Revealing the characteristics of active area in the city by Taxi GPS data a study of Shenzhen, China

Taxi serves as a main transportation means for urban residents. The driving behavior recorded by Taxi GPS data can be a mirror to urban life. Therefore, this study adopts taxi GPS data to extract active area of the city and examine the weekday and weekend discrepancy. Moreover, the point of interests (POI) is combined to reveal the characteristics of the city. The method proposed in this study can be efficiently used to study the structure of the city and explore the living style of city residents, which provides valuable information for urban planners and policy makers to plan for public service, do spatial plan of urban land, and optimize urban function.