Local development impact assessment for a high speed rail system: a Taiwan study

Abstract

This paper on the impact of a high speed rail (HSR) system on local development is from the proceedings of 14th international Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century, which was held in Malta in 2008. The authors report on a study that investigated the impact of the Taiwan HSR system, in commercial operations since January 2007, on local development in western Taiwan. Simultaneous equation modeling was applied to analyze the associations among development sectors, and is calibrated using samples of 323 villages, towns or cities in Taiwan. The authors then use the model as a basis to discuss the influences of improving accessibility, increasing land supply for urban development, and various other strategies related to the HSR system. They conclude that improving accessibility and increasing urban development land supply influences local population and employment distributions and that improving connections between HSR stations and the central city benefits the development of the central city rather than HSR station area. In addition, improving connections between HSR stations and individual districts within the metropolitan area increases the HSR service area and balances development among districts. The authors note that promoting station area development projects also contributes significantly to local development.