Abstract：City-and-town Concentrated Area (CCA) is a unique pattern of regional space which inevitably appears in the process of urban development tending to be regionalization and regional development tending to be urbanization. No matter in China or oversea, in developed or developing areas, CCAs are the principal parts of regional development. With the coming of information age and economic globalization, CCAs are becoming the nodal region in global economic system. Therefore, the study on the CCA is attracting more and more scholar's attention. By focusing on the divergence and disputes on the concept of CCA, the paper discriminates among concepts and narrates the interrelated research of CCA in China and oversea. Based on analysis the fundamental concept of CCA, it thinks that there are some distinctions and relations between CCA and Metropolitan Area (MA), Megalopolis, Urban group and Urban system. (1) CCA is City-and-town Concentrated Area in which there are multi-cores, nearly vertical and horizontal interaction between cities and regions, high urbanization level, continuity distributing city and urban; But MA is the sole-core region, in which there are vertical between Metropolitan and surrounding region. (2) CCA and Megalopolis are high urbanization regions. When megalopolis is a continuously whole region according to definite index, megalopolis is actual a CCA. (3) The concept of urban group pays attention to the interaction of cities (urbans) and towns. CCA emphasizes the whole region, not only cities (urbans) and towns, but also cities, urbans, towns and countries. (4) When urban system is a CCA (for example Su-Xi-Chang Urban System is also a CCA), the scope of two concepts match together; When urban system is larger region (national or provincal), urban system may include many CCAs and MAs, even some of high level. The concepts of CCA, MA, megalopolis, urban group, urban system is the reflection of different regions or the different characteristic of the region. There are not only some common relations, but also some diversities between them.
刘荣增. 城镇密集区及其相关概念研究的回顾与再思考[J]. 人文地理, 2003, 18(3): 13-17,51.
LIU Rong-zeng. RETROSPECT AND RETHINKING OF THE STUDY OF CITY-AND-TOWN CONCENTRATED AREA AND INTERRELATED CONCEPTS. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, 2003, 18(3): 13-17,51.
