Brain Train? – High-Speed Rail Stations as focal points for the knowledge economy

交通基础设施决定了可达性，从而决定了空间上不均匀分布的互动潜力。可达性是知识交流和生产的重要前提，在知识经济转型的背景下，可达性对城市和区域发展的影响越来越大。近几十年来，由于包括德国在内的许多国家高速铁路（HSR）的扩张，高铁车站现在是国家客运的中心接入点之一。通过可达性效应，它们不仅影响居民公司和家庭之间互动的可能性，而且在中长期内也有可能催化影响区位决策，从而影响空间结构本身。这些催化效应使高铁成为区域规划和政策的潜在工具。这具有高度的社会和政治相关性，特别是在过去和未来高铁基础设施的大量公共投资的背景下。从科学上讲，最令人感兴趣的问题是，是否可以观察到高铁站的这种中长期影响（取决于进一步的影响因素）。最近的学术讨论远未明确评估这些影响，并强调需要进一步研究。它还把重点放在中国、西班牙和法国快速发展的交通系统上，然而，这些国家的交通系统与德国的交通系统只有有限的可比性。此外，大多数研究通过汇总投入和产出来考虑可达性改善的效果，而缺乏空间差异化分析和局部驱动因素以及定性的自下而上方法。该项目的目的是系统地评估德国高铁站在决策相关尺度上的功能和空间影响。特别关注的是高铁站点的地方和区域环境的可达性增加与知识经济企业的选址决策之间的联系。我们的方法是基于案例研究的对比和系统三角测量的原则：定量和定性方法在使用的数据的细粒度性质和空间科学分析方法的组合方面相辅相成。通过这种方式，我们有助于理解德国高铁基础设施的相互促进和催化作用。

Transport infrastructure determines accessibility and thus the spatially unequally distributed potential of interaction. Accessibility is an important prerequisite for knowledge exchange and production, which, against the background of the transformation to the knowledge economy, has an increasing influence on urban and regional development. As a result of the expansion of high-speed rail (HSR) in many countries in recent decades - including Germany - HSR stations are now among the central access points for national passenger transport. By means of their accessibility effects, they not only influence the probability of interaction between resident companies and households, but they also have the potential to catalytically influence locational decisions and thus the spatial structure itself, in the medium to long term. These catalytic effects make HSR a potential instrument of regional planning and policy. This is of high societal and political relevance, particularly against the background of past and future large public investment sums in HSR infrastructure.Scientifically, the question of highest interest is whether such medium- and long-term effects of HSR stations - dependent on further influencing factors - can be observed. The recent academic discussion is far from unequivocal on the assessment of these effects and emphasizes the need for further research. It also focuses on the fast-growing transport systems in China, Spain and France, which are, however, only to a limited extent comparable with those in Germany. In addition, most studies consider the effects of accessibility improvement through aggregated inputs and outputs, while lacking spatially differentiated analyses and local drivers as well as qualitative bottom-up methods.The aim of this project is to systematically estimate the functional and spatial effects of HSR stations in Germany on decision-relevant scale levels. A particular focus is placed on the connection between the accessibility increase in the local and regional environment of HSR stations and the location decisions of knowledge economy firms. Our approach is based on a contrasting comparison of case studies and the principle of methodical triangulation: quantitative and qualitative approaches complement each other both in terms of the fine-grained nature of the data used and the combination of spatial-scientific analysis methods. In this way, we contribute to understanding the mutual reinforcing, catalytic effects of HSR infrastructure in Germany.