichis
thereferenceforthemodeldesignpresentedinthesecondsectionofChap.5.Inthe
first section of Chap. 5, it gives a brief introduction to the agent-based modelling
approach and the modelling platform NetLogo. Generally, when the research
questionisidentified,ittakesthreestepstodevelopanagent-basedmodel:model
design,modelimplementationandmodelvalidation.Followingthisguidance, the
second section is dedicated to model design, and the third section focuses on
explaining how the model can be implemented by referring to the model design.
Specifically,itsplitsthequestionintothreepartstodelineate:thesetupprocedure,
thedynamicsprocedureandtheoutput-displayprocedure.
Chapter6continueswithtacklingtheissueofmodelvalidation,thethirdstepof
agent-based modelling. As the understanding of model validation varies across
scholars, this chapter clarifies it at the beginning by stating that the concept of
model validation in this book refers to two parts: internal validation and external
validation. Taking this interpretation framework, the validity of the agent-based
modelintroducedinthelastchapteristhenexamined.Itconcludesthatthemodel
design has been correctly translated into the agent-based computer model and its
validity is confirmed at an acceptable significance level. After the model’s credi-
bility is confirmed, this chapter then goes on to scenario. It treats four aspects in
terms of the temporal-spatial features of the interactions. They are (1) the growth
pattern of the firms and the workers, (2) the dynamics of the spatial distribution
patterns of the firms and the workers, (3) the dynamics of the spatial clustering
patternofthefirmsandtheworkersand(4)thedynamicsoftheofficerentandthe
housingrent.
TheurbanenvironmentinthemodelintroducedinChaps.5and6,however,is
an abstract space characterised by one centre and a concentric structure. This
assumption brings the model itself the drawback against its practical application
as urban planning support system. For instance, the model can only give general
policymakingcluesbutcannothelpidentifypotentialhotspotsorproblematicsites
Preface vii
inarealcitycase.Thus,Chap.7goesfurtherbypresentingtheframeworkandthe
algorithm to incorporate GIS data into the agent-based model explained in the
aforementionedchaptersofthebook.TakingagainNanjingasthecase,thischapter
thendemonstrateshowthisupdatedmodelcanbeutilisedtosupportpolicymaking
intermsofurbanland-usearrangementforthedevelopmentofcreativeindustries.
Thebookendswith“ConclusionsandFurtherDevelopment”asChap.8.Itgives
abriefoverviewofthewholeresearchatthebeginning.Thenitpresentsthereader
thepolicyimplicationsgeneratedfromthisbookandtheirgeneralisability.Finally,
by reviewing the research framework and the methodology in a critical way, the
book specifies the research limitations and points out the research directions for
furtherdevelopment.
By reading this book, the reader can get further understanding of the cities in
transitioninthesecondtierinChinaurbansystem.Inaddition,thereadercanlearn
how the complex interactions among the creative firms, the creative workers, the
urban government and the individual citizens in terms of urban land use can be
broughttogetherunderoneresearchframeworkinatemporal-spatialperspective.It
is also expected that this book can help the reader to command the techniques of
howtobuildaspatiallyexplicitagent-basedmodel(ABM)integratedwithGISdata
and exploit it to formulate urban land-use arrangement for the development of
creative industries. So, for people engaged in urban studies and urban planning
practice, especially those with high interest in the integration of geographical
information system and agent-based modelling, this book can surely serve your
appetite.
ThisbookderivesfrommyresearchintheUniversityofCambridgepursuingmy
Ph.D.degree.Itisalwaysatime-consumingprojecttowriteabookwithinashort
time,especiallyforanewresearchersteppingintotheacademia.Sosomemistakes
orerrorsunexpectedlybutobstinatelymaystillremaininthisbookbecauseofthe
author’scomparativehumbleknowledgeorcarelessness.Thosepotentialacademic
mistakes, as always, shall be attributed to the author’s responsibility. If there are
some,commentsandsuggestionsfromreadersofthisbookarehighlyappreciated.
HuazhongUniversityofScienceandTechnology HelinLiu
Wuhan,China
Jun2015

Acknowledgements
This book is a further development of my research for a Ph.D. degree in the
University of Cambridge. It would be impossible for me to complete this study
without the continual guiding support from my supervisor Dr. Elisabete A. Silva.
During this study, Professor Douglas Crawford-Brown and Dr. Scott Orford have
offered constructive comments which contributed to the improvement of the
research.Iwouldliketothankmycolleaguesfortheirhelpinmystudyandoverall
life in Cambridge as well. They are Sabrina Daud, Mandy Lau, Qian Wang, Jose
PedroReis,RansfordA.AcheampongandChaoweiXiao.
My special thanks go to those who have helped me in the data collection in
Nanjing. I must thank Shu Chen, Zhixin Jiang and Dekui Lu¨, who provided
information and support in identifying the potential cases of the creative workers
andthecreativefirms.ThanksgoalsotoXiaoyingZhangandYujiZhoufortheir
effort to find accommodation for me and generosity in providing delicious feast
treats during my stay in Nanjing. I also owe my debt to some other officials,
developers, teachers, classmates and professionals, whose names can form a list
toolongtobepresentedhere.
I am grateful for the financial support from Cambridge Overseas Trust and
Cambridge Political Economy Society Trust. With their help, I can devote my
time and energy to my research in Cambridge, without worrying about food and
accommodation.Iwouldalsoliketoexpressmyappreciationofthefundingfrom
mycollege,Queens’College,tosupportmytriptofieldworkandmyattendanceto
internationalconferences.
My deepest thanks as always go to my family, especially to my wife Bailu Li,
who has been fully supporting my indulgence in research. She also spent three
monthstogetherwithmeinNanjingtohelptocollectdata.Ifeeldeeplyindebtedto
mymother,whonevercomplainsabouttheabsenceofmycare,andmymother-in-
law, who has devoted her full energy to support. Finally, I thank my little baby
daughter,whosesweetsmile,tome,isalwaysaninspiringencouragement.
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