How high-speed rail development empowers urban health: Evidence from Chinese prefectural-level data

Previous research has highlighted the positive effects of high-speed rail (HSR) on individual mental and physical health. However, the broader impact of HSR expansion on health equity and overall urban health remains unclear. This paper measures the urban health of 284 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2019 and employs a double machine learning model to analyze the effects of HSR on urban health. We further investigate potential mechanisms and regional heterogeneities across cities. The results suggest that HSR expansion significantly enhances urban health outcomes, especially in developed cities in eastern and central China. Mechanism analysis reveals that increased green technology innovation, enhanced healthcare resources allocation, and expanded economic activities mediate the relationship between HSR services and urban health. This study contributes to the understanding of how HSR development impacts urban health and provides valuable insights into optimizing China's HSR network to support the “Healthy Cities” initiative.