Journal of Transport and Land Use

Place quality in high-speed rail station areas: Concept definition

Jinglun Du

Eindhoven University of Technology

Oana Druta

Eindhoven University of Technology

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4939-2231

Pieter van Wesemael

Eindhoven University of Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2021.1820

Keywords: High-speed rail, Station area, Place quality, Urban Design, Land Use

---

Abstract

High-speed railway (HSR) station areas are expected to benefit urban environments, not simply as transportation or economic hubs but also as urban places contributing to living quality. However, the relationship between HSR and place quality has not received systematic attention, despite the evolution of urban planning paradigms toward a clearer focus on quality of life. We have reviewed 44 academic articles written between 1996 and 2019 and analyzed concepts of place quality spanning the disciplines of urban design, urban planning, and urban economics. We identified three dimensions commonly associated with quality of place: a spatial dimension associated with aesthetic qualities of urban spaces; a socio-cultural dimension associated with experienced “sense of place”; and an economic dimension associated with the agglomeration of economic activities. Then we worked out these three dimensions in the context of HSR station areas and attributed features accordingly. We concluded that the economic dimension far outweighs the others in academic debates, with dominant theories being primarily concerned with land use, accessibility, and economic performance. Studies from the urban design field have tackled the spatial elements of place quality and showed a strong correlation with economic dimension. However, the literature remains insufficiently developed when it comes to addressing user experience and “sense of place.”

---

References

Abdul Rahman, N., Ghani, I., Teh, M. Z., & Ibrahim, K. A. (2020). Rethinking urban public space: Physical and functional analysis through visual surveys. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 409(1), 012002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/409/1/012002

Alexander, C., Ishikawa, S., Silverstein, M., Jacobson, M., Fiksdahl-King, I., & Shlomo, A. (1977). A pattern language: Towns, buildings, construction. Berkeley, CA: Center for Environmental Structure.

Anciaes, P., & Jones, P. (2020). Transport policy for liveability – Valuing the impacts on movement, place, and society. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 132(November 2019), 157–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2019.11.009

Andrews, C. J. (2001). Analyzing quality-of-place. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 28(2), 201–217. https://doi.org/10.1068/b2714

Babb, C., Falconer, R., Olaru, D., Duckworth-Smith, A., & Isted, R. (2016). Transport and land-use functions of four rail station configurations in Perth. In S. Biermann, D. Olaru, & V. Paul (Eds.), Planning boomtown and beyond (pp. 436–459). Perth, Australia: UWA Publishing.

Balducci, A., and Bertolini, L. (2007). Reflecting on practice or reflecting with practice? Planning Theory and Practice, 8(4), 532–555. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649350701664770

Beckerich, C., Benoit-Bazin, S., & Delaplace, M. (2017). Does high speed rail affect the behavior of firms located in districts around central stations? The results of two surveys conducted in Reims in 2008 and 2014. Transportation Research Procedia, 25, 3017–3034. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2017.05.287

Bernick, M., & Cervero, R. (1998). Transit villages in the 21st century. Economic Geography, 74(4), 440–442. https://doi.org/10.2307/144337

Bertolini, L. (1999). Spatial development patterns and public transport: The application of an analytical model in the Netherlands. Planning Practice and Research, 14(2), 199–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459915724

Bertolini, L. (1996). Nodes and places: Complexities of railway station redevelopment. European Planning Studies, 4(3), 331–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654319608720349

Bertolini, L. (1998). Station area redevelopment in five European countries: An international perspective on a complex planning challenge. International Planning Studies, 3(2), 163–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563479808721707

Bertolini, L. (2000). Planning in the borderless city: A conceptualization and an application to the case of station area redevelopment. The Town Planning Review, 71(4), 455–475. https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.71.4.2883q121q1671185

Bertolini, L., & Spit, T. (1998). Cities on rails—The redevelopment of railway station areas. Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge.

