Research on Typology of Metro Station Areas Based on Transit-Oriented Development Performance: With Beijing as a Case Study

The extent of spatial coupling between transportation and place is an important aspect of transit-oriented development (TOD), especially for mega-cities, yet it has rarely been considered in node-place and other extension studies. This work introduces the orientation index, which characterizes the pedestrian and bicycle accessibility of metro station areas, to represent the connection between transportation and places, and constructs a “node-place-orientation” model to carry out the first typology analysis. Further, this work separates the land use function from the place index, which is used along with other indicators for secondary clustering of metro stations. Seven types of typical metro station are identified in this work with Beijing as a case, which are, in descending order of performance, are: inefficient center, transit-adjacent development (TAD), potential TOD, transit center, tourism center, business center, and occupational and residential center. These stations show a clear pattern of spatial differentiation, with TAD and potential center requiring the most attention from planners, and these stations may show unexpected results after renewal and renovation. The two-stage approach proposed in this work can provide a reference for TOD optimization in mega-cities.