Power Interactions in the Evolution of Urban Road Networks: A Case Study of Nanjing since the Ming Dynasty

Power perspective is important for understanding how urban road networks operate, promote public participation, and improve operational efficiency. Taking Nanjing (1368—1978) as an example, a six-century historical geographic information dataset of the urban road network was constructed using local chronicles, old maps, and other historical materials. Spatial syntactic theory was used to explore the process of historical changes and morphological evolution of road networks under power interactions. The conclusions are as follows: 1) The interaction between government and public power has undergone a temporal process from absolute control and antagonistic resistance to government dominance. The structure of the road network reflects the ruling philosophy and national consciousness of different regimes. The expression of government power in the road network shows an evolution from "symbolic symbol" to "conceptual penetration." During the feudal period, to the east of the Imperial City along the north―south axis was the Qianbu Corridor Street, with both sides of the street arranged symmetrically to symbolize the status of the imperial power. During the capitalist period, the government and public experienced repeated confrontations, and the costs of road construction, routes, and road widths aroused strong public opposition. During the early socialist period, government-led planning was based on the full communal ownership of the land. The power of the residents to intervene in the construction of the road network was curtailed. The interaction between government and public power influenced the direction of growth and accessibility of the road network. The formation of the Republic of China is the time demarcation point when both the degree of integration and core of penetration of the road network moved from the south to north of the city. During the feudal period, the degree of normalized angular integration (NAIN) and normalized angular choice (NACH) of the core was stable in the "Ming Tile Gallery—Pingshi Street—Caixia Street" and "Red Paper Gallery—Xiajie Kou—Jewelry Gallery" in the south of the city. During the period of national capitalism, in response to pressure from residents, the focus of road network construction shifted to the sparsely populated northern part of the city, and the core of the road network's capacity moved from the south of the city to Gulou in the north. During the early stages of socialism, influenced by the Soviet model, the construction of factories and workers' villages led to the integration of the road network structure in the north and east of the city and the emergence of a new road network structure. The NAIN index of the road network in the north and east of the city further increased, and the foreground network of NACH ran through the entire city. Our study demonstrates that ancient Chinese historical data have great potential for use in quantitative studies of urban street networks. The power perspective helps reveal changes in urban social organization and lifestyle, constructs history and social life with a spatial dimension, and provides a new research perspective for urban history.