Development of Public Spaces: the Impact of Metro Stations Construction on the Formation of the Structure of the Adjacent Territory

Abstract

The article aims to study the development potential of local urban centers around the rapid transit system with due regard to the historical traditions of urban development and modern urban planning principles. To attain this end, the authors use a set of methods, including site analysis, data collection, classification, and project proposal development. The paper presents the tradition of forming a peripheral public space within the historical boundaries of the city. It is demonstrated that the current development of local public spaces based on peripheral rapid transit stations can be considered a continuation of this tradition at a new historical and technological stage. The authors select metro stations suitable for the formation of local urban centers. To determine the possibility of placing a public space in the vicinity of metro stations, calculations are made for territories included in forty-three metro zones of the peripheral part of the city and thirteen zones of the middle part of the city. Based on a group of indicators for the selected stations, the authors conduct an analysis and compile a table that characterizes the territories near each rapid transit station. As a result, the density and floor space index, passenger traffic per day, and the balance of the adjacent territory for each station were determined. There are draft projects for the development of territories, layouts, and visualizations of the proposed options for building open public spaces. The authors consider scenarios for the placement and transformation of public centers near metro stations. The study reveals how the construction of each metro station affects the adjacent territory. It is worth mentioning that new stations affect not only the lifestyle of citizens, with improved transport accessibility, the status of the territory increases, new centers of social activity, and new public spaces emerge.