ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Cities
Sec. Innovation and Governance
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frsc.2025.1652161
This article is part of the Research TopicSpatial Development Strategies in Multi-Level Systems of Political GovernanceView all articles
Spatial Typologies and Spillover Effects of County Development in Guangdong Province, China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangzhou Maritime College, Guangzhou, China
- 2Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
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This study investigates disparities in county-level development across 57 counties in Guangdong Province, China, within the policy framework of the "Hundred Counties, Thousand Towns, Ten Thousand Villages" initiative. A comprehensive typology of development is constructed, and spatial spillover effects are evaluated using a multidimensional index system that incorporates fiscal self-sufficiency, urbanization, demographics, and industrial structure. The empirical analysis applies Z-score standardization, k-means clustering, and Spatial Durbin Models to classify counties and quantify spatial effects. Results reveal pronounced polarization between the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and peripheral regions. Developed counties concentrate economic and administrative functions, generating positive externalities for surrounding areas, while fiscally weaker counties continue to face marginalization. Governance capacity and urbanization emerge as critical mediators influencing the diffusion of development. The study concludes by proposing a differentiated spatial governance framework to guide integrated urban–rural strategies, providing actionable insights for mitigating territorial inequality and promoting balanced regional growth.
Keywords: County Development, Spatial governance, urban–rural integration, Land use policy, Development Typology, Guangdong Province
Received: 23 Jun 2025; Accepted: 26 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Shi, Liu and Gong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Weixia Gong, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
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