Print Email Facebook Twitter Intercity networks and urban performance Title Intercity networks and urban performance: a geographical text mining approach Author Tongjing, Wang (Universiteit Utrecht) Meijers, E.J. (TU Delft Urban Studies; Universiteit Utrecht) Bao, Ziyu Wang, H. (TU Delft Multimedia Computing) Date 2023 Abstract Compared to the burgeoning literature discussing the importance of agglomeration externalities for development, limited attention has been given to network externalities. This is largely due to limited data availability. We propose a general measure to proxy city network externalities based on toponym co-occurrences that indicate the relatedness between cities. This paper extracts intercity relationships based on the co-occurrence of Chinese place names on 2.5 billion webpages. We calculate and map absolute and relative network positions, which we use to explain urban labour productivity. We found that a stronger embeddedness in networks of cities is significantly and positively associated with urban productivity. Smaller cities benefit comparatively more from being well embedded in city networks, suggesting that these relations can compensate for a lack of agglomeration externalities. We also compare the importance for urban performance of city network externalities vis-à-vis agglomeration externalities. City network externalities turn out to be more important in explaining urban performance than agglomeration externalities. This calls for new theorizing on a relational approach to urban and regional development. Rather than stimulating further concentration of urbanization, our findings suggest that fostering relationships between cities is a viable alternative urban development strategy. We conclude with suggestions for a research agenda that delves deeper into city network externalities. Subject agglomeration externalitiesChinaCity networkslabour productivityregional developmenturban system To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c2157d14-0363-4f95-92b9-03cb1331e544 DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/12265934.2023.2253193 ISSN 1226-5934 Source International Journal of Urban Sciences, 28 (2), 262-283 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2023 Wang Tongjing, E.J. Meijers, Ziyu Bao, H. Wang Files PDF Intercity_networks_and_ur ... proach.pdf 2.63 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:c2157d14-0363-4f95-92b9-03cb1331e544/datastream/OBJ/view