Analysis of the Aggregation Characteristics and Influencing Elements of Urban Catering Points in Small Scale: Methods and Results

Abstract

Urban catering systems constitute an important subsystem of the complex urban system. They can reveal not only the impact of urban functional structure on the catering but also the behavioral patterns of individual catering points through the exploration of their small-scale aggregation characteristics and influencing elements, thus becoming an essential basis for urban functional planning. In this study, we analyze the aggregation characteristics of catering points in a particular study area using the probabilistic methods, with Beijing catering points as a sample. The analysis revealed a good power-law distribution characteristic of the catering points density at the small scale. Then, an aggregation effect analysis model and an agglomeration effect analysis model were established. Based on this, an empirical analysis of candidate agglomeration kernel elements was conducted. The results showed that the influence of candidate agglomeration kernel elements on catering points exhibited a categorical nature. Additionally, a good power-law attenuation relationship was uncovered between the density and distance of catering points, which ultimately revealed the mechanism of preferential attachment in the competition for catering point site selection. Using the results of the agglomeration analysis, a reasonable explanation was provided for the power-law distribution characteristic of the density of catering points, which achieved an organic connection between micro-analysis and macro-characteristic analysis. These findings could provide a reference for the analysis of aggregation characteristics of other urban commercial formats.