关键词: 空间一体化, 指标, 长江三角洲

Abstract:

The globalization process, increasing the intensity of competition between cities, favors the regional integration process in the metropolitan system. The regional integration is a spatial unbalanced process, i.e., economic production becomes more concentrated, living standards diverge before converging, and labor division becomes more specialized. In this article, complex components for assessing the transformation of regional integration are selected, with consideration of the following four dimensions, i.e., density, distance, specialization and division. Based on empirical analysis, an overview of spatial development in Changjiang River Delta is presented. The results show that: 1) Development density increases, which mainly benefits from the agglomeration effect of population and capital. But this evolution accompanies with the core agglomeration and peripheral dispersion. 2) Transportation accessibility enhances. By means of shortening the trans-regional physical distance of trade flow, the trade costs between cities has been reduced. 3) The industrial specialization level improves, and it also promotes the division and cooperation between regions. However, industries, mainly about the secondary industry and tertiary industry, represent different spatial patterns: the secondary industry transfers from “core” to “periphery” regions, while the tertiary industry aggregates into the core cities. 4) A multi-level and multi-model regional governance system has been establishing. In conclusion, the degree of regional integration in Changjiang River Delta has been enhanced since the early 20th century, which is mainly droved by regulation effect of market. Simultaneously, the governmental preference utility also has motivated the local governments to accelerate the urban construction and the development of heavy and chemical industry, which directly leads to the urban sprawl and spatial dispersion of industries, and then precipitates the regional integration as well. However, the regional protectionism and institutional obstacle of population mobility, as well as the barriers of technology communication and capital flow, have impeded the regional integration in the Changjiang River Delta. For the sake of the competiveness in this area, multi-level regional governance interacted with various governance patterns from the state to city should be formed in the future.

Key words: spatial integration, indicators of regional integration, the Changjiang River Delta