Transport-Driven Polycentric Transformation as a Pathway to Sustainable Urban Development: The Case of Baku Agglomeration

Abstract

This study investigates the spatial transformation of Baku urban agglomeration within the context of rapid urbanization, economic restructuring and increasing sustainability challenges. The research develops a multi-layer analytical framework combining morphological analysis perspective to examine the evolution of the agglomeration as an emerging transport-led polycentric system. The analysis is based on spatial-morphological interpretation, corridor-based network evaluation and comparative scenario assessment using key indicators, including centrality, accessibility, functional distribution and environmental constraints. The results reveal a structural mismatch between infrastructural expansion and functional redistribution. While transport corridor development has significantly enhanced territorial connectivity, economic activities and advanced services remain highly concentrated in the metropolitan core. These findings indicate that Baku agglomeration is not yet fully polycentric in a functional sense but is transitioning toward a corridor-driven configuration of polycentricity. Transport infrastructure emerges as a primary structuring mechanism, enabling spatial integration and facilitating the emergence of differentiated urban nodes, although functional decentralization requires further development. From a sustainability perspective, the corridor-based polycentric model contributes to reducing transport congestion, improving accessibility, optimizing land-use distribution and mitigating environmental pressures through the spatial redistribution of functions. The results demonstrate that infrastructure-led spatial restructuring can serve as an effective pathway toward more balanced and resource-efficient metropolitan development. The study contributes to urban theory by proposing that, in contrast to classical models based on economic decentralization, polycentric transformation in post-industrial and resource constrained metropolitan regions may emerge through transport-driven processes. This highlights the need to reconceptualize polycentricity as a context-dependent and infrastructure-mediated phenomenon.

Keywords: Baku agglomeration; polycentric development; transport corridors; urban networks; sustainable urban development; spatial structure; accessibility; metropolitan transformation