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Vitality continuation or over-commercialization? Spatial structure characteristics of commercial services and population agglomeration in historic and cultural areas

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Listed:
  • Fang Wang

    (Peking University, People’s Republic of China)

  • Zhao Liu

    (Peking University, People’s Republic of China)

  • Shanshan Shang

    (Peking University, People’s Republic of China)

  • Yuelei Qin

    (Peking University, People’s Republic of China)

  • Bihu Wu

    (Peking University, People’s Republic of China)

Abstract

In recent years, with rapid urbanization and development of tourism, historic and cultural areas have become characterized by strong vitality. However, a dilemma has arisen concerning their over-commercialization. In this study, 17 Chinese historic and cultural areas, and their surroundings within a radius of 1.5 km, were selected for research. Then, the spatial structure and population agglomeration associated with points of interest (POIs), including commercial service POIs and tourist attraction POIs, were analyzed, resulting in five principal findings. (1) In China, commercial services in historic and cultural areas have become an integral part of tourist attractions. (2) The relationships between the spatial structures of commercial service POIs and tourist attraction POIs can be classified into five types: fully encircled clustering, semi-surrounding clustering, overlapping clustering, contiguous clustering, and separate clustering. (3) Based on a POI kernel density analysis, historic and cultural areas can generally be classified into three categories: commercial service oriented areas, tourist attraction oriented areas, and commerce–tourism complexes. (4) The results illustrated that population agglomeration and spatial patterns of the POIs were tightly coupled; and this correlation was very consistent. The authors found that while living, shopping, and catering services were attractive in isolation, tourist attractions, accommodation, and leisure services often combined to form a shared space to attract business. The research results also provided insights into maintaining the balance between community life and commercial development of historic and cultural areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Fang Wang & Zhao Liu & Shanshan Shang & Yuelei Qin & Bihu Wu, 2019. "Vitality continuation or over-commercialization? Spatial structure characteristics of commercial services and population agglomeration in historic and cultural areas," Tourism Economics, , vol. 25(8), pages 1302-1326, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:toueco:v:25:y:2019:i:8:p:1302-1326
    DOI: 10.1177/1354816619837129
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Peng Zeng & Zongyao Sun & Yuqi Chen & Zhi Qiao & Liangwa Cai, 2021. "COVID-19: A Comparative Study of Population Aggregation Patterns in the Central Urban Area of Tianjin, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
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    5. Dani Broitman & Eric Koomen, 2020. "The attraction of urban cores: Densification in Dutch city centres," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(9), pages 1920-1939, July.
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    7. Gangmin Weng & Hongyan Li & Yan Li, 2023. "The temporal and spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of tourist attractions in Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(8), pages 8677-8698, August.

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