Understanding Road Traffic Evolution in an Urbanizing Context through Statistical and Geospatial Analysis

Urbanization, an accelerated process, is inherently coupled with complex issues, including the evolution of road traffic systems. This diversity in urbanization and transport infrastructure largely hinges on economic status and geographic positioning across cities. Leveraging the capabilities of remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in processing geospatial big data, this paper evaluates the urbanization level (UL) and road traffic level (RTL) in 212 prefecture-level cities using statistical and geospatial grid data. We aim to dissect the impact of UL on RTL, thus highlighting the specific challenges and opportunities across regions and pinpointing optimal urban development models. Our findings demonstrate (1) rapid development in UL across all cities, juxtaposed with a surge and then stagnation in RTL; (2) a positive correlation between UL and RTL that grows over time but weakens in later stages; (3) differentiated development models in different city tiers and regions; and (4) region-specific development models and optimization policies aimed at enhancing the symbiosis of urbanization and road traffic. This study underscores the pivotal role of the integration of statistical and geospatial data in understanding the dynamic intersection of urbanization and road traffic systems.