Freight Big Data-Based Dual-Scale Study of Economic Spatial Organization and Planning Responses in Hubei Province

Using truck GPS trajectory data, this study measures the intensity of economic spatial linkages in Hubei Province at both administrative and cross-administrative scales and examines the hierarchical structure and spatial pattern of its urban economic network. By comparing the results with existing regional plans, the study provides empirical support for regional coordination and spatial planning. Network centrality analysis, linkage intensity measurement, and community detection algorithms are integrated to construct a topological model of the urban economic network from three dimensions: urban node hierarchy, inter-city linkage intensity, and urban cluster structure. To overcome administrative boundary constraints, a 5 km × 5 km grid-based approach is applied to identify functionally connected urban economic communities. The results indicate that Hubei Province’s urban economic network exhibits a highly dominant core accompanied by multiple secondary supporting centers. While the Wuhan Metropolitan Area demonstrates high economic activity, internal horizontal linkages remain relatively weak, and the roles of Yichang and Xiangyang as regional sub-centers require further strengthening. Grid-based analysis further reveals pronounced cross-administrative economic linkages. Accordingly, this study suggests strengthening support for regional sub-centers and promoting better alignment between administrative space and functional space within the spatial planning system, with enhanced cross-regional coordination.