The final report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China contains the following passage: “we should keep to the Chinese-style path of carrying out industrialization in a new way and advancing IT application, urbanization and agricultural modernization; we should promote integration of IT application and industrialization, interaction between industrialization and urbanization, and coordination between urbanization and agricultural modernization, thus promoting humanized development of industrialization, IT application, urbanization and agricultural modernization.” It is not hard to see from the report that urbanization is supposed to play a significant role within this process, and act as a bridge to connect industrialization, informatization and agricultural modernization.

Urban conglomerations becoming increasingly popular

Famous urban conglomerations worldwide tend to play an important role in the development of regional and global economies. Some of the largest include the Atlantic coast urban conglomeration in the Northeastern US, the Five Great Lakes urban conglomeration, Japan’s Pacific coast urban conglomeration and northwestern Europe’s urban conglomeration. The total economic output of the top 40 urban conglomerations accounts for 60% of the global economy. It can therefore be seen that urban conglomerations have become core components and leading powers within the world economy.

If we take urban conglomerations as developing units, it is possible to approach the problem of insufficient resources within a single city and improve the efficiency of resource allocation by developing it in coordination with the larger area. This is a good way to promote the overall development of urban conglomerations and their periphery through the radiating influence of the central cities on their neighboring localities. This development path can also effectively avoid certain “urban diseases” and lead to a proper allocation of resources, population and land. Promoting an integrated development for urban conglomerations has therefore become a popular strategy for enhancing regional competitiveness and the pace of urbanization. This way the core role of central cities can be given full play, while the competitive advantages of each city can provide support.

Urban conglomerations need the support of an infrastructure network

The formation and development of an urban conglomeration cannot depart from the support of an infrastructure network. The world’s major urban conglomerations all possess perfect networks of high-speed railways and roads, communication cables, transmission lines and electricity, all of which constitutes the network of regional infrastructure. It should be emphasized that transportation infrastructure has the most obvious impact on the formation and evolution of the spatial structure of urban conglomerations. Advanced railways and road networks are the main drive for their development.

The emergence of cities should be dated back to the days when the division of labor and commodity exchange appeared. As the division of labor deepened and the range of commodities traded continuously enlarged, the priorities of each city became differentiated, thus creating a coordinated and integrated urban system presenting a diversity of functions. The exchange and circulation of all kinds of factors of production within the urban conglomeration thus become easier. The significance of the transportation infrastructure within this picture should go without saying. It not only improves communication between different cities, but also re-allocates factors of production, resources and products.

Looking at the development courses of major urban conglomerations both in China and abroad, it is clear that the presence of a flawless transportation network has played an important role. For instance, a number of cities within the Atlantic coast urban conglomeration of the Northeastern US, including Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore, are said to constitute the so-called “BosWash” (a theoretical U.S. megalopolis extending from the metropolitan area of Boston to that of Washington) by virtue of their convenient transportation. In the Yangtze River Delta, many small and middle-sized towns and cities were built alongside rivers in the past. They then developed largely due to their convenient transportation, gradually turning into large and medium-sized cities, including Shanghai and Nanjing. Water and land transportation networks are the main channels of communication between cities in the Yangtze River Delta, and have hugely promoted the emergence and development of the Yangtze River Delta urban conglomeration.

Intercity rail to become a major mode of transportation

The social and economic activities within an urban conglomeration reflect the level of communication between the different cities. A rapid “urban flow” has become a significant prerequisite for social and economic development, creating higher requirements. Due to its characteristics of high frequency, large capacity, convenience and low energy consumption, intercity rail has gradually become one of the favoured modes of transportation for urban conglomerations. Intercity rail refers here to rail transport servicing cities within an urban conglomeration, including passenger and freightage services.

Intercity rail developed earlier in certain foreign countries. It is not only an important component of the rail transportation system, but also a product of the development of urban conglomerations. For example the Greater Tokyo Area is an urban belt with 23 special wards and some prefectures including Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa and southern Ibaraki. It covers an area of approximately 16,607 km2, accounting for 4.5% of Japan’s territory. Its population reached 37.548 million in 2012, making up 29.45% of the country’s entire population. In addition, the GDP of this area nearly accounts for one-third of the whole country, and its urbanization rate is above 80%. The railway network within the Greater Tokyo Area was built in the 1960s, and it includes ordinary railways, subways, monorails and streetcars. Until 2012 more than 30 enterprises were engaged in operating the rail transit system within this area, including 17 private ones. The total length of the rail transit lines is of approximately 3515 km, and the railway density is 212m per km2. The rail transit system within this area is both speedy and punctual, and it has become the first choice for people commuting within the Greater Tokyo Area.

Still a long way to go for the development of China’s intercity rail

As China’s urbanization continuously gains pace, there is an ever stronger need for an intercity rail system. The authorities at different levels have gradually become aware of its significance, and started focusing on the construction and development of urban conglomerations. “The twelfth five-year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China” proposes clear and systematic missions and measures for constructing urban conglomerations, within which the need for a comprehensive traffic system is stressed.

Even so, there is still a long way to go for the development of intercity rail transportation within urban conglomerations. First of all we can expect a relatively long construction cycle for the intercity traffic network, as well as a large investment. It is therefore necessary to carry out planning and construction on the basis of scientific and systematic research, so that the requirements of rapid urbanization can be met. There is also an urgent need to broaden the sources of finance and innovate the models of investment and financing. Due to the dense population and high levels of industrialization and urbanization, passenger and freight services within urban conglomerations are needed mainly for commuting and for transporting multiple small-sized batches respectively. It is therefore necessary to raise the levels of operation, management and coordination, and create smooth connections between different modes of transport within and outside of the urban conglomerations. Lastly, it is urgent for China to reform its intercity rail ticket system, in order to meet the emerging needs of passenger service.

This article is one of a series of research results of the project funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China entitled “research on the gradient relationship between traffic resource allocation and the regional economy”.

The author is from the School of Economics and Management of Beijing Jiaotong University.

The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 572, 17th of March, 2014.

Chinese link: http://www.csstoday.net/xueshuzixun/guoneixinwen/88357.html

Translated by Chen Meina

Revised by Gabriele Corsetti