Analyzing the Spatial Structure of Urban Region of Central Mazandaran with Emphasis on Social Network

Cities have become a regional phenomenon both physically and functionally in recent years. Thus, by the change of the ontological status of space, logic and meaning of place in a new context have been interpreted in the new context. Central Mazandaran has faced the challenges of functional segregation due to lack of integrated regional development strategies, lack of attention to competition or cooperation of centers and urban areas in the network. It seems that under the existing direction of spaces, the conducted researches will not be able to describe the integrity, function and structure of the urban network in the province. The study used descriptive-analytical method and network analysis tools to explore the components and indicators of spatial interaction analysis and to study the spatial pattern of central Mazandaran urban network by analyzing the origin-destination data for the year 2018. The results showed the formation of a multi- base centered system and even a balanced network in the region. Therefore, by evoluting the new pattern in the region, there is a need for change in approach of spatial planning based on the economic advantages of network. The relations among the bigger cities are not seen only competitive but they should be complementary with each other. Moreover, the results of social network analysis indicated that the morphology of the polycentric region of Central Mazandaran has a significant influence on the area as the form of the region is such that the adjacent cities follow the cluster pattern and have a network structure.