Research on the Spatial Evolution of the Giant Urban Corridor of Shenzhen, Shantou, and Hong Kong

Author: Cao Xiaoshu et al.
Publisher:
Publishing 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. Across the globe, several global cities have emerged, which transcend national spatial rights and exert control within the global economy. Castells and others describe global cities from the perspective of global flows of space, characterizing them as influential nodes and centers worldwide. Against the backdrop of economic globalization, the development of cities and regions is increasingly integrated. Cities are gradually becoming urban regions, while regions are also becoming increasingly urbanized. Correspondingly, a new conceptual framework has emerged, such as global cities and global urban regions. Over the past two decades, numerous mega-urban regions have developed worldwide. In developed countries, revitalized urban centers and new regional nodes are interconnected, forming the spatial regions of cities at the highest levels within the global urban system. Growing evidence indicates 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 where the node networks of regions 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 address the challenges of globalization.
After more than 20 years of reform and opening-up, China has developed four major economic and urban 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 land 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, the Guangzhou-Jiujiang Railway, and others. 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 City, 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 the mega-urban corridor through empirical research in a typical region, focusing on transportation, population, land, and industry, in order to provide references and insights for the establishment of global urban regions in China.
The foundation of this book lies in the doctoral dissertation completed by the author in 2001, titled "Spatial Evolution and Impacts of Transportation Corridors in the Pearl River Delta," which was part of the National Natural Science Foundation of China major project "Coordinated Development of Hong Kong, Macao, and the Pearl River Delta" led by Professor Xu Xueqiang. The dissertation was completed under the guidance of Professor Yan Xiaopei and Professor Situ Shangji. It focused on the theoretical and empirical research of transportation corridors, emphasizing the spatial transportation links between cities and their impacts.
In 2002, the author was fortunate to receive funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China to focus the research on the internal evolution of the Shenzhen-Guangzhou-Hong Kong mega-urban corridor. Under the author's guidance, graduate students Xu Xu and Guo Qingming completed their master's theses, respectively: "Accessibility and Spatial Patterns of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Corridor" (Master's Thesis, Sun Yat-sen University, 2005) and "Development Evolution and Spatial Structure of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Corridor" (Master's Thesis, Sun Yat-sen University, 2005).
Chapter 7 of this book references the content of Chapter 4 of Pu Jun's doctoral dissertation, "Land Use Evolution and Urban Spatial Differentiation in the Pearl River Delta" (Doctoral Thesis, Sun Yat-sen University, 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, which made the publication of this book possible. At the same time, I am also deeply grateful to all my teachers, friends, and family who have supported and helped me!