Using network modeling to explore historical evolution of urban systems in the Jiangnan Canal area

Using network modeling to explore historical evolution of urban systems in the Jiangnan Canal area | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Using network modeling to explore historical evolution of urban systems in the Jiangnan Canal area siqi gao, Jiaqi Liu, Xiwei Xu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9355025/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Canals influence the formation and development of urban systems in adjacent regions, yet the the long-term changes in the relationships between cities remains insufficiently explored. Focusing on the Jiangnan Canal area, this study applies network analysis methods to reveal the structure and evolution of historical urban networks and canal’s role in urban-system change. Results show that (1) The overall network remained long-term concentrated along the canal trunk, and exhibited a development pattern of “polycentric–monocentric –hierarchical differentiation”;(2) Urban clusters in the canal’s middle reaches remained the principal connectivity hub, radiating influence to other clusters;(3) Brokerage roles in the northern canal section increasingly shared by trunk and branch nodes, while trunk-core nodes in the middle and south maintained multiple roles, among which gatekeeper was the most stable. This study supports re-establishing the contemporary value of historical cultural routes and advancing the integration of regional cultural heritage resources. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 29 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 09 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 09 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 08 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9355025","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":622651833,"identity":"9c2efb13-b4ae-412b-80f7-768704123a9f","order_by":0,"name":"siqi gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tianjin University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"siqi","middleName":"","lastName":"gao","suffix":""},{"id":622651834,"identity":"f864c936-98a7-49e9-80cd-65ac1383a4b2","order_by":1,"name":"Jiaqi Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tianjin University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiaqi","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":622651835,"identity":"81ecbb0b-107a-4319-b39b-99f0e1a8d24a","order_by":2,"name":"Xiwei Xu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAy0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCAwwMEnJgioGNBC3GPCRpAYHEHjBFjBaDGzmGh3kqLNL3M54xYPhQdpiBf3YDfi2SM9ISDvOckcjtYThjwDjj3GEGiTsH8Gvhl0g+cDi3DaKFmbftMIOBRAJ+LWwSiQ2Hc/9JpPOAtPwlRgvElgaJBLAWRmK0SPY8Szj855iEYc+BYwUHe86l80jcIKDF4HiO8ccZNXXy7DMOb3zwo8xajn8GAS0IIHEAHJk8xKoHAv4GEhSPglEwCkbBiAIAThBCi5yBC1wAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Tianjin University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiwei","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-08 09:52:46","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9355025/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9355025/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107483093,"identity":"b59bb6db-8e81-48f8-bb3a-7ae7e43d0d8a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:26:17","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1922103,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9355025/v1_covered_db23de07-7010-473d-8a14-dbdf2d424501.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Using network modeling to explore historical evolution of urban systems in the Jiangnan Canal area","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"npj-heritage-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"hsci","sideBox":"Learn more about [Heritage Science](http://heritagesciencejournal.springeropen.com)","snPcode":"40494","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/40494/3","title":"npj Heritage Science","twitterHandle":"@SpringerOpen","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9355025/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9355025/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Canals influence the formation and development of urban systems in adjacent regions, yet the the long-term changes in the relationships between cities remains insufficiently explored. 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