Node-place model extended by system support: Evaluation and classification of metro station areas in Tianfu new area of Chengdu

Abstract

The construction of new urban areas has become one of the important ways for urban regeneration throughout the process of polycentric urban development. New urban area construction following transit-oriented development (TOD) conception advocates development around the public transportation stations. To gain more benefits around the stations, it is necessary to conduct an ex-ante evaluation of TOD projects in the new urban area. The Node-place (NP) model is a commonly used method for TOD evaluation and classification, which essentially designs an analytical framework for assessing station areas in both transport (node) and land use (place) aspects. The objective of our study is twofold. First, based on the original NP model, we propose the node-place-system support (NPS) model by introducing a novel evaluation dimension—system support—which quantitatively describes the relationship between local stations and the overall urban system. Second, taking advantage of multi-sourced data and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques, we employ the proposed NPS model to evaluate and classify the metro stations in the Tianfu New Area of Chengdu, China. The results show that most stations present a balanced relationship between transport and land use performances. However, for a fraction of these balanced stations, we observe a mismatch between the system support and NP performances. Accordingly, we identify the system-mismatched stations and provide targeted improvement strategies for urban design.