A STUDY ON OPTIMIZATION OF THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE OF URBAN AGGLOMERATION IN CHANGSHA-ZHUZHOU-XIANGTAN

Chang-Zhu-Tan area, which now has 3 cities at prefecture level, 4 cities at country level, 177 designated towns and more than 360 market towns, is an urban compact district which is of striking character in middle and western China. The urbanization level in the area is the highest in Hunan Province. The characteristics of the spatial structure of urban agglomeration in this area are as follows.First, there are three main container ports, namely, central cities. Second, a combination of urban axis belt in the shape of#is forming. Third, there are no sub-central cities in the south of this region. Finally, the space evolution is being at the centralization-decentralization stage. It is suggested that the following measures should be taken to optimize the spatial structure of urban agglomeration in Chang-Zhu-Tan area. First, an urban system consisting of four levels of central cities should be constructed. Second, the urban axis belt system consisting of three levels of axis should be constructed. Third, a structure consisting of three spheres should be formed. Fourth, green open space should be rationally distributed. Finally, the network of express highway should be built.