Sustainable urban external service function development for building the international megalopolis in the Pearl River Delta, China

Abstract

This study is about the urban economic service function characteristics and the regional economic contact from the perspectives of region and industries. This paper analyzes the location quotient (LQ), urban external function capability (UEFC), and the characteristics and distribution of urban economic flow intensity (UEFI) of cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of Guangdong Province, China. Results show: (1) the proportion of the UEFI of Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the PRD region decreased while the one of Foshan and Dongguan increased from 2005 to 2013; (2) the UEFI of Foshan gained the largest increase (532%) and Zhuhai showed the smallest increase (76%) from 2005 to 2013; (3) LQs of manufacturing in all cities were greater than one, indicating the overall external service capability of this sector was strong in the PRD region; (4) the numbers of cities whose LQs of tertiary sectors were greater than one reduced from 2005 to 2013, reflecting the urban external service capabilities of the tertiary sectors tended to be concentrated to fewer cities.