Evaluating the Space Use of Large Railway Hub Station Areas in Beijing toward Integrated Station-City Development

Abstract

With the large-scale construction of high-speed railways and the continuous increase in population flows, railway hubs are becoming the most dynamic places in cities. As a key node of intercity traffic and an important part of urban development, railway hub stations are the main carriers for the implementation of the Integrated Station-City Development (ISCD) strategy. A comprehensive evaluation of the space use of railway hub station areas can provide a basic understanding of the intensive utilization and optimization of urban space. However, existing relevant studies lack a comprehensive assessment of the compound structures and functions within large railway hub station areas at the microscopic level. Therefore, this paper was guided by integrated station-city development, relying on Geographic Information Science (GIS)technology, and big data such as Points of Interest (POI) and real-time traffic, focusing on walking accessibility, facility convenience, function compound, and land development intensity used around railway hub station areas. The uses of the station areas in four large railway hubs in Beijing were analyzed. Based on this, we built an ISCD index, combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, and assessed the degree of ISCD in the four railway hubs. The study showed that among the four large railway hubs in Beijing, the Beijing North railway station offers the best walking accessibility. The Beijing railway station features the largest facility convenience, function compound, and land development intensity. In general, the levels of ISCD of the Beijing and Beijing North Railway Stations were significantly higher than those of the Beijing West and Beijing South Railway Stations.