Student Seminar by Mr. Dongsheng He on Sep 22, 2025, 3PM

Title: From association to causality: Causal effects of urban transport infrastructure intervention in China using natural experiment approaches

Speaker: Mr. Dongsheng He (Department of Urban Planning and Design)

Date: Sep 22, 2025 (Monday)

Time: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Venue: Room 1010, CLL, Department of Geography, 10/F, The Jockey Club Tower, The University of Hong Kong

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/r/zrU3BubSh0

Food and drinks will be provided for successfully registered participants.

About the talk: China’s rapid urbanisation has driven extensive construction and expansion of transport infrastructure, notably high-speed rail and intra-city rail transit systems. Such infrastructure projects are characterised by substantial financial investment, long construction timelines, and high sunk costs. Policymakers often assume that these investments generate broad benefits, including economic growth, improved public health, and enhanced social equity. However, most of the current studies rely on cross-sectional observations, which have significant limitations in establishing causal relationships. This seminar introduces a series of large-scale impact assessments of transport infrastructure projects in China, such as urban greenways and metro systems, using natural experiment methods to evaluate their effects on travel behaviours, traffic safety, and housing property values. The findings indicate that the expected benefits of transport infrastructure do not always exist as commonly presumed. Consequently, more nuanced and rigorous evaluations are necessary to better understand the effectiveness and mechanisms of such interventions.

About the speaker: Dongsheng He is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the University of Hong Kong. His primary research areas include causal inference of transportation infrastructure impacts, land use and transport integration, and volumetric urban design in high-density cities. He has published more than ten papers in international journals such as Transportation Research Part A/D, Urban Studies, and Landscape and Urban Planning.