Since the 1980s, metropolitan areas have increased worldwide due to urbanization and regionalization. While the spatial integration of the labor and housing markets has benefitted the development of cities within metropolitan areas, they have also brought great challenges for land governance; this is particularly evident in cross-boundary regions due to the complex relations between the markets and the regulations and between governments at different levels. Extensive research has been conducted on the city-level analysis of socioeconomic integration, land use development, and urban governance within metropolitan areas; yet, it is insufficient for understanding the intricate interplay between the various forces in such regions. This study aims to reveal the dynamics of land use change from 1990–2020 and its driving forces in the recent decade in the Tongzhou-Wuqing-Langfang (TWL) region—a typical cross-boundary area between Beijing, Tianjin, and the Hebei Metropolitan Area—using Landsat imagery. We employed the land-use dynamic degree, kernel density analysis, principal component analysis, and multiple linear regression to explore the spatiotemporal patterns of land use change and its driving factors at the district/county level. The results show that the general land use changes from cultivated and forest land to urban and rural construction land across the region. The speed of the trend varies considerably over time between different areas as the land use policies and regulations of each local government change. The population growth and the tertiary and secondary industry growth are the main driving factors for the change in construction land across the whole TWL region, while the urbanization rate and fixed asset investment have different impacts across the cross-boundary region. The results suggest that expanding the integration of land use policies and regulations in the cross-boundary region is urgently required.

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Faced with the demand for functional transformation of traditional commercial streets in the context of rapid commercial development, Japan has had some relatively successful cases. After land consolidation, building renovation and business upgrading, some traditional commercial streets in the centre of Tokyo, Japan, are thriving again. They not only attract many tourists and invigorate the community economy, but also retain the local folk traditions and cultural atmosphere. These cases provide us with the ideas of the transformation of traditional Chinese commercial streets. Among them, the traditional commercial streets in Nihonbashi still maintain a high degree of commercial prosperity and community vitality. This paper takes one traditional commercial street in Nihonbashi, Ningyocho, as the study case. The spatial structure, commercial supply of the street are investigated, so as to obtain an inspiration for improving the material form and carrying function of Chinese and other countries' commercial service in urban communities. It is found that the vertical spatial organization of the buildings in the commercial street of Ningyocho is often combined with other structural characteristics of the architecture in various forms. It is aimed at solving the problem of construction and reducing functional separation between high-rise buildings under the background of high density land use. As a commercial street that serves wide areas, Ningyocho's most attractive part for the outside crowd is actually its various restaurants, which makes up more than 30% of the business. Meanwhile, other entertainment and life service facilities are more limited and only meets the needs of residents within the block. Its community commerce not only satisfies the consumption of basic living goods and cultural entertainment, but also provides community public space and communication place for local residents. Elderly care, childcare assistance, environmental protection and other functions closely related to the society determine the significant contribution of Japanese community commerce to equalization of public services.