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Transportation, decentralization, and path dependence: How did the old tramway shape Shanghai, China?

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Mingxi Li, East China University of Science and Technology

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
Center.shp application/x-shapefile 128 bytes 07/26/2024 12:14:AM
Central_1941.jpg image/jpeg 2.1 MB 07/26/2024 01:22:AM
Commercial Land Price 2020.shp application/x-shapefile 59.8 KB 07/31/2023 06:38:PM
Eastern_1930(5).HEIC image/heic 1.9 MB 04/10/2019 03:28:PM
French_1931(2).jpg image/jpeg 1.3 MB 11/04/2019 03:25:PM
Huangpu River.shp application/x-shapefile 5.3 KB 07/26/2024 12:35:AM
Inner Ring.shp application/x-shapefile 3.4 KB 07/17/2023 12:39:AM
Metro.shp application/x-shapefile 4.9 KB 08/01/2023 03:43:AM
Northern_1933(2).JPG image/jpeg 2.2 MB 11/04/2019 03:16:PM
Residential Land Price 2020.shp application/x-shapefile 34.1 KB 07/16/2023 04:19:AM

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary The deposited data allows replication of the tables and figures in "Transportation, decentralization, and path dependence: How did the old tramway shape Shanghai, China?" (Li, 2024). This article studies the short- and long-run economic consequences of the now-extinct Shanghai tramway. Tramway was the primary mode of transportation in Shanghai between 1908 and the 1930s, continuing to operate until 1975. With the geolocation of the tramway lines on both historical cadastral maps and current Google maps, the article finds that after the arrival of the tramway, land lots close to the tramway lines experienced a larger increase in land value relative to those far away from the tramway lines, and that the reduction in transportation costs led to a flattening land value gradient with respect to distance from the central business district (CBD). It also finds that the tramway still influences the current pattern of urban land value, even nearly fifty years after the removal of the last tramway track. Such persistent influence can be largely explained by the follow-on amenities near the tramway lines. The evidence found in this article suggests that the tramway in Shanghai promoted decentralization by enhancing accessibility to the CBD from distant locations in its heyday, and influences modern behaviors through the mutually reinforced private and public coordination of economic activities.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms Shanghai Tramway; Land Value; Transportation; Urban Development
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Shanghai
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) administrative records data; geographic information system (GIS) data
Collection Notes:  View help for Collection Notes GIS data on the locations of the land lots in historical Shanghai could be constructed based on the cadastral maps. The complete collection of the maps could be found in the Shanghai Municipal Archive. The author would like to share the corresponding shapefiles upon reasonable request.


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Published Versions

V2 [2024-07-27]

V1 [2024-07-26]

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