Exploring the Determinants of Spatial Vitality in High-Speed Rail Station Areas in China: A Multi-Source Data Analysis Using LightGBM

Pengpeng Liang, Xu Cui (), Jiexi Ma (), Wen Song and Yao Xu
Additional contact information
Pengpeng Liang: School of Architecture, Southwest Jiaotong University, 999 Xi’an Road, Chengdu 611756, China
Xu Cui: School of Architecture, Southwest Jiaotong University, 999 Xi’an Road, Chengdu 611756, China
Jiexi Ma: School of Architecture, Southwest Jiaotong University, 999 Xi’an Road, Chengdu 611756, China
Wen Song: School of Architecture, Southwest Jiaotong University, 999 Xi’an Road, Chengdu 611756, China
Yao Xu: School of Architecture, Southwest Jiaotong University, 999 Xi’an Road, Chengdu 611756, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-29

Abstract: High-speed rail (HSR) station areas play a vital role in shaping urban form, stimulating economic activity, and enhancing spatial vitality. Understanding the factors that influence this vitality is key to supporting sustainable urban development and transit-oriented planning. This study investigates 66 HSR station areas in 35 Chinese cities by integrating multi-source data—Sina Weibo check-in records, urban support indicators, station attributes, and built environment variables—within a city–node–place analytical framework. Using Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) models, we identify key drivers of spatial vitality, while SHAP analysis reveals nonlinear and interaction effects. The results show that city population size, urbanization level, commercial land use, transit accessibility, and parking facilities significantly enhance station area vitality. However, diminishing returns are observed when commercial land and bus stop densities exceed certain thresholds. The station location index shows a negative correlation with spatial vitality. The analysis of interaction effects highlights strong synergies between urban development and functional configuration, as well as between accessibility and service infrastructure. Different station types exhibit varied spatial patterns and require differentiated strategies. This study offers empirical insights for aligning transport infrastructure and land use planning, supporting the development of vibrant, accessible, and sustainable HSR station areas.

Keywords: high-speed rail; station area spatial vitality; multi-source data; Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1262/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1262/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:6:p:1262-:d:1677315

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().