CC BY 4.0Meng, MengDabrowski, Marcin2024-01-212024-01-212023978-908-28191-9-9https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14235/1207Book of proceedings: 335th AESOP Annual Congress Integrated planning in a world of turbulence, Łódź, 11-15th July, 2023Integrated planning and design over administrative and political boundaries are becoming a hot topic in China, especially in the case of the Greater Bay Area on the account of Hong Kong and Macao two special regions. Focusing on the emergence and drivers of transboundary development, this paper discusses how China promoted this process in the context of multi-level governance. The paper unveils the transitions from the recent infrastructure projects to strategic policies for closer regional cooperation at the mega-regional and local levels. This transition is more linked with broader concerns like unbalanced development, economic resilience, convenient connectivity, etc. Hengqin, a typical case described in this paper, gives an example of the emergence of soft space since the Opening Up Policy issued in the late 1970s. For this special case, extra problems needed to be considered in the urban designs associated with the cooperation with Macao, like customs inspections, regulations, and mutual recognition. Keywords:Macao, Hengqin, the Greater Bay Area, cross-boundary cooperation, soft space, soft planningEnglishopenaccessConference object256-278