Descriptive statistics of variables.

In the context of the digital information era, the impact of "The Internet Plus," "Big Data," and other technologies on urban social development has been far beyond any preceding era, under the influence of information technology, urban agglomeration space exhibits a new layout. Based on the search engine data of eleven cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from 2012 to 2021, this research constructs the inter-city information network strength linkage matrix to examine the evolution characteristics of city network structure and its driving causes. The results reveal that (1) the overall information linkage strength exhibits a pattern of steadily growing the radiating effect from the leading cities of Guangdong, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong to the surrounding cities, and a closer and more balanced information linkage network is gradually built. (2) Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area information linkage absolute control advantage, four cities Foshan, Dongguan, Zhuhai, Macao regional hub position steadily highlighted. The entire information connection network of the urban agglomerations tends to be flat and polycentric at the same time. (3) The regional core-edge hierarchy is well established, with the four cities of Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong creating a northwest-southeast orientation. The core metropolis regions of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao in the Greater Bay Area increasingly exert a radiation spreading effect to the northeast and southwest. (4) The urban economy, transportation distance, and information infrastructure have substantial effects on the information connection intensity network of urban clusters.

在数字信息时代的背景下，“互联网+”、大数据（Big Data）等技术对城市社会发展的影响已远超以往任何时代。在信息技术的驱动下，城市群（urban agglomeration）空间呈现出全新的布局形态。本研究以2012至2021年粤港澳大湾区（Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area）11座城市的搜索引擎数据为基础，构建城际信息网络强度联动矩阵，以此探析城市网络结构的演化特征及其驱动成因。研究结果表明：（1）整体信息联动强度呈稳步增长态势，以广州、深圳、香港为核心的领先城市对周边城市的辐射效应持续显现，且逐步搭建起联系更为紧密、分布更为均衡的信息联动网络。（2）粤港澳大湾区的信息联动绝对管控优势凸显，佛山、东莞、珠海、澳门四座城市的区域枢纽地位稳步提升；城市群整体信息连接网络同时朝着扁平化与多中心化方向发展。（3）区域核心-边缘层级结构已然稳固，广州、东莞、深圳、香港四座城市形成了西北-东南走向的核心轴线；粤港澳大湾区核心大都市区正愈发显著地向东北、西南方向发挥辐射扩散效应。（4）城市经济水平、交通距离以及信息基础设施，对城市群信息连接强度网络具有显著影响。