Urban morphology and urban fragmentation in Macau, China: island city development in the Pearl River Delta megacity region

Abstract

The island city of Macau, part of China’s Pearl River Delta megacity region, has undergone urban fragmentation, occasioning transport problems and environmental inequalities as well as conditioning future urban development. Land scarcity associated with island spatiality encourages dense and incremental urban expansion, facilitated by coastal land reclamation, causing spatiotemporal urban fragmentation. The Macau Peninsula, formerly a hilly island, has expanded and become increasingly connected to the mainland over the centuries. Macau faces critical challenges regarding traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and lack of space for housing and other urban functions. As Macau becomes increasingly integrated into the Pearl River Delta megacity region, particularly through the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the island city’s urban planning strategy uses land reclamation to create new urban zones. This may produce new urban space for social and economic development yet risks further urban fragmentation. We argue that spatially and historically sensitive geographical understandings of island city development and urban morphology are necessary for understanding Chinese urbanisation and coastal cities.