Spatial Mobility Characteristics and Behavioral Patterns of Suburban Residents in Western Chinese Cities: A Case Study of Lanzhou

Spatial Mobility Characteristics and Behavioral Patterns of Suburban Residents in Western Chinese Cities: A Case Study of Lanzhou | 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 Spatial Mobility Characteristics and Behavioral Patterns of Suburban Residents in Western Chinese Cities: A Case Study of Lanzhou Huiyuan Guan, Ze Yang, De Wang, Xingzhen Zang, Zhaoxuan Wang, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9305258/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract As a transitional space that connects urban and rural elements, the mobility behavior of peri-urban residents is key to understanding the mechanisms of urban–rural interaction and the logic of spatial organization. A systematic investigation of peri-urban residents’ mobility behavior patterns has important theoretical and practical significance for promoting integrated urban–rural development. Taking Lanzhou as a case study, this research integrates LBS trajectory data with POI data to construct a three-dimensional indicator system comprising mobility generation intensity, spatial agglomeration degree, and average dwell time, and employs the K-means clustering method to systematically depict the spatiotemporal behavioral characteristics and patterns of peri-urban residents’ movements toward the main urban area.The results show that, in the temporal dimension, mobility behavior exhibits regular differentiation and functional complementarity characterized by a weekday commuting-oriented pattern and a non-workday leisure-oriented multi-peak pattern. In the spatial dimension, the mobility pattern demonstrates strong axial corridorization, forming a stable structure of multi-source convergence, corridor movement along axial routes, and node-based agglomeration. In addition, cluster analysis identifies three typical behavioral patterns—leisure consumers, urban commuters, and polycentric active users—revealing significant intra-group differentiation among peri-urban residents shaped by varying activity needs and spatiotemporal preferences.From the perspective of integrating a special urban form with an urban–rural transitional space, this study deepens the understanding of human–land interaction in ribbon-shaped cities and provides a scientific basis for optimizing regional transportation networks, allocating public service facilities, and formulating differentiated peri-urban development policies. Humanities/Complex networks Social science/Complex networks Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Scientific community and society/Geography Social science/Geography ribbon-shaped city peri-urban residents spatial mobility behavioral patterns LBS data Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 13 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 07 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 14 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 14 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 13 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 09 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-9305258","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":626079378,"identity":"e45efeb0-dc8c-45a1-b764-dff145451efe","order_by":0,"name":"Huiyuan 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A systematic investigation of peri-urban residents\u0026rsquo; mobility behavior patterns has important theoretical and practical significance for promoting integrated urban\u0026ndash;rural development. Taking Lanzhou as a case study, this research integrates LBS trajectory data with POI data to construct a three-dimensional indicator system comprising mobility generation intensity, spatial agglomeration degree, and average dwell time, and employs the K-means clustering method to systematically depict the spatiotemporal behavioral characteristics and patterns of peri-urban residents\u0026rsquo; movements toward the main urban area.The results show that, in the temporal dimension, mobility behavior exhibits regular differentiation and functional complementarity characterized by a weekday commuting-oriented pattern and a non-workday leisure-oriented multi-peak pattern. 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