Abstract:  

Multi-center urban agglomeration is a spatial equilibrium formed by the multiplication and diffusion of elements, and it has become the policy goal of urban agglomeration development. The period of urbanization process in our country is relatively short, and there are big differences among regions. Thus, we need to take the development stages of specific urban agglomerations into consideration when studying the spatial optimization problem. Based on the data of the six urban agglomerations in Central China from 2005 to 2014, the paper analyzes the impact of urban spatial structure on regional economic growth in two dimensions; the population distribution and the industrial spatial distribution. The results show that: (1) From the perspective of population, the paper shows the evidence that the agglomerations of Hubei, Jiangxi and Shanxi Province that are single-centered currently are evolved in a multi-centered structure trend. In contrast, the agglomerations of Anhui, Hunan, and Henan Province are in a state of decentralized distribution and agglomerate to the central cities gradually. (2) From the perspective of industry, the average values of SP are higher in the agglomerations of Jiangxi and Shanxi, which means their spatial distribution of industries is more dispersed, while other urban agglomerations are relatively concentrated. In general, the SP index of the urban agglomerations in Central China all increasing at different rates, indicating that the industrial spatial distribution of all urban agglomerations is developing toward a multi-centered orientation gradually.(3) The paper finds an inverse U-shaped relationship between population structure and economic growth, which means a transition from a single-center to a multi-center structure. (4) The industry spatial agglomeration has a positive effect on the economic growth. As a key new urbanization area in the country, Central China will have a large population and industries entering the urban areas in the future. Therefore, it should expand its new development space by guiding the flow of resources such as capital effectively, optimize the new pattern of development, and enhance the efficiency of economic development and the quality of urbanization. In this context, the above conclusion has extremely important policy implications.