Abstract:

Fractal study is one of the most important content in modern theoretic geography.This paper commenced with the application of the fractal theory and tried to find the rule of the settlements system of Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province at the scale of the municipal area，by using ArcGIS9.3 software.Based on the fractal theory，the paper analyzed the scale structure and spatial structure of settlements system，and found out that the settlements system had the fractal properties.Thus,the fractal theory could be suitable for calculating and analyzing the scale structure and spatial structure of reunionlike settlements system in the district.According to the results of calculation and analysis，the paper drew the conclusions below.(1)Reunionlike settlements system in Zhenjiang were fractal in the scale structure and spatial structure of settlements system，acting as a selfsimilar structure.In the settlement system，the spatial correlation among the city，town and centre village was strong，indicating that the evolution of selforganization in spatial structure showed optimization trends.The factor of the settlements system in the study area distributed evenly from the center to the periphery.Therefore,fractal theory would be important for the planning of settlements system and be valuable in practice.(2)The spatial aggregation of reunionlike settlements system in Zhenjiang acted as multilevel fractal character.The spatial aggregation citytowncentre villagenature village,towncentre villagenature village and centre villagenature village settlement system were different in some places.In most place，such as around the center of Zhenjiang city and in the hinterland of Jurong，the spatial aggregation of centre village was stronger than that of the city and town.In the hinterland of Dagang New District，the spatial aggregation of town was the strongest.Therefore,we can conclude that the fractal distribution would be affected by the degree of development of the settlements system.All in all，the spatial aggregation of centre village was stronger than that of city and town.(3)Terrain and the degree of development of the settlements system were the most important factors influencing the spatial aggregation.Around the center of Zhenjiang city and the north of Jurong，there would be more settlement groups which located around center village in valley area because of the terrain constraints.At the same time，the gathering fractal dimension would be lower；in the plain areas of Danyang，the city had a significant role in gathering settlements in its hinterland.Therefore，in the future work，fractal theory would be a useful tool for the planning of settlements system，finally make effective use of geospatial resources