Assessing Public Space Vitality in a Central-City High-Speed Rail Station Area Using Multi-Source Data: A Case Study of Shapingba Station, Chongqing

This study examines how high-speed rail (HSR) hubs shape public space vitality in central-city station areas, using Shapingba Station (Chongqing, China) as a representative case of station–city integration. We delineated pedestrian catchments using Baidu Map walking isochrones (300–1200 s) and integrated multi-source data, including Public Space Public Life (PSPL) field observations (eight monitoring points, 07:00–24:00), Baidu heat maps, point-of-interest (POI) records, streetscape semantic segmentation, and a perception questionnaire. Indicators were synthesized via entropy weighting, and multivariate associations between perceived vitality and environmental variables were examined using Mantel tests. Pedestrian flow exhibits a clear double-peak pattern (09:00–11:00 and 15:00–16:00), averaging 42,248 pedestrians per day (2347 per hour) and showing strong spatial heterogeneity across monitoring points. POIs show a pronounced core–periphery structure: totals increase from 803 (300 s) to 4365 (600 s) and 7539 (1200 s), while overall density declines from 7477 to 2492 POIs/km², highlighting a 600 s core where accessibility and functional agglomeration are most strongly coupled. Overall, this study contributes a replicable multi-source evaluation framework and quantitative evidence on accessibility–function coupling and micro-scale design effects in HSR station areas, enabling theory-informed comparisons across station typologies and urban contexts.