{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,15]],"date-time":"2026-01-15T07:16:51Z","timestamp":1768461411240,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,21]],"date-time":"2020-10-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1603238400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["41471103"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["41471103"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJGI"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The urban network is an important method of spatial optimization, and measuring the development level of the urban network is a prerequisite for spatial optimization. Combining geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis, social network analysis, and multidimensional scaling models, we explored the evolution of the urban network spatial structure in the Yangtze River Delta from 1990 to 2017 and proposed corresponding optimization measures. The results showed that the urban network spatial structure of the Yangtze River Delta has evolved from a single-center cluster with Shanghai as its core to a multi-center network with Shanghai as its core and Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Hefei as secondary cores. The density of the urban network has gradually expanded, but the strength of the connection between edge cities such as Chizhou, Suqian, and Quzhou and the core cities needs to be further improved. We found that the evolution of the urban network spatial structure has been driven by preferential attachment, path dependence, and differences in economic and industrial development. Finally, we propose optimizing the urban network spatial structure by strengthening the driving ability of the core cities, clarifying urban functions and development directions, and establishing a unified coordination mechanism. This paper enriches and deepens our understanding of the characteristics of the city network in the Yangtze River Delta, and provides a reference for the optimization of the urban network spatial structure.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijgi9100611","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,21]],"date-time":"2020-10-21T10:14:22Z","timestamp":1603275262000},"page":"611","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":26,"title":["Evolution and Optimization of Urban Network Spatial Structure: A Case Study of Financial Enterprise Network in Yangtze River Delta, China"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Yizhen","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210023, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Geographical Environment Evolution (Jiangsu Province), Nanjing 210023, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tao","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210023, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Geographical Environment Evolution (Jiangsu Province), Nanjing 210023, China"},{"name":"Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing 210023, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4665-1717","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Agus","family":"Supriyadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210023, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Geographical Environment Evolution (Jiangsu Province), Nanjing 210023, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tourism, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou 362021, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zhi","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Urban and Regional Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China"},{"name":"Institute for Global Innovation and Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1016\/j.strueco.2018.04.001","article-title":"Structural change, trade and global production networks: An \u2018appropriate industrial policy\u2019 for peripheral and catching-up economies","volume":"48","author":"Landesmann","year":"2019","journal-title":"Struct. 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