Impact of Administrative Division and Regional Accessibility on Rural Mobility in the Pearl River Delta: Evidence from Cellphone Big Data

Abstract

Mobility plays a critical role in promoting rural development. However, the current knowledge regarding the factors that influence mobility between rural towns is limited. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of administrative division and regional accessibility on rural mobility to inform development policies and strategies. The administrative division is demarcated by district and city boundaries, and regional accessibility is assessed using various modes of transportation, including cars, high-speed railways (HSRs), and intercity commuter railways (ICRs). A flow-based geographically weighted regression (FGWR) method is employed based on mobile phone signaling data to quantify the associations and identify the local effects of these factors in the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The findings suggest that both administrative division and regional accessibility significantly influence rural mobility. Specifically, the effects of district boundaries on commuting mobility are more pronounced in the central areas along the Pearl River, while the effects of city boundaries on non-commuting mobility between the core area and surrounding regions are more significant. With regard to regional accessibility, cars are the preferred mode of transportation for connections between the core areas of cities along the Pearl River, whereas HSR is favored more for non-commuting trips between the northwest and center regions. This study provides novel empirical insights into the understanding of rural mobility and has significant implications for promoting regional integration.