Abstract:

A common problem of the human society-physical geography relationship in urbanization is how to achieve the coordination and sustainable development of population, urban scale, and physical geographical system. This research uses the rank-size rule and population Lorenz curve method to quantitatively analyze an urban scale system and a population distribution pattern from the three spatial dimensions, including the entire geographical region of Xinjiang, China, six geomorphological types, and seven water system partitions. Then, the correlation between urban scale and spatial distributions is presented. The results are as follows. First, the correlation coefficient of system scale distribution in the geomorphological type is 0.897, and the correlation coefficient of system scale distribution in the water system partition is 0.951, indicating that the relationship between the urban scale pattern and water geographical factors is closer. Second, the two prominent population distribution centers are the Junggar Basin and the district at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, which are highly superimposed geographical types. This indicates spatial polarization of the urban scale and natural geography in Xinjiang. Lastly, the heterogeneity of the urban population distribution in various physical geographical units in Xinjiang is obvious. The population concentration and distribution pattern in geomorphological type units are distinct, and the population distribution in water system partition units is relatively balanced. Overall, the difference in population size in Xinjiang is significant, the hierarchical structure is faulted in the regional urban scale, and the urban system is immature, suggesting that the development of medium-sized cities should be enhanced to improve the urban structure of the entire Xinjiang.

Key words: urban scale, population, physical geography, Xinjiang