Regional Transportation Infrastructure Under Developmental State and Neoliberalism: the Policy Making for Taiwan High Speed Rail and its Special Districts

• Main Authors: Hsiao, Li-Wei, 蕭力偉
• Other Authors: Su, Shew-jiuan
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/5r687d

博士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 地理學系 === 106 === This study analyzes how developmental state and neoliberalism working as core mechanism to affect the development of regional transportation construction. Due to financial constraints and national political economy, many national projects are turned into private sectors. For huge transport infrastructure, it is particularly evident that land development surrounding the project is considered a means for financial compensation. Thus, developing the surrounding land area of high speed rail stations becomes a focus for both local and central governments. High speed rail special districts become a spatial nexus where economic activities and housing projects mushroom. The present study focuses on the policy making process of THSR and two HSR special districts to understand the structuration of its spatial making. How the working of neoliberalism has impacted on the local and central governance and local society is analyzed to understand THSR as a catalyst for regional and local growth. The present study has three purposes, including: (1) to analyze governments’ roles in formulating high speed rail stations as spatial nexus and urban growth, (2) to analyze how the special districts are developed under neoliberalism at the local scale, and (3) to compare and contrast how various authorities, resources, mechanisms are implanted and negotiated for developing the special districts using the cases of two special districts. Methods for this study include field survey, qualitative interviews, literature review, and documentary analysis. Structuration theory is used as a guiding framework to delineate actors and structure. The results show that government intervention is the main driving force for the development of THSR and its special districts. THSR special districts have become a competitive arena where capitalistic interests negotiate with the governments and among themselves. The arena witnesses pseudo-demand for land and activities in the short run. Both short-term profit-making and spatial speculation make the districts a high-risk environment. In sum, the spatial development of the special districts point to three issues: (1) Neoliberalism, through privatization of public works, has caused a crisis of land development and areal growth; (2) public infrastructure, combined with land development, may become costly socially and politically; and (3) the competition among the special districts of THSR corridor has witnessed a series of replication and furious competition.