The Formation Mechanism and Guiding Strategy of Metropolitan “Lamp Shadow” Phenomenon

The metropolitan area is an important carrier to enhance regional innovation capacity and soft power. There are always some imbalances in the dynamic process of regional development, for example, the metropolitan “lamp shadow” phenomenon. In this paper, we take the first nature and the second nature as research perspectives and construct a theoretical framework to analyze the “lamp shadow” phenomenon by using the gravity model and the new economic geography theory. Then we analyze the cause and the intrinsic mechanism of “lamp shadow” phenomenon in terms of increasing returns, population migration and transportation cost. Ultimately, a guiding strategy is proposed, based on a case study on the megalopolis in Shanghai and Nanjing from Yangtze River Delta, on how to ease the “lamp shadow” phenomenon by means of integrated transportation and upgrading metropolitan radiation force.