Rail Transportation Lead Urban Form Change: A Case Study of Beijing

In the background of rapid urban metro transit construction in China, rail transportation becomes an important factor in shaping urban form. This case study focuses on the urban form changes caused by urban rail transportation development in Beijing and especially explores the synergetic links between urban planning and transportation from the perspective of a transportation–population–economy research framework. Based on population census surveys and basic economic unit census surveys on street district level, combined with digital urban metro lines on street district level, findings show that the population spatial distribution tends to disperse along the metro lines, and concentrates around metro network connections. The employment distribution turns to be more concentrated in high accessibility areas around metro intersections. The population and employment distributions indicate a job–housing mismatch, where the employment centers are concentrated in the central city, while residential centers are concentrated in suburban areas. The consequence of this mismatch is that regions with extreme job–housing imbalance also see higher degrees of imbalance in urban metro volume. This paper aims to provide insights on how to improve job accessibility and creating a more sustainable urban form, as well as promoting a synergetic development between urban planning and transportation. © 2017, The Author(s).