Optimising Urban Spatial Structure: The Role of Settlement Systems, Socio-Economics, and Movement Actors in Palopo City, Indonesia

Abstract

The sustainability of urban development embodies settlement patterns and transport systems that are affected by residents’ travel preferences and the urban spatial structure. This study aims to analyze the influence of settlement and social and economic systems on movement actors toward the confirmation of cumulative integration in the structure of urban service centers. The research approach was quantitative based on multivariate statistics with the structural equation analysis method (SEM-PLS). Data were collected through observation, documentation, and survey. The results illustrate the distribution and concentration of residents, as well as the socio-economic conditions of the movers that influence the movers. Whereas movement actors have a weak influence on service centers, this is because access and connectivity to service centers can be reached from the periphery to the city center for medium-sized cities. The cumulative integration pattern illustrates that the service center is still dominated by a monocentric spatial structure as evidenced by the distribution of economic and socio-economic activities as well as movement actors who perform mobility to the city service center. This research contributes to urban planning to encourage sustainable urban growth.