Chinese Urban Polycentricity Dynamics: A City-Level Dataset of Population Subcenter (2001-2021)

This dataset provides a comprehensive analysis of urban population density and polycentricity dynamics across Chinese cities from 2001 to 2021. The data are meticulously collected and processed to reflect the evolution of subcenters within metropolitan areas, capturing changes in spatial structure and population distribution over two decades. Each entry represents a city-level snapshot that includes metrics such as population density at different subcenters, the degree of polycentricity.

The dataset is valuable for researchers, policymakers, and urban planners interested in understanding the trends and patterns of urban development in China. It can be used to support studies on urban sprawl, economic geography, transportation planning, and sustainable development policies. By providing detailed spatiotemporal information, this resource facilitates comparative analyses between cities and regions, contributing to a deeper understanding of urbanization processes.

Key Features:

Temporal Coverage: Annual data from 2001 to 2021

Geographical Scope: 336 Cities throughout China, including the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and Taiwan Province.

Data Metrics: Population density at various subcenters, polycentricity index, and related urban indicators

Format: Two final CSV files with accompanying 21 Shapefiles metadata

Attributes for each shpfile: The Area means the area of this subcenter, the SUM means the total population of this subcenter.

*Please note that the English names of the cities in the CSV files are collected from the website. The name of cities in Chinese shall prevail, which can be refered the City Name.xlsx.

Researchers should cite this dataset and relevant paper when using it in publications or presentations. Detialed data collection and processing can be found in the relevant published paper. For further information or questions regarding the dataset, please contact the corresponding author.