High-Speed Railway New Town Planning Constrains Later Urban Industrialisation: Evidence from Electricity Consumption

Xu, Tao Louie (2025): High-Speed Railway New Town Planning Constrains Later Urban Industrialisation: Evidence from Electricity Consumption.

Abstract

The multi-staged impact of the high-speed railway site-specific complementary policymaking on urban industrialisation remains subject to controversy. This preliminary report examines whether HSR new town planning constrains urban industrialisation with electricity consumption as a proxy for industrial activities. Employing the data of cities in the Yangtze Delta region and the DiD approach, the preliminary regressions estimate the effect of HSR new town policy on urban electricity usage. Our findings indicate a 15% to 20% significant decline in electricity consumption in cities with arranged HSR new town developments, particularly in smaller cities. The preliminary report challenges the assumption that HSR infrastructure inherently facilitates urban growth and calls for more attention to mitigating the negative externalities of transport infrastructure.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: high-speed railway; new town planning; urban industrialisation; electricity consumption
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O2 - Development Planning and Policy; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R4 - Transportation Economics; Y - Miscellaneous Categories > Y2 - Introductory Material; Y - Miscellaneous Categories > Y6 - Excerpts

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