Abstract
The rapid expansion of high-speed rail (HSR) has significantly improved spatial accessibility and connectivity efficiency, and affected the reallocation of spatial resources and regional economic sustainability. This study examined 40 prefecture-level (or above) cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, and explored the evolution process of the HSR service network and its impact on the sustainability of economic development. The research results show that: (1) From the perspective of intercity travel time and service connections from 2009 to 2018, the rapid development of HSR has increased the city’s rail accessibility by about 50%, leading to closer intercity connections. (2) There are obvious regional differences in the effect of HSR on urban functional levels and the intensity of inter-city connections. Compared with 2009, the central cities play a greater role as transportation hubs in 2018, creating a significant Matthew effect of accumulated advantage. (3) The distribution pattern of regional urban intensity index is uneven, and the difference in urban intensity index in 2018 is significantly greater than that in 2009. (4) The evolution of the HSR network has significantly affected regional economic development, especially the development of tertiary industry, and increased the polarization of economic development in the YRD. This research can provide a certain reference for regional sustainable development.
Highlights
The network travel time pattern in 2018 was significantly related to 2009, with an explanatory power of 62.1%, indicating that the development of high-speed rail (HSR) network has changed 37.9% of network accessibility, because conventional rail transit did not make a significant contribution during the study period
As shown in the intensity change interpolation diagram (Figure 4), in general, cities with large changes in point intensity are geographically distributed on the four main HSR lines: Beijing-Shanghai, Shanghai-Wuhan, Chengdu, Shanghai-Kunming, and Hangzhou-Shenzhen
To understand the expansion of HSR network and its impact on the sustainability of regional economic development, we analyzed and compared changes in the point intensity and intercity connection intensity of 40 cities in HSR services between 2009 and 2018, and adopted an improved production function model to control the impact of related variables to explore its impact on economic development efficiency, thereby determining the impact of the rapid development of HSR in the region over the past decade on the changes in the spatial pattern and the adjustment of the industrial structure from 2009 to 2018
Summary
Mass transit is an important link between regional activities and an important supporting system for urban development. It determines the degree and scope of regional interconnection. Every change in transportation technology and transit mode has profoundly affected urban spatial structure and development [1]. The innovation of transit modes is closely related to the evolution of regional spatial structure. In China, with the acceleration of urbanization, reachable distance and speed of rail transit have greatly increased, and the relationship between changes in rail networks and the evolution of urban spatial patterns and regional industrial structures has become increasingly obvious [3,4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
