Spatial Variation and Determinants of Interaction among Urban Centres in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the volume of interaction among the urban centers in the study region and to assess the relationship between the observed volume of interaction and the expected volume of interaction in the study region..   Six urban centres were selected from the thirty-one urban centres in the study region using random number table.   Data collection was by travel survey conducted from Monday – Saturday simultaneously in the six urban public motor parks between the hours of 7 – 9 am, 12 – 2 pm and 4 – 6 pm. The Chi-square technique ‘goodness of fit’ test was used to analyze the difference between the observed volume of interaction and the expected volume of interaction among the urban centers.  The study revealed a significant difference between the observed volume of interaction and the expected volume of interaction in the region.  The conclusion was that the determinants of inter – urban interaction in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria are not just population and distance as postulated in the gravity model, other socio-economic variables such as number of industries, number of tertiary educational institutions,  number of major markets, number of tourism sites and  number of hospitals also contribute to inter-urban interaction in the region.  This is a contribution to modifying gravity model for wider use.  These findings will assist in the urban transportation planning of the region.

Keywords: Spatial variation, inter-urban interaction, gravity model, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria