The Short-term Effects of Transport Improvement on Urban Compact development in China—An Empirical Analysis Based-on 217 Prefecture Cities

Compact cities are considered sustainable in western developed countries, is it also fine in China? Based on the statistical data for 217 prefecture cities in China, this paper investigates the short-term (10 years) effect of transport improvements on urban compactness. Firstly, using the method of entropy, we get the urban compactness of 217 prefecture cities from 1999 to 2012, and then explore the relationship between transportation and urban compactness. Results show that transport improvements contribute to increasing urban compactness in short-term, but the effects have time lag. Transport agencies should pay more attention on the transport improvement, especially public transport. These results suggest guidelines for the future of China's urbanization.