The spatial vitality and spatial environments of urban underground space (UUS) in metro area based on the spatiotemporal analysis

Abstract

The expansion of China’s metro transportation systems has been accompanied by rapid growth in the urban underground space (UUS) that surrounds them. However, the vitality of these spaces varies considerably due to inefficiencies in the ways they are utilized. To investigate this issue, the present study analyzed the environmental factors involved in the spatial vitality of three UUSs in the Shanghai Metro area. The relevant spatial environments and population density of each UUS were measured using space syntax, field observation, and cross-sectional pedestrian count. Correlations between the variables of the spatial environment and spatiotemporal vitality were calculated for seven periods of the working day at the levels of the overall UUS, the underground public space (UPS), and the underground space of shopping malls (USSM). The results show that, the spatial vitality was found to correlate with environmental variables such as accessibility, visibility, spatial scale, business distribution, and the physiological and traffic environments. The impact of these variables changed according to the research scope of UUSs (the overall UUS, UPS, or USSM) and the time of day. The study demonstrates how the complex spatial environment impacted residents’ daily use of UUSs around the Shanghai metro area and will inform efforts to plan, design, and improve similar UUSs in the future.