Understanding the regional change in population is significant in urban and regional planning because population has huge impact on the prosperity or decline of cities. Recent changes in regional population are more affected by social migration than b...
Understanding the regional change in population is significant in urban and regional planning because population has huge impact on the prosperity or decline of cities. Recent changes in regional population are more affected by social migration than by natural population increase or decrease. Thus, an in-depth study on migration distance and patterns is necessary. Specifically in Korea, population is highly concentrated in the metropolitan area which makes regional disparity a serious issue. It is more important than ever to understand the migration distance and patterns of people moving out of each region.
Traditionally, the law of gravity, which assumes a linear relationship between the number of people moving and their distance is widely used to analyze migration distance and patterns. The average moving distance was used as an indicator of distance. Averages are useful for statistical analysis as they can provide abstract information with a single number. However, it does not provide detailed information. Especially, considering the regional disparity, the law of gravity has limitations in explaining population movement.
To this end, this study first proposed a new distance calculation method, the Population Retaining Power Distance. Using the Population Retaining Power Distance method, the migration patterns in Korean cities were analyzed using KOSIS migration data of 2019. This method advanced the Push and Pull Framework and the gravity model and was based on the methodology of the consumer spotting technique used in business administration filed. This method can explain the power and influence range of a region to maintain its population, and makes it possible to understand the interrelationship between cities. Furthermore, it can be used to explain the sustainability of a city.
Second, using the Dynamic Time Warping method, the Population Retaining Power Distance was analyzed for each city across the country in 2019. The analysis showed that there were different movement patterns for each city. Based on this, five types of Population Retaining Power Distance in Korea are confirmed. Among five types, two types are with a strong ability to retain population and three types are with weak ability to retain population. Finally, dynamic changes in the type of Population Retaining Power Distance 2010 were analyzed based on that of 2019, and changes in migration patterns were analyzed in depth. The analysis confirmed that the imbalance in the power to retain the population between the metropolitan area and the provincial metropolis was further exacerbated, and the imbalance in the population distribution of the national territory was intensified. However, small and medium-sized cities in Gyeongsangnam-do and Jeonlanam-do showed slightly higher population retention.
The significance of this study is that it proposes a new method to understand the power of retaining the population of a city through movement distance. Also, the study confirms the movement distance pattern of the outflow population in each city. The Population Retaining Power Distance can be used as a tool to infer the sustainability of a city and is significant in that it enables an in-depth analysis of the relationship between cities.