TY - JOUR

T1 - Classifying railway stations for strategic transport and land use planning

T2 - Context matters!

AU - Zemp, Stefan

AU - Stauffacher, Michael

AU - Lang, Daniel

AU - Scholz, Roland W.

PY - 2011/7

Y1 - 2011/7

N2 - The classification of railway stations is a potentially powerful tool for strategic transport and land use planning. Existing classifications rely strongly on the indicator “passenger frequency”, which focuses on transport related issues, blending performance with preconditions at a given site. We argue that a classification system for strategic planning should focus on the demands and conditions of the site within which the railway station must function, i.e. system context. Here, we present such a classification system: a cluster analysis of the 1700 Swiss railway stations relying solely on context factors. The resulting classes vary primarily in density (of land use and transport services) and use (commuting, leisure time, tourism). Common geographic patterns and class-specific dynamics are discernable. These results indicate that classification based on the relevant demands and conditions given by context leads to clearly interpretable classes and supports multi-