Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Megacity Corridor Spatial Evolution Research: Spatial Evolution Research of the Megacity Corridor

Author: Cao Xiaoshu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The contemporary world can be described as a functional urban system composed of cities of different levels and with diverse functions. Globally, several global cities have emerged, which transcend national spatial rights and exert control in the global economy. Castells and others describe global cities from the perspective of global flows as influential nodes and centers worldwide. Against the backdrop of economic globalization, the development of cities and regions has become increasingly integrated. Cities have gradually transformed into urban regions, while regions have increasingly become urbanized areas. Correspondingly, a new conceptual system has emerged, such as global cities and global urban regions. Over the past two decades, numerous mega-urban regions have emerged worldwide. In developed countries, revitalized urban centers and new regional nodes are interconnected, forming the spatial regions of cities at the highest levels in the global urban system. Increasing evidence suggests that a significant proportion of population growth will occur in mega-urban regions. Moreover, with the advancement of economic globalization, the urban systems of most developing countries are likely to be dominated by mega-urban regions. This new regional urban space is becoming a complex territorial entity where the node networks and transportation networks merge. One of its spatial manifestations is the mega-urban corridor.
China, in its future development, needs to participate in economic globalization and occupy a relatively important position in the international economy. To achieve this, it must establish several global cities, which will then form global urban regions centered around these cities to collectively face the challenges of globalization.
After more than 20 years of reform and opening-up, China has formed four major economic and urban population agglomeration zones with national significance: the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the Liaoning-South area. These zones cover less than 3% of the country's area but concentrate 31% of the national GDP and 30% of the population. Within each economic core zone, economic and population activities are highly concentrated in the core axis areas formed by major core cities and primary development axes.
The Pearl River Delta region has formed a mega-urban corridor with Hong Kong and Guangzhou as endpoints and Shenzhen and Dongguan as key nodes. Its scope is primarily defined by the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway, National Highway 107, Provincial Highway 203, and the Guangzhou-Jiujiang Railway. The western boundary is the Pearl River estuary, the southern boundary is the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the northern boundary is the northern part of Guangzhou City, and the eastern boundary is within the jurisdiction of Guangzhou Zengcheng. It includes Guangzhou City, Dongguan County, Shenzhen City, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and part of Guangzhou Zengcheng.
The purpose of this book is to conduct an in-depth study of transportation, population, land, and industry in a precisely defined mega-urban corridor through empirical research in a typical region, providing references and insights for the establishment of global urban regions in China.
The foundation of this book stems from the author's doctoral dissertation completed in 2001, titled "Spatial Evolution of Transportation Corridors in the Pearl River Delta and Its Impacts," which was part of the National Natural Science Foundation of China's key project "Coordinated Development of Hong Kong, Macao, and the Pearl River Delta," supervised by Professor Xu Xueqiang. The dissertation focused on the theory and empirical research of transportation corridors, emphasizing the spatial transportation connections between cities and their impacts.
Building on this, in 2002, the author was fortunate to receive funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, narrowing the research focus to the internal evolution of the Shenzhen-Guangzhou-Hong Kong mega-urban corridor. Under the guidance of the author, graduate students Xu Xu and Guo Qingming completed master's theses titled "Accessibility and Spatial Patterns of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Corridor" (Sun Yat-sen University Master's Thesis, 2005) and "Development Evolution and Spatial Structure of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Corridor" (Sun Yat-sen University Master's Thesis, 2005).
Chapter 7 of this book references the content of Chapter 4 of Pu Jun's doctoral dissertation "Evolution of Land Use in the Pearl River Delta and Urban Spatial Differentiation" (Sun Yat-sen University Doctoral Thesis, 2004). Therefore, this book can be seen as a summary of the author's eight years of research.
I would like to express my special gratitude to Dr. Li Ping, Dr. Tian Wenzhu, and Dr. Yan Tingzhen of the Commercial Press for their selfless and sincere care, without which this book would not have been published. At the same time, I am also deeply grateful to all my teachers, friends, and family who have supported and helped me!