Impact of Metropolitan Center Structure on Commuting Distance in China: Evidence from 36 Metropolitan Areas

Understanding the impact of the metropolitan center structure on commuting distance is essential to effectively reduce commuting costs and promote urban sustainable development. Current literature on the relationship between the center structure and commuting distance is controversial and overlooks the influence of the functional dimension. This study uses massive commuting data provided by Baidu Maps and proposes a three-step method to explore this issue; first, identifying the metropolitan employment centers based on density clustering; second, characterizing the center structure from morphological and functional perspectives; third, analyzing the relationships between commuting distance and the characteristics of center structures from three perspectives of spatial heterogeneity. The results show that the center structure has a significant effect on commuting distance, demonstrating spatial heterogeneity. The number of centers and center commuting flow symmetry have no significant impact on commuting distance, while the increases in center equilibrium (CE), center intensity, and center independence shorten the average commuting distance. A higher center contact intensity is related to a longer commuting distance in metropolitan areas. Moreover, influence factors and their effects on commuting distance vary among the central system, administrative system, and distance groups, in which CE exhibits negative correlations in most instances. These findings can provide valuable insights to policymakers to conduct commuting-cost-reducing-oriented regional planning.