Influence Mechanism of Transportation Integration on Industrial Agglomeration in Urban Agglomeration Theory—Taking the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration as an Example

Abstract

This study selected the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration as the research area, combining it with the current situation of the transportation development of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration to construct the urban agglomeration transportation integration index system and evaluate the development status of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration transportation integration. The study examined the influence mechanism of transportation infrastructure on industrial agglomeration. The results are as follows: (1) From 2011–2020, the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration’s transportation integration index showed a clear upward trend. (2) The integration level of local transportation played an important role in promoting local industrial agglomeration. Promoting industrial agglomeration in neighboring areas had a negative spillover effect on industrial agglomeration in this region. Developing transportation integration in other regions had an insignificant positive effect on the development of local industrial agglomeration. (3) Urban agglomeration transportation integration impacted regional industrial agglomeration, mainly through the “cost effect.” Thus, cities in the Yangtze River Delta in 2020 need to accelerate the construction of relevant transportation infrastructure so as to promote the integrated development of higher-quality transportation in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration.