Coupling of Urban Economic Development and Transportation System: An Urban Agglomeration Case

Urban agglomeration is a new carrier of regional economic development, whose spatial structure can be reflected by the transportation system. The coordination between urban economic development and the transportation system is conducive to promoting balanced urban economic development. As an important urban cluster of China, the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration plays an important role in promoting the revitalization of northeast China. Targeting 11 cities of the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration, this paper adopts the coupling coordination degree model to study the coordination level of urban economic development and the transportation system. The results show that large differences exist among the cities, with Changchun at the outstanding position. A more developed transportation system exists in the western Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration, while the east is in a worse condition. The coupling coordination degree of the urban economic development and transportation system shows obvious stratification. Further adjusting the industrial structure, expanding the degree of opening to the outside world, and increasing investment in transportation technological innovation are recommended to promote an integrated development pattern in the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration.