| The report of the 19th National Congress of the Party has defined the major decision of building " a country with strong transportation network".It believes that high-speed railways are a vital part of the construction of transportation facilities.The China’s highspeed railway construction has moved from the "four verticals and four horizontals" to the "eight verticals and eight horizontals" high-speed rail network era.High-speed rail(HSR)is,even more,a geographical revolution for cities,which is bound to have a certain impact on the accessibility between cities and change China’s economic structure.China’s economy is at an important turning point.Besides,the rapid development of China’s highspeed railways has had an impact on the convenience of inter-city transportation,reducing the cost of travel and shortening the travel time of passengers.Yet,the contradiction between the blockage of the "last kilometer" of urban transport and the "time-space compression" effect of high-speed rail poses a challenge to the organization of urban transport flows and a fast and integrated transport connection system.Limited by the availability of research data,domestic and foreign scholars focus more on the study of the opening of high-speed railway.However,the marginal impact of HSR operations on urban economic growth is better reflected by indicators of continuous variables such as HSR accessibility.At the same time,the measurement of accessibility in the previous literature has focused on one mode of transport,neglecting the intra-city travel time generated by the interaction between multiple modes of transport.Besides,there are also some controversies about the research conclusions of high-speed railways on urban economic growth.In particular,the impact of the whole journey accessibility via HSR including urban traffic connections urgently needs further research and verification.Based on a review of domestic and international literature and the mapping of scientific knowledge,this thesis explores the extensible research scope of the accessibility of high-speed rail and urban economic growth.Combining theories of economic growth,new economic geography,and transport economics,this thesis explores the connotation of accessibility and analyses the mechanism of accessibility to urban economic growth by incorporating urban transport connections.By compiling data on railway operations over the past 12 years,we measure the whole journey accessibility via high-speed railways based on the "door-to-door" calculation method and analyze its spatio-temporal variation characteristics.The direct impact of high-speed rail on urban economic growth is empirically analyzed by combining panel data of 280 cities in Chinese mainland from 2007-2018 with indicators of a continuous variable such as the whole journey accessibility via high-speed rail.The indirect impact of the whole journey accessibility via HSR based on factor mobility and its spatial spillover effects are further verified.The main elements and related findings are as follows.(1)The actual travel time between cities is measured based on the "door-todoor" travel time calculation method,which shows that the whole journey accessibility via the HSR including urban transport connections is more realistic and accurate than the overestimated traditional accessibility level.When comparing weighted average travel times,potential accessibility,and daily accessibility indices,traditional accessibility levels are higher than whole journey accessibility via HSR.This’ overestimation’ not only overlooks the importance of intra-city transport connections but also biases policymaking.(2)The level of whole journey accessibility via HSR shows an obvious "corridor effect".It is characterized by a "core-edge" distribution with the area with the first HSR station as the center,decreasing along the HSR line towards the periphery,and "east > central > west".The level of whole journey accessibility via high-speed rail is bounded by the Hu Huanyong Line,with the southeastern region having a higher level of accessibility than the distant northwestern part of the country.As far as central cities are concerned,the central cities within 8h form a network pattern of "five vertical and four horizontal".The 13 central cities such as Zhengzhou,Wuhan,Nanjing,Hefei,and their58-neighboring prefecture-level cities from the region with the best time accessibility.The central cities with greater accessibility potential are mainly Nanjing,Zhengzhou,Wuhan,Hefei,Shanghai,Hangzhou,Shijiazhuang,Jinan,Tianjin,and Nanchang,which are located in the central and eastern regions.As the high-speed rail network becomes more densely woven,the level of daily accessibility increases the most in Hefei among the central cities,followed by Wuhan,Nanjing,Jinan,Zhengzhou,and Xi’an.(3)The whole journey accessibility via HSR has a significant impact on urban economic growth.The impact on urban economic growth is greatest for whole journey accessibility via HSR with bus connections,followed by those with car connections,and relatively less for traditional accessibility.Among the sample cities,86 cities belonging to the eastern and central regions,with an urban resident population greater than 1 million,and the distance between the station and the city center greater than 5km,should pay more attention to bus connections.The 17 cities that belong to the western region,have an urban resident population of less than 1 million,and the distance between the high-speed rail station and the city center is less than 5km,should focus on car connections.The other 177 cities in the sample should take into account the simultaneous development of bus connections and motor feeders.(4)The factor mobility is the pathway through which the whole journey accessibility via HSR affects urban economic growth.There is a significant spatial spillover effect between neighboring regions as a result of improved accessibility to HSR.The labor,capital,and technology flow play a mediating role in the process of HSR accessibility affecting economic development.Improvements in the whole journey accessibility via HSR can help to boost local economic growth,and there is a clear spatial dependency between neighboring regions.The opening of HSR strengthens the "colocation effect" between cities and other cities and brings into play the radiation and driving effect of cities on the surrounding areas.This effect promotes the flow and optimal allocation of factors of production,such as labor,between cities,ultimately driving their economic growth.Combining the above conclusions,this article proposes the following countermeasures.Firstly,it is important to optimize the connection of various urban transport modes outside the station and further build a new integrated transport system led by high-speed rail.Secondly,it is important to take full advantage of the many positive effects that increased whole journey accessibility via HSR has on the economic development of cities.The whole journey accessibility via HSR is analyzed within the overall framework of high-quality economic development.It is necessary to implement a differentiated development strategy that coordinates high-speed rail with economic quality.Thirdly,considering "local conditions" and "city-specific measures",a more cautious approach should be taken to promote railway planning and construction in an orderly manner.The scientific layout of high-speed railway stations and the reasonable scale of stations should be planned.Fourthly,the software facilities of the city should be strengthened,and supporting measures should be formulated for the introduction and retention of quality production factors such as talents,capital,and technology.The innovative work of this thesis includes:(1)The connotation of accessibility has been deeper,and the whole journey accessibility via HSR has been measured based on the "door-to-door" calculation method.This thesis not only improves the accuracy of accessibility measurement but also comprehensively and systematically analyses the spatial and temporal variation characteristics of the whole journey accessibility via HSR including urban transport connections.(2)The impact of whole journey accessibility via HSR on the economic growth of the city is verified,and the types of urban transport connections that the sample cities should focus on are analyzed and summarized.It also proposes differentiated development measures for intra-city traffic for different types.(3)An analytical framework for the impact of the whole journey accessibility via HSR on urban economic growth is developed,revealing its direct and indirect impact mechanisms.The mediating effect of factor mobility on urban economic growth and the spatial spillover effect of the whole journey accessibility via HSR are empirically examined. |
