A Study on Impact of the Construction of Wuhan Metropolitan Area on Evolution of the Spatial Structure of Urban System

Since the approval of Wuhan Metropolitan Area as a synthetically reforming experimental area for the resource-conserving and environment-friendly society(RCEFS)by the State Council of China,Hubei provincial government has carried out a series of countermeasures to change Wuhan Metropolitan Area from the abnormal structure(i.e.Wuhan is quite big and strong, with other eight cities quite small and weak)to a reasonable structure(i.e.Wuhan is the core,with the other cities strong too). It is worth examining and deeply studying whether the implementation of those countermeasures has retarded the polarization trend of the spatial structure of Wuhan Metropolitan Area′s urban system.Therefore,based on a theoretical discussion on the evolution of the spatial structure of Wuhan Metropolitan Area′s urban system on the background of the construction of the RCEFS,the authors made a quantitative analysis on the evolution features and trends of the spatial structure of Wuhan Metropolitan Area′s urban system after the construction of the RCEFS.The results indicate that:1)the polarization trend of the spatial structure of Wuhan Metropolitan Area′s urban system has been weakening;2)the spatial structure of Wuhan Metropolitan Area′s urban system has been in the last stage of polarization,i.e.the stage of polarization with dissemination;3)the construction of the RCEFS,in some degree,has achieved its aims of retarding the polarization problem of Wuhan Metropolitan area.