Rapid Urbanization Induced Extensive Forest Loss to Urban Land in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China

China has experienced rapid urbanizations with dramatic land cover changes since 1978. Forest loss is one of land cover changes, and it induces various eco-environmental degradation issues. As one of China’s hotspot regions, the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area(GBA) has undergone a dramatic urban expansion. To better understand forest dynamics and protect forest ecosystem, revealing the processes, patterns and underlying drivers of forest loss is essential. This study focused on the spatiotemporal evolution and potential driving factors of forest loss in the GBA at regional and city level. The Landsat time-series images from 1987 to2017 were used to derive forest, and landscape metrics and geographic information system(GIS) were applied to implement further spatial analysis. The results showed that: 1) 14.86% of the total urban growth area of the GBA was obtained from the forest loss in1987–2017;meanwhile, the forest loss area of the GBA reached 4040.6 km2, of which 25.60%(1034.42 km2) was converted to urban land;2) the percentages of forest loss to urban land in Dongguan(19.14%), Guangzhou(18.35%) and Shenzhen(15.81%) were higher than those in other cities;3) the forest became increasingly fragmented from 1987–2007, and then the fragmentation decreased from2007 to 2017);4) the landscape responses to forest changes varied with the scale;and 5) some forest loss to urban regions moved from low-elevation and gentle-slope terrains to higher-elevation and steep-slope terrains over time, especially in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.Urbanization and industrialization greatly drove forest loss and fragmentation, and, notably, hillside urban land expansion may have contributed to hillside forest loss. The findings will help policy makers in maintaining the stability of forest ecosystems, and provide some new insights into forest management and conservation.

Transport Accessibility and Spatial Connections of Cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Based on geographic information system(GIS) spatial analysis technology, the spatial pattern of raster grid transport accessibility for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay area was studied and the states of spatial connectedness were simulated using highway passenger transport, railway passenger transport, port passenger transport and aviation passenger transport data. The result shows that transport accessibility within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay area costs ‘one hour’ and the spatial distribution of accessibility in the area presents clear ‘core-periphery’ spatial characteristics, with Guangzhou, Foshan, Shenzhen constituting the core. The transport accessibility of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao is high. Average accessibility of urban nodes as measured by travel time is 0.99 h, and the areas accessible within 1.42 h occupy 79.14% of the total area. Most of the areas with the lowest accessibility are found in the peripheral area, with the worst accessibility being 4.73 h. Compared with the west-side cities, the economically developed east-side cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay area have higher connectivity with roads, railways, ports, and aviation transport. Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao are closely linked. The higher the accessibility, the closer the intercity connectedness.

Research on the Integrated Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area:Current Situation,Problems,and Countermeasures

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area(the Greater Bay Area,the GBA)aims to facilitate in-depth cooperation among the Guangdong,Hong Kong,and Macao regions to create a worldclass bay area-based urban agglomeration.This endeavor seeks to guide China's economy toward high-quality development and comprehensive opening-up.This paper examines the challenges and obstacles faced by Guangdong,Hong Kong,and Macaoregardinggregionalcoordinated development,thus putting forward the following standpoints.It proposes enhancing infrastructure interconnectivity to establish the GBA 1-hour Express Traffic Circle,thereby driving the construction of a worldclass international shipping and logistics hub.Furthermore,the paper advocates for establishing an industrial collaborative development system in the GBA,jointly creatingapilot zoneeforindustrial transformation and upgrading,and further advancing market integration.Creating an international innovation corridor and innovation center for science and technology(S&T)industry is also essential.This initiative would center around critical sectors,improving S&T innovation chain,and building a talent cooperation demonstration zone.The paper also emphasizes the establishment of a transport and logistics hub for the Belt and Road Initiative,along with the joint development of a cultural,economic,and trade exchange platform under the“Belt and Road”framework.Leveraging the comparative advantages of the three regions,the paper underscores the importance of innovative collaboration models,fostering a mutually beneficial and complementary mechanism for synergistic development.These approaches aim to realize the integrated and innovative development of the GBA.

Exploring diurnal and seasonal variabilities in surface urban heat island intensity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

The urban heat island(UHI) is an environmental problem of wide concern because it poses a threat to both the human living environment and the sustainable development of cities. Knowledge of the spatiotemporal characteristics and the driving factors of UHI is essential for mitigating their impact. However, current understanding of the UHI in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area(GBA) is inadequate. Combined with data(e.g., land surface temperature and land use.) acquired from the Google Earth Engine and other sources for the period 2001–2020, this study examined the diurnal and seasonal variabilities, spatial heterogeneities, temporal trends, and drivers of surface UHI intensity(SUHII) in the GBA. The SUHII was calculated based on the urban–rural dichotomy, which has been proven an effective method. The average SUHII was generally 0–2°C, and the SUHII in daytime was generally greater than that at night. The maximum(minimum) SUHII was found in summer(winter);similarly, the largest(smallest) diurnal difference in SUHII was during summer(winter). Generally, the Mann–Kendall trend test and the Sen's slope estimator revealed a statistically insignificant upward trend in SUHII on all time scales. The influence of driving factors on SUHII was examined using the Geo-Detector model. It was found that the number of continuous impervious pixels had the greatest impact, and that the urban–rural difference in the enhanced vegetation index had the smallest impact, suggesting that anthropogenic heat emissions and urban size are the main influencing factors. Thus, controlling urban expansion and reducing anthropogenic heat generation are effective approaches for alleviating surface UHI.