Bixel, E. (2014). Sustainability or connectivity? The neoliberal logics of train station area development. Critical Planning, 21(1), 99–121.

Bruinsma, F., Pels, E., Priemus, H., Rietveld, P., & Van Wee, B. (2008). Railway development: Impacts on urban dynamics. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-1972-4

Calimente, J. (2012). Rail integrated communities in Tokyo. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 5(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.v5i1.280

Carmona, M. (2019). Place value: Place quality and its impact on health, social, economic, and environmental outcomes. Journal of Urban Design, 24(1), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2018.1472523

Caset, F., Teixeira, F. M., Derudder, B., Boussauw, K., & Witlox, F. (2019). Planning for nodes, places, and people in Flanders and Brussels: An empirical railway station assessment tool for strategic decision-making. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 12(1), 811–837. https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2019.1483

Cervero, R., & Day, J. (2008). Suburbanization and transit-oriented development in China. Transport Policy, 15(5), 315–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2008.12.011

Cervero, R., & Kockelman, K. (1997). Travel demand and the 3Ds: Density, diversity, and design. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 2(3), 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1361-9209(97)00009-6

Cervero, R., Murphy, S., Ferrell, C., Tsai, Y.-H., Arrington, G. B., Boroski, J., … Witenstein, N. (2004). Transit-oriented development in the United States: Experiences, challenges, and prospects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23360

Chen, C. L., Loukaitou-Sideris, A., de Ureña, J. M., & Vickerman, R. (2019). Spatial short and long-term implications and planning challenges of high-speed rail: A literature review framework for the special issue. European Planning Studies, 27(3), 415–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2018.1562658

Chen, C. L., & Wei, B. (2013). High-speed rail and urban transformation in China: The case of hangzhou east rail station. Built Environment, 39(3), 385–398. https://doi.org/10.2148/benv.39.3.385

Chorus, P., & Bertolini, L. (2011). An application of the node place model to explore the spatial development dynamics. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 4(1), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.v4i1.145

Conticelli, E., & Tondelli, S. (2013). Railway stations between infrastructural complexity and architectural form. In Structures and architecture (pp. 751–756). Amsterdam: Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15267-105

D’Alpaos, C., & Andreolli, F. (2020). Urban quality in the city of the future: A bibliometric multicriteria assessment model. Ecological Indicators, 117, 106575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106575

Dai, G. (2018). Place-making around high-speed railway stations in China. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam.

Dales, J. (2011). Urban realm around the station. Urban Design Group, 120, 23–26.

de Wijs, L., Witte, P., & Geertman, S. (2016). How smart is smart? Theoretical and empirical considerations on implementing smart city objectives – A case study of Dutch railway station areas. Innovation, 29(4), 422–439. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2016.1201758

Du, J., Druta, O., Berg, P. Van Den, and Wesemael, P. J. V. Van. (2021). How do socio-demographic characteristics affect users’ perception of place quality at station areas? Evidence from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Urban Science, 5(80), 19. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci5040080

Duckworth-Smith, A., & Babb, C. (2015). Indicating quality of place for station precinct development: Enhancing ‘place’ in the place/node model. Paper presented at the State of Australian Cities Conference 2015, Gold Coast, Australia. Retrieved from https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/45127

Eboli, L., & Mazzulla, G. (2011). A methodology for evaluating transit service quality based on subjective and objective measures from the passenger’s point of view. Transport Policy, 18(1), 172–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2010.07.007

Esmaeilpoorarabi, N., Yigitcanlar, T., & Guaralda, M. (2018a). Does place quality matter for innovation districts? Determining the essential place characteristics from Brisbane’s knowledge precincts. Land Use Policy, 79(September), 734–747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.09.016

Esmaeilpoorarabi, N., Yigitcanlar, T., & Guaralda, M. (2018b). Place quality in innovation clusters: An empirical analysis of global best practices from Singapore, Helsinki, New York, and Sydney. Cities, 74(November 2017), 156–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2017.11.017

