Urban transition dynamics in the regional rescaling of the Pearl River Delta Area: a qualitative approach

The Pearl River Delta region has been the hub of urban vibrancy and boom ever since the country’s opening up and devolution reforms. However, the political and economic institutions of the cities in this region are so different and complicated that they pose great challenges to the integration of the whole region. This study takes one prominent experiment of urban expansion, Hengqin in Zhuhai, as a case study to investigate how institutional innovations are forged and managed to boost urban development and transitions towards sustainable growth and regional integration. We adopt a multi-level perspective framework to analyze Hengqin’s urban transition. Government archives, master plans, various documents and interviews with government officials, planners, residents, and businesses from Zhuhai, Hong Kong, and Macau are chosen as sources of the analysis, which delineates the complex interactions from a variety of stakeholders. Despite difficulties in the early days, Hengqin is now transitioning quickly, although still confronted with inter-scalar challenges. A better understanding of the governance and economic innovations that have taken place, and the investment-driven development strategies involved, will help shed light on the urban transition of other similar city regions.