The dynamics of peri-urbanization in the Pearl River Delta: Emerging land use patterns, urban villages and their linkages to global mechanisms

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This project aims to analyze the interaction of informal and formal dynamics occurring in peri-urban and inter-urban areas of the Pearl River Delta. These areas constitute locations that are neither urban nor rural. In the case of the Pearl River Delta, Urban Villages are considered as a major economic, social and physical formation playing a catalytic role in the mega-urbanization process and forming a mega-urban landscape. Building on the preliminary results of the project's first phase, it is suggested to continue research activities with an emphasis on process Issues and the role of Urban Villages in the less developed western part of the Pearl River Delta. Our proposal for the project's second phase suggests: a) to complement the empirical data from the project's first phase with in-depth studies on urban villages on the less developed west bank of the Pearl River, b) to further develop the typology of transformation processes, c) to explore context variables such as the decision making patterns of Hong- Kong based firms and government-institutions, the incidence of informality and regional policies, and d) to create a GIS data base for combining the qualitative results of ground research with the medium- and large-scale changes of the urban landscape. Expected results of the second phase include a) a refinement of variables for economic, social and land use changes in the inter-urban space, a) a definition of the specific forms of informality prevailing in the PRD a description of processes on the meso-level.