Abstract:

To study the influence of the construction and development of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration on the population distribution in northeast Sichuan, based on the population data from 2000 to 2014, we analyzed the spatio-temporal evolution of population distribution in the region by using the spatial autocorrelation and the models of population center migration. The results showed that (1) from the perspective of the total population change, the population of northeastern Sichuan increased by 1.951 million from 2000 to 2014 with an average annual growth rate of 5.56‰; (2) the population of northeastern Sichuan was mainly concentrated in Nanchong, Guang’an and some counties in southwest Dazhou, namely, the southeast of the region; (3) the overall spatial autocorrelation results showed that: the population of northeastern Sichuan was positively correlated in space, and the spatial aggregation was remarkable; while from a local point of view, the local characteristics of population spatial aggregation gradually weakened during 2000-2014, and in 2014, local clustering was not significant; (4) from 2000 to 2014, the population center in northeastern Sichuan showed a trend of migration from the northwest to the southeast.

Key words: Population Distribution, Northeastern Sichuan, GIS, Spatio-temporal Evolution, Spatial Autocorrelation