Esmaeilpoorarabi, N., Yigitcanlar, T., Guaralda, M., & Kamruzzaman, M. (2018). Evaluating place quality in innovation districts: A Delphic hierarchy process approach. Land Use Policy, 76(February), 471–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.02.027

Ewing, R., & Cervero, R. (2001). Travel and the built environment: A synthesis. Transportation Research Record, 1780, 87–114. https://doi.org/10.3141/1780-10

Ewing, R., & Cervero, R. (2010). Travel and the built environment. Journal of the American Planning Association, 76(3), 265–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944361003766766

Ewing, R., & Handy, S. (2009). Measuring the unmeasurable: Urban design qualities related to walkability. Journal of Urban Design, 14(1), 65–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574800802451155

Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class: And how it’s transforming work, leisure, community, and everyday life. New York: Basic Books.

Florida, R. (2004). Cities and the creative class. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203997673

Garau, C., & Pavan, V. M. (2018). Evaluating urban quality: Indicators and assessment tools for smart sustainable cities. Sustainability (Switzerland), 10(3), 575. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030575

Gehl Institute. (2018). Twelve quality criteria. Retrieved from https://gehlinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/QUALITY-CRITERIA-FINAL.pdf

Gehl, J. (2001). Life between buildings: Using public space. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press.

Gehl, J., & Gemzøe, L. (2000). New city spaces. Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Press.

Gospodini, A. (2002). European cities in competition and the new “uses” of urban design. Journal of Urban Design, 7(1), 59–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574800220129231

Grigolon, A., Singh, Y. J., Koeva, M., & Madureira, M. (2016). Transit-oriented development (TOD) assessment using 3D visualisation and modelling: Prospects and opportunities. Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning — 13th International Conference on Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning, Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Groenendijk, L., Rezaei, J., & Correia, G. (2018). Incorporating the traveler's experience value in assessing the quality of transit nodes: A Rotterdam case study. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 6(4), 564–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2018.07.007

He, S. (2016). Between permeability and isolation: A comparative urban life study of inner-city railway stations and their node precincts in China. Athens Journal of Architecture, 2(2), 107–130. https://doi.org/10.30958/aja.2-2-2

Heimeriks, D. (2011). From transfer node to urban node traffic light method. Delft: Delft University of Technology.

Hillier, B. (1996). Space is the machine: A configurational theory of architecture. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Ibraeva, A., Correia, G. H. de A., Silva, C., & Antunes, A. P. (2020). Transit-oriented development: A review of research achievements and challenges. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 132, 110–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2019.10.018

Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. New York: Random House.

Jacobs, W. (2012). Tendering quality redevelopment of railway stations. Utrecht, Netherlands: Utrecht University.

Jacobson, J., & Forsyth, A. (2008). Seven American TODs: Good practices for urban design in transit-oriented development projects. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 1(2), 51–88. https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.v1i2.67

Kamruzzaman, M., Baker, D., Washington, S., & Turrell, G. (2014). Advance transit-oriented development typology: Case study in brisbane, Australia. Journal of Transport Geography, 34, 54–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.11.002

Khan, M. F., Aftab, S., & Habiby, F. (2015). Quality of urban environment: A critical review of approaches and methodologies. Current Urban Studies, 3(04), 368–384. https://doi.org/10.4236/cus.2015.34029

Kido, E. M. (2005). Aesthetic aspects of railway stations in Japan and Europe, as a part of context sensitive design for railways. Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, 6, 4381–4396. https://doi.org/10.11175/easts.6.4381

Kido, E. M. (2015). New large urban and regional railway stations reflecting new age. Retrieved from http://www.ctie.co.jp/kokubunken/

Kim, H., Sultana, S., & Weber, J. (2018). A geographic assessment of the economic development impact of Korean high-speed rail stations. Transport Policy, 66, 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2018.02.008

