How does the TOD pattern affect urban tourism vitality? Insights from Nanjing based on land use and urban form

A transit-oriented development (TOD) pattern important for alleviating urban traffic congestion and enhancing the intensive use of land. It is also a key factor for promoting the sustainable development of urban tourism and public transportation. Exploring the relationship between the TOD pattern and urban tourism is conducive to fostering positive interactions between public transportation infrastructure and the growth of urban tourism. Accordingly, an analytical human-scale-based TOD urban tourism vitality (TOD-UTV) framework is proposed to examine the impact of the TOD pattern on urban tourism in Nanjing, China, from the perspectives of land use and urban morphology. The results indicate that merely pursuing a high land development intensity in TOD areas does not effectively enhance tourism vitality. Instead, optimizing land function allocation according to the local tourism industry and adopting moderately differentiated functional distribution principles are effective strategies for promoting urban tourism vitality. Additionally, optimizing TOD spaces through appropriate design techniques, controlling their density, and developing commercial spaces around tourism resources are essential for enhancing the overall attractiveness of TOD areas to tourists. This study provides a novel framework for evaluating how the TOD pattern can promote urban tourism development, offers theoretical support for exploring the relationship between urban tourism and public transportation at the human scale, and provides insights into fostering positive interactions between TOD planning and urban tourism development.