earticle

영어

This study aims to examine the effects of urban-rural consolidation (URC) on the features of population movement within the consolidated city and on the network structure of population movement, and in particular, to determine whether the effects reflect the recent preference for suburban areas. The results show that the centrality of urban areas (Dongs) declined between 2001 and 2019, while that of rural areas (Myeons) grew in Gangwon. Overall, many rural areas’ mediating functions between Gangwon and the Seoul Metropolitan Area have grown. On the other hand, the network structure in URC cities is characterized by three facts: the rise of the new city center; the expansion of the rural areas’ mediating function; and the decline of the original city center. Notably, rural areas in URC cities gained at least twice as much centrality as that of rural areas in non-URC cities. The effects of URC are also affected by the stage of urbanization in the region, and thus the gaps among rural areas in the same region may widen.