Kloosterman, R. C., & Lambregts, B. (2001). Clustering of economic activities in polycentric urban regions: The case of the Randstad. Urban Studies, 38(4), 717–732. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980120035303

Kloosterman, R. C., & Trip, J. J. (2011). Planning for quality? Assessing the role of quality of place in current Dutch planning practice. Journal of Urban Design, 16(4), 455–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2011.585863

Lak, A., & Kheibari, S. Z. (2020). Towards a framework for facilitating the implementation of tactical urbanism practices: Assessment criteria in the place-making approach in Iran. Geoforum, 115(July), 54–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.07.003

Leby, J. L., & Hashim, A. H. (2010). Liveability dimensions and attributes: Their relative importance in the eyes of neighbourhood residents. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 15(1), 67–91.

Lin, S., Dhakal, P. R., & Wu, Z. (2021). The impact of high-speed railway on China’s regional economic growth based on the perspective of regional heterogeneity of quality of place. Sustainability, 13(9), 4820.

Loukaitou-Sideris, A. (2013). New rail hubs along the HSR corridor in California: The urban design challenges. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2350, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3141/2350-01

Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Cuff, D., Higgins, T., & Linovski, O. (2012). Impact of high-speed rail stations on local development: A delphi survey. Built Environment, 38(1), 51–70. https://doi.org/10.2148/benv.38.1.51

Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Higgins, H., & Cuff, D. (2013). HSR development: Planning for high speed rail in Southern California communities. Los Angeles: UCLA Lewis Center and CityLab.

Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Peters, D., Colton, P., & Eidlin, E. (2017). A comparative analysis of high-speed rail station development into destination and multi-use facilities: The case of San Jose Diridon. San Jose, CA: Mineta Transportation Institute Publications.

Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Majoor, S., & Schuiling, D. (2008). New key projects for station redevelopment in the Netherlands. Railway development: Impacts on urban dynamics (pp. 101–123). Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-1972-4_6

Metzger, J. (2014). The subject of place: Staying with the trouble. In Emergent urbanism: Urban planning & design in times of structural and systemic change (pp. 91–100). Farnham, UK: Ashgate.

Monzón, A., Hernández, S., & Di Ciommo, F. (2016). Efficient urban interchanges: The city-HUB model. Transportation Research Procedia, 14, 1124–1133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2016.05.183

Mota, C., & López, M. A. (2014). Urban renovation through the implementation of a high-speed railway station. 20th International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment, 138, 641–651. https://doi.org/10.2495/UT140531

Muleya, N., & Campbell, M. (2020). A multisensory approach to measure public space quality in the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Town and Regional Planning, 76, 56–71. https://doi.org/10.18820/2415-0495/trp76i1.5

Murgaš, F., & Klobučník, M. (2016). Municipalities and regions as good places to live: Index of quality of life in the Czech Republic. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 11(2), 553–570. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-014-9381-8

Nag, D., Bs, M., Goswami, A., & Bharule, S. (2019). Framework for public transport integration at railway stations and its implications for quality of life. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3551888

Najafi, M., & Shariff, M. K. B. M. (2011). The concept of place and sense of place in architectural studies. International Journal of Human and Social Sciences, 6(3), 187–193.

Nuworsoo, C. K., & Deakin, E. (2009). Transforming high-speed rail stations to major activity hubs: Lessons for California. Paper presented at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.

Olaru, D., Moncrieff, S., McCarney, G., Sun, Y., Reed, T., Pattison, C., … Biermann, S. (2019). Place vs. node transit: Planning policies revisited. Sustainability, 11(2), 477. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11020477

Peek, G.-J., Bertolini, L., & De Jonge, H. (2006). Gaining insight in the development potential of station areas: A decade of node-place modelling in The Netherlands. Planning Practice and Research, 21(4), 443–462. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697450701296247

Peek, G.-J., & Louw, E. (2008). A multidisciplinary approach of railway station development: A case study of ’s-Hertogenbosch. Railway development. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-1972-4_7

Peek, G. J., & Van Hagen, M. (2002). Creating synergy in and around stations: Three strategies for adding value. Transportation Research Record, 1793, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3141/1793-01

Peters, D. (2009). The renaissance of inner-city rail station areas as a key element in the contemporary dynamics of urban restructuring. Critical Planning, 16, 163–185.

