  Defining an objective boundary for a city is a difficult problem, which
remains to be solved by an effective method. Recent years, new methods for
identifying urban boundary have been developed by means of spatial search
techniques (e.g. CCA). However, the new algorithms are involved with another
problem, that is, how to determine the characteristic radius of spatial search.
This paper proposes new approaches to looking for the most advisable spatial
searching radius for determining urban boundary. We found that the
relationships between the spatial searching radius and the corresponding number
of clusters take on an exponential function. In the exponential model, the
scale parameter just represents the characteristic length that we can use to
define the most objective urban boundary objectively. Two sets of China's
cities are employed to test this method, and the results lend support to the
judgment that the characteristic parameter can well serve for the spatial
searching radius. The research may be revealing for making urban spatial
analysis in methodology and implementing identification of urban boundaries in
practice.

Physics and Society