High-Speed Railway Development and Regional Integration

Global urbanization has undergone a continuous aggregation of populations and an evolution from monocentric to polycentric urban forms. With the continuous improvement of transportation infrastructure, elements such as capital, technology, talent, and information have shown spatial integration within regions, gradually forming metropolitan areas or urban agglomeration spatial structures. The 11th Five-Year Plan of China first proposed the regional coordinated development strategy, and the 19th National Congress report once again emphasized the importance of the regional coordinated development strategy. This indicates that national competition increasingly manifests as competition among metropolitan areas, and regional integration plays a crucial role in promoting coordinated economic and social development. The studies in the previous two chapters show that the development of HSR can promote the spatial redistribution of the economy, population, and elements. So, can breaking administrative boundary restrictions and promoting market integration further promote regional integration? This chapter will analyze this issue.