Influence Mechanism of Production-Living-Ecological Space Changes in the Urbanization Process of Guangdong Province, China

Abstract

Referencing the land use classification system of the “production-living-ecological” space and using 1 km × 1 km grids, this study examines the spatial pattern changes of “production-living-ecological” space in Guangdong Province, China, from 1990 to 2017. In the study, a multiple linear regression analysis model was constructed to explore the influencing factors and attribution mechanism of the changes. The results showed that between 1990 and 2017, the production spaces were mainly distributed in the Pearl River Delta and other coastal areas, showing a slight expansion trend (1). The expansion of production spaces mainly gathered in the Pearl River Delta, while the reduction was characterized by point-type dispersed. Living spaces were mainly distributed in the Pearl River Delta, the Shantou–Shanwei–Chaozhou–Jieyang urban agglomeration, the Zhanjiang-Maoming–Yangjiang urban agglomeration, and other rapidly growing urbanized areas. They showed a spatial pattern of “large scale agglomeration and small scale dispersion” with a trend towards expansion. Living spaces in urban agglomerations such as the Pearl River Delta showed a large-scale expansion from the core to the peripheral area, while expansion in other areas was small-scale and point-type. The reduction of living spaces was point-type dispersed. The ecological spaces were mainly distributed in mountainous and hilly areas in eastern, western, and northern Guangdong and showed a “regional agglomeration and partially fragmented” spatial pattern. Ecological spaces in urban agglomerations showed large-scale and regional reductions, while reductions in other areas were small-scale and point-type. Ecological space expansions were point-type dispersed. Human, natural, and especially land-use type factors drove the changes of Guangdong’s production-living-ecological spaces (2). The changes of the production-living-ecological space pattern resulted from the interaction between human society, nature, and politics (3).