PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2015, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (6): 707-715.doi: 10.18306/dlkxjz.2015.06.006

• Urban and Transport Geography • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Influence of the Xiamen-Shenzhen high-speed railways on accessibility and regional development: a case study of eastern Guangdong Province

Qitao WU1,2,3, Hong'ou ZHANG1,*(), Wei SUN2,3, Yuyao YE1   

  1. 1. Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangzhou 510070, China
    2. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
    3. Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
  • Received:2014-09-01 Revised:2015-03-01 Online:2015-06-15 Published:2015-06-15
  • Contact: Hong'ou ZHANG E-mail:hozhang@gdas.ac.cn

Abstract:

With the rapid development of high-speed rail (HSR) in the world, accessibility by high-speed railway has become a important topic in accessibility research. The implementation of the Xiamen-Shenzhen HSR in southern-east China offers a new option for travelers, but also influences or generates the redistribution of demographic and economic activities. This study applies an integrated method to explore the regional spatiotemporal accessibility on a Geographical Information System (GIS) platform. This method makes full use of the advantages of network analysis and cost-weighted raster analysis, and removes the limitations existed in current accessibility analysis. The research area covers seven cities in eastern Guangdong Province due to the limited availability of data. Results are as follows: (1) The Xiamen-Shenzhen HSR condenses spatial and temporal distances and improves the regional accessibility significantly. Regional average accessibility time was 1.652 hours before the operation of the rail, and this accessibility time is improved to 1.418 hour after the operation, with an increase of 14.16%. (2) The spatial structure of the accessibility change presents an "island" or "banding" shape. At the station level, the rail creates concentric rings of accessibility change, while at the regional level accessibility change are along the HSR corridor. (3) The HSR substantially modifies the map of regional accessibility by reducing travel time and brings the peripheral areas closer to the central city (Shenzhen). However, it may also produce an increase of the core-periphery imbalances. The HSR also has a potential influence on the industrial upgrading and collaboration with a shrinking distance. Finally, the stations in the core cities are the chief beneficiaries of the new spatial order. The stimulation to development around stations in small or medium cities will be a long-term process.

Key words: Xiamen-Shenzhen high-speed railways, integrated analysis, accessibility, spatial distribution, Guangdong