Peters, D., & Novy, J. (2012). Train station area development mega-projects in Europe: Toward a typology. Built Environment, 38, 12–30. https://doi.org/10.2148/benv.38.1.12

Pugalis, L. (2009). The culture and economics of urban public space design: Public and professional perceptions. Urban Design International, 14(4), 215–230.

Rapoport, A. (1982). The meaning of the built environment. Beverly Hills: CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Reusser, D. E., Loukopoulos, P., Stauffacher, M., & Scholz, R. W. (2008). Classifying railway stations for sustainable transitions — Balancing node and place functions. Journal of Transport Geography, 16(3), 191–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2007.05.004

Rodríguez, D. A., & Kang, C. (2020). A typology of the built environment around rail stops in the global transit-oriented city of Seoul, Korea. Cities, 100(November 2019), 102663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102663

Rond, J. (2011). Added value of railway station areas explored. Delft: Delft University of Technology.

Stevens, M. (2015). Hybrid infrastructures –Transit spaces as meta urban environments. International Journal of Contemporary Architecture, The New ARCH, 2(3), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.14621/tna.20150401

Tonkiss, F. (2009). Space, the city and social theory. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 33(3), 880–881. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2009.00919_9.x

Trip, J. J. (2006). What makes a city? Planning for ‘quality of place.’ The case of high-speed train station area redevelopment. Delft: IOS Press, under imprint Delft University Press.

Trip, J. J. (2007). Assessing quality of place: A comparative analysis of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Journal of Urban Affairs, 29(5), 501–517. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9906.2007.00362.x

Trip, J. J. (2008a). Urban quality in high-speed train station area redevelopment: The cases of Amsterdam Zuidas and Rotterdam Central. Planning Practice and Research, 23(3), 383–401. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697450802423633

Trip, J. J. (2008b). What makes a city: Urban quality in Euralille, Amsterdam South Axis and Rotterdam Central. Railway Development: Impacts on Urban Dynamics (pp. 79–99). Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-1972-4_5

UIC. (2018). High-speed railway: Fast track to sustainable mobility. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36051-0_6

Van Den Berg, L., & Pol, P. M. J. (1998). The urban implications of the developing European high-speed-train network. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 16(4), 483–497. https://doi.org/10.1068/c160483

Vreeker, R. (2008). Multicriteria analysis of a high-speed railway station area development project. Railway Development: Impacts on Urban Dynamics. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-1972-4_9

Wang, X. (2014). Shaping vibrant urban places in Chinese inner-city station areas: A case study of Beijing west station area. Architectural Research through to Practice: 48th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, 2014, 671–682.

Wegener, M., & Fuerst, F. (2004). Land-use transport interaction: State of the art. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1434678

Willigers, J., & Van Wee, B. (2011). High-speed rail and office location choices. A stated choice experiment for the Netherlands. Journal of Transport Geography, 19(4), 745–754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2010.09.002

Yin, M., Bertolini, L., & Duan, J. (2015). The effects of the high-speed railway on urban development: International experience and potential implications for China. Progress in Planning, 98, 1–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progress.2013.11.001

Zacharias, J., Zhang, T., & Nakajima, N. (2011). Tokyo station city: The railway station as urban place. Urban Design International, 16(4), 242–251. https://doi.org/10.1057/udi.2011.15

Zemp, S. (2011). Sustainable positioning of railway stations systematic analysis for knowledge integration. Doctoral dissertation, ETH Zürich, Zürich. https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-a-010782581