Figure 1. Change of focus of border studies, drawn by the author, 2022, based on Newman, D., Winders, J., Sidaway, J. D., Paasi, A., Brown, W., etc. For a detailed list of literature used for this figure, please see Appendix 1.

Figure 2. The civilization development spiral along with border evolution, drawn by the author, 2022. To see a high-resolution version of this figure, please see Appendix 1.

Figure 3. Positioning of disciplines directly related to the border topic, drawn by the author, 2022

Figure 4. The GDPPC and Henley Passport Index rankings of global countries/regions, with Hong Kong and Mainland China highlighted, drawn by the author, 2022, based on Henley & Partners and The World Bank.

Figure 5. The visa-free travel network map, drawn by the author, 2022, based on List of mutual visa waiver agreements between China and foreign countries----Bureau of International Cooperation Chinese Academy of Sciences, Visa-free Access or Visa-on-arrival for HKSAR Passport | Immigration Department, Henley & Partners, The World Bank, Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, etc.

Figure 6. The visa-free travel network considering border attributes, surveyed and drawn by the author.

Figure 7. The visa-free travel mobility in relation to the ratio between the two entities’ latest GDPPC and their border conditions, drawn by the author, 2022.

Figure 8. The study area and its timeline, drawn by the author, 2022.

Figure 9. The human movement statistics at the HKMC Border, compiled and visualized by the author; Data source: Courtesy of Immigration Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2022, copyright reserved.

Figure 10. Passenger flow at different control points, individually presented, visualized by the author; Data source: Immigration Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2022, copyright reserved.

Figure 11. CBS flow by control points, visualized by the author; data source: Number of cross-boundary students by land immigration control point from 2014/15 to 2019/20 school year.

Figure 12. Cross-border demographical connections using data from marriages and change of residence, visualized by the author; data source: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2022.

Figure 13. The change of land-use percentage of the FCA, from 2000 to 2020, processed and visualized by the author, based on “Land Utilization in Hong Kong”, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2018, 2019, 2020, Planning Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, all copyrights reserved.

Figure 14. The selected nine largest land-use changes of the FCA, processed and visualized by the author, based on “Land Utilization in Hong Kong”, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2018, Planning Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, all copyrights reserved.

Figure 15. Using biotic analogies to depict the border metamorphosis, drawn by the author, 2022, based on Doxiadēs, K. A., Carmel Pak U Secondary School, Number of cross-boundary students by land immigration control point from 2014/15 to 2019/20 school year, Immigration Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2022.

Figure 16. Data synthesis, compiled from Figures 10, 12, 13, and 14, drawn by the author.

Table 1. Research questions, constructed by the author.

Table 2. Descriptions from different disciplines directly related to the term “border”, compiled by the author.

Table 3. Specific elements to look at the border from the perspective of urban regeneration, sorted by the author.