Using a quasi-natural experiment of newly opened subway lines and data from 16571 homogeneous 1 square kilometer geographical units in Beijing, this study attempts to examine the impact of subway lines on urban boundaries and spatial structure from a micro perspective. We found that: Adding one subway station can expand the built-up area of the city by 2.741 km2; With the increase of subway lines, the trend of urban decentralization and decentralization has become apparent, and the spatial structure of cities has gradually shifted from “single center cities” to “multi-center cities”; The heterogeneity of location selection between productive service industries and industrial enterprises is an important mechanism leading to the evolution of urban structure. The increase in land prices caused by the addition of new routes leads to the agglomeration of productive service industries towards the central area, and the relocation of industrial areas to peripheral areas. The resulting separation of work and residence promotes the re accumulation of life service industries around the new residential center, thus forming a multi-center structural change trend. Based on the above conclusions, the article provides policy insights for Beijing to further optimize spatial structure and effectively expand urban boundaries through the use of subway lines.
FENG Guo-qiang
,
WANG Tian-le
,
SHI Jia-qi
. The shaping of urban structure and boundaries by the opening of subway: Analysis based on nighttime lighting data and multidimensional micro big data in Beijing[J]. Urban Problems, 2025
, 355(2)
: 82
-92
.
DOI: 10.13239/j.bjsshkxy.cswt.250208
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