Redai dili (May 2024)
Spatial Structure and Border-Effect Measurement of Transportation-Flow Network in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
Abstract
Owing to historical reasons, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) features a unique "one country, two systems" institutional framework. Facilitating the integration and connectivity of transportation among Hong Kong, Macao, and the Mainland is crucial for the high-quality development of the GBA. Previous studies about borders have primarily focused on national (supranational) or administrative boundaries within a country's territory. However, studies on the unique institutional differences in the GBA are insufficient. Additionally, most studies do not perform dynamic border effects measurements using big traffic flow data. This study utilizes toll-collection data from highways in the GBA for 2021 and 2023, as well as cross-border traffic data, to construct a traffic-flow network for the GBA. Complex network analysis and border-effect measurement methods are employed to investigate the spatial structure of the GBA traffic-flow network and its dynamic changes in border effects. The results indicate that, in terms of the overall spatial structure of traffic flow in the GBA, the network exhibits a unique "dual-core edge" structure, with the Guangzhou-Foshan, and Shenzhen-Dongguan-Huizhou regions serving as dual cores. In contrast, the overall coverage and connectivity strength of the passenger-flow network are higher than those of the freight-flow network. Regarding the dynamic changes in the spatial structure of traffic flow from Hong Kong and Macao, the coverage and density of the traffic-flow network in 2023 are significantly higher than those in 2021. Traffic flows from Hong Kong and Macao have begun to extend beyond the border toward the northern regions, thus accelerating the integration of transportation within the GBA and forming a spatial pattern of "cross-strait connectivity and all-area interconnection." However, because of their peripheral positions in the traffic network and the presence of border effects, the importance of Hong Kong and Macao in the GBA traffic-flow network remains relatively weak. Based on the dynamic measurement results of border effects, the obstruction coefficients between Hong Kong and the Mainland, as well as between Macao and the Mainland, are significantly higher than those between various counties within the Mainland. The obstruction coefficients for passenger vehicles are generally lower than those for freight vehicles. Following the outbreak of the pandemic, the obstruction coefficients of the GBA traffic-flow network have increased dynamically, thus indicating a reduction in obstructive border effects. This study expands the quantitative research framework of border effects in traffic-flow networks, thus promoting integrated transportation development in the GBA and facilitating its integration development goals.
Keywords
