GIS-based study on the relationship between accessibility and population distribution

The relationship of population and transportation has been an important research issue of population geography and transportation geography. Based on the basic topographic map data (1∶10000), the fifth census data, the population data of townships in 2000, this paper calculated accessibility at the county (city, district) level in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China using cost weighted distance algorithm. The relationship between the accessibility and population distribution is further analyzed based on time cost raster map in GIS and SPSS software. The result shows that the county accessibility in Guangxi is at medium level as a whole while the accessibility in the ethnic minority areas is relative low. It is most affected by railway and highway. The accessibility is remarkably positively correlated with the population density. The maximum distance of influence between the accessibility and population density is a 2-hour traffic circle. The results can provide a scientific basis for making better decisions in the transportation planning and guiding the redistribution of population in Guangxi, China.