Proof Verification : Equivalent Condition for Locally Connected Space

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A topological space $X$ is locally connected if

for every $x$ in $X$ and for every open set $V$ containing $x$, there is a connected open set $U$ with $x \in U \subset V$.

I think it is equivalent to the following statement:

For $X$, there is a basis all of whose elements are open and connected.

One way (Assume the latter, and prove that $X$ is locally connected) is trivial.

Let's prove the other way. (Assume that $X$ is locally connected.)

Let $\tau$ be the set $\{U : U ~\text{is open and connected}\}$. We shall show that $\tau$ is a basis.

Becasue $X$ is locally connected, for every $x \in X$ (if we put $V = X$) there is a connected open set $U_x$ with $x \in U_x \subset X$.

Hence, $\{U_x : x \in X\} \subset \tau$. Because $\{U_x : x \in X\}$ covers $X$, we know that $\tau$ covers $X$.

For any $V_1, V_2 \in \tau$, the set $V_1 \cap V_2$ is an open set.

Because $X$ is locally connected, for every $x \in V_1 \cap V_2$, there is $W_x$ which is open and connected with $x \in W_x \subset V_1 \cap V_2$.

Note that $W_x$ belongs to $\tau$. Hence, $\tau$ satisfies all conditions for being a basis.


Please check my (above) proof is right.

And I think the same argument is available to the locally path-connected space. Please, give me an advice.

Thank you.

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What you prove is correct, but it is not that what is required.

In fact it is fairly obvious that the set $\mathcal U$ of all connected open $U \subset X$ forms a basis for the topolopy on $X$: For each open $V \subset X$ and each $x \in V$ there exists $U \in \mathcal U$ such that $x \in U \subset V$.

What you prove is that $\mathcal U$ satisfies the conditions for an abstract basis on the set $X$, i.e. that $\mathcal U$ is the basis for some topology on $X$. See for example here.

For the locally path connected case everything works literally as above.