Insights Into the Correspondence Between Land Use Pattern and Spatial Distribution of Rail Transit Services

Zhongqi Wang,Bauke De Vries,Qi Han,Li Dai

doi:10.1007/s12061-021-09385-4

Zhongqi Wang, Bauke De Vries + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-021-09385-4

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Abstract

The identification of the relationship between land use and transport lays the foundation for integrated land use and transport planning and management. This work aims to investigate how rail transit is linked to land use. The research on the relationship between land use and rail-based transport is dominated by the impacts of rail projects on land use, without an in-depth understanding of the reverse. However, it is important to note that issues of operation management rather than new constructions deserve greater attention for regions with established rail networks. Given that there is a correspondence between land use patterns and spatial distribution of heavy railway transit (HRT) services at such regions, the study area (i.e., the Netherlands) is partitioned by the Voronoi diagram of HRT stations and the causal relationship between land use and HRT services is examined by structural equation modeling (SEM). The case study of Helmond (a Dutch city) shows the potential of the SEM model for discussing the rail station selection problem in a multiple transit station region (MTSR). Furthermore, in this study, the node place model is adapted with the derivatives of the SEM model (i.e., the latent variable scores for rail service levels and land use characteristics), which are assigned as node and place indexes respectively, to analyze and differentiate the integration of land use and HRT services at the regional level. The answer to whether and how land use affects rail transit services from this study strengthens the scientific basis for rail transit operations management. The SEM model and the modified node place model are complementary to be used as analytical and decision-making tools for rail transit-oriented regional development.

Highlights

Rail-based transport, as an efficient mass transit system, has competitive advantages over road-based transport, which is beset by environmental pollution, economic loss, safety and health risks arising from traffic congestion
This study identified and validated the causal relationship between land use and heavy railway transit (HRT) service by structural equation modeling (SEM), given that there is a correspondence between land use patterns and spatial distribution of rail transit services
The SEM model can provide a reference to the supply of HRT services based on the land use feature extraction (LUFE) area characteristics

Summary

Introduction

Rail-based transport, as an efficient mass transit system, has competitive advantages over road-based transport, which is beset by environmental pollution, economic loss, safety and health risks arising from traffic congestion. The supply of rail transit services, given the stable level of technology and operation management for a certain period of time, is largely subject to land use driven demand. It can be seen from regions with established rail networks that discrepancy exists in the spatial distribution of rail transit services (e.g., the number and the capacity of rail stations), which generally corresponds to the spatial distribution of human activities. 3. Section 4 applies the SEM model of land use characteristics and HRT service levels to a case study and presents the node-place analysis for all Dutch HRT stations.

Literature Review

Findings

Conclusions and Discussion