Abstract:

Based on mobile phone signaling data, this study uses the Guangzhou-Foshan area as the focus area of a case study. The spatial structure is determined using the Lorenz method, and the spatio-temporal characteristics of job-housing are analyzed in a cross-border region. The findings of the study are as follows. First, the job-housing space of Guangzhou exhibits the characteristics of a single employment center and suburbanization, which is mismatched. The job-housing space of Foshan is mixed and presents a spatial pattern of "large scatter, small cluster," which is related to the urban development mode. Second, the job-housing space presents a new trend that emerged after the cities of Guangzhou and Foshan were integrated. The cross-border region, including Jinshazhou, Fangcun, and Guicheng, has formed a continuous high-intensity commuting area. Third, the job-housing patterns of the five cross-border regions are quite different. The Huadu airport area and the new station area (also referred to as a traffic hub type) support the airport economy and the high-speed rail economy, which affects the flow of labor and capital factors in the two cities and drives industrial development of surrounding areas. At the center of the cross-border region, the Jinshazhou and Fangcun-Guicheng regions (living type) undertake the resident spillover of Guangzhou and Foshan. The Wusha region (industry type) has a geographical advantage of forming a cross-border industrial park, attracting nearby residents for work. This research provides meaningful guidance and practice for the development of cross-border regions. Further, it provides new analytical dimensions and perspectives for related research. It can be seen that the development of different types of transboundary areas is conducive to suturing space rifts between the cities of Guangzhou and Foshan, thereby accelerating the integration of urban space. Based on the Lorenz curve, this study innovatively introduces a stricter endogenous threshold method to determine the threshold value of vocational and residential centers of Guangzhou and Foshan. Existing research mainly focuses on Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and other big cities. From the perspective of regional functions, this study focuses on cross-border regions and aims to provide references for regional coordinated development. However, some deficiencies still persist in this study, such as one person with multiple phone numbers, or incomplete samples of mobile phone signaling data. In the follow-up study, other trajectory data such as subway use and traffic can be added for verification. In addition, if the economic and social attributes of individual residents can be combined, the characteristics of people residing in cross-border areas during urbanization can be analyzed more precisely. This will be conducive to identifying patterns inoccupation and residence space.

Key words: cross-border Region, job-housing spatial relationship, mobile phone signaling data, Guangzhou-Foshan