A typology of network city in a socio-economically disadvantaged region

•The development of urban networks in socio-economically disadvantaged areas is effective.•Typology of network cities depends on mobility environments.•New nodes and nodalities can be formed by cargo, passenger and migration flows.•Structure of the four network cities within the region were simulated.

This paper examines a typology of network cities by linking a range of mobility environments to small and medium-size cities in a socioeconomically disadvantaged region. Despite the considerable volume of international studies focused on a global network of major cities and functional network linkage, little studies examine the local impact of passenger, cargo and migration flows on forming a network city within a disadvantaged region. In particular the evolution of disadvantaged low rank-size cities into a network city within a socio-economically disadvantaged region remains uncertain. This paper found that some socio-economically disadvantaged small cities in the Dongnam region, Korea where mobility environments are relatively weak were excluded in forming urban networks. Functional linkage to the major cities and the expansion of passenger and cargo based links have a significant impact on a typology of network cities with various nodality and polycentrality structure within the region.