A Study on Economic Spatial Structure of Urban Agglomerations in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Abstract

Based on the multi-index data of 11 cities in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay in 2016, the urban economic quality was calculated by TOPSIS method. Applying the modified gravitational model, the economy spatial linkage characteristics of core city-to-periphery city and periphery city-to-periphery city were analyzed. In addition, based on the method of network density analysis, centrality measures, core-periphery structure analysis to make a further verification about facts carried out from spatial connection analysis. This study shows that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay has an obvious core-periphery structure, and the overall economic network connection of Greater Bay is not strong. Guangdong-Shenzhen-Hong Kong is the core urban agglomeration in the Greater Bay Area. Dongguan and Foshan are transforming from marginal cities to semi-marginal cities. The marginal cities are limited by geographical distance or the economic environment, which leads to their development far behind the overall development of the Greater Bay Area. Finally, combined with the new wooden barrel theory and location advantage analysis method, advices were carried out to build a higher-level of the Greater Bay Area in future by dividing the Greater Bay Area into three major urban agglomerations. Urban agglomerations were proposed to meet the resources and industrial demands of the core urban imperfections and drive the economic development of the marginal cities at the same time.