Exploring Links Between Transit Hubs and Built Environment in Asian Cities

This study selected a total of 190 transit hubs across Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo to empirically examine whether the built environment around transit hubs shares the same attributes and how the built environment features may be related to the characteristics of transit hubs. Spatial analysis using ArcGIS was adopted to explore the distribution of built environment features around transit hubs. Linear regression models were established to evaluate the quantitative relationships between six indicators of transit hubs (intramodal connection, intermodal connection, proximity to CBD, proximity to other metro stations, cluster effect, and time effect) and five built environment metrics (population density, building density, land use mix, intersection density, and housing price). Among all the built environment features, building density is the most possible one to be shared around transit hubs. The regression results revealed that the built environment features had different degrees of correlation with the characteristics of transit hubs. Proximity to CBD and years in operation (time effect) for transit hubs were demonstrated to be the most important indicators related to the built environment. The significant relationships between transit hubs and the built environment illustrated in this study are helpful to understand station areas’ development dynamics.