Spatial Reconfiguration of the Metropolitan Fringe Areas Under Policy Evolution—Taking Guangming District of Shenzhen as an Example

With the accelerating processes of globalization and urbanization, metropolitan fringe areas—situated at the intersection of urban expansion and rural transformation—have become critical focal points in urban geography, regional economics, and urban–rural planning. Within the context of China’s new urbanization strategy and the national “dual circulation” framework, the role of policy evolution in shaping spatial development has become increasingly significant. Specifically, in metropolitan fringe zones such as Shenzhen’s Guangming District, the complex interplay between overlapping policies and local path dependencies has generated a distinctive logic of spatial restructuring. Taking this area as a case study, this research investigates the influence of national policies on regional evolution and spatial reconstruction. The findings demonstrate that, under sustained policy guidance, Guangming District has experienced a three-stage process of spatial restructuring, characterized by a dynamic and tightly coupled relationship between policy instruments and spatial forms across different developmental phases.