The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA)—covering 56,000 square kilometres, home to 69 million people, and generating US$1.5 trillion in GDP—presents countless new economic opportunities.
Situated within the Pearl River Delta, a region once described as the “Factory of the World,” the GBA is now aspiring to become an economic and technological powerhouse that can rival other bay areas such as San Francisco and Tokyo.
However, years of unbalanced economic growth have led to unsustainable demands on resources, resulting in significant environmental and social costs. Increasing demand for high-quality living and unfettered development will only add pressure to already constrained resources both in and beyond the region.
Central to the vision for the GBA is the concept of “Ecological Civilisation”, which emphasises:
Using advanced technology, economic tools, and planning to balance development with resource constraints
Providing a high quality of life while preserving the environment
Creating a unified development model for the 11 cities within the GBA
The Model of Innovation
This report adopts a different approach to understanding innovation and technology as effective tools to address pressing social and environmental challenges. Using the vision of Ecological Civilisation as a starting point, it proposes Guiding Principles for the region’s future development, supported by actionable Targets and measurable Indicators.
These targets and indicators drive the development of original ideas for social, policy, and technological innovations that tackle the region’s core challenges and improve quality of life.
Vision-Driven Innovation
Unlike traditional approaches that begin with commercial pain points, this model starts with a clear Vision. Social and environmental issues are then identified as catalysts for innovation.
Key focus areas:
The following below outline the overarching vision for the GBA, the guiding principles, and specific targets across five key areas:
Connectivity
Talent & Livelihoods
Built Environment
Environment & Resources
Food & Wellbeing
Towards an Integrated and Sustainable Future
The GBA Innovation Model is intended to serve as a valuable resource for integrating the 11 GBA cities and to inspire entrepreneurs and innovators to respond creatively to the pressing challenges facing society today.