Where is the center? An approach for defining the locations of central urban areas through transportation networks

Understanding urban structures and observing their transformations are essential for developing them.Cities have been considered the center of human activities.They have evolved from monocentric to polycentric areas.The development of transportation affected these processes and helped in concentrating the main functions in urban areas.This research aims to provide an approach for defining the locations of central urban areas with the help of transportation networks.This was obtained by revising the published literature, understanding the factors behind defining city centers, and investigating the role of transportation networks.Transportation networks play a crucial role in determining and predicting the location of centers.The proposed methodology can assist geographers, urban planners, and transport planners in observing and directing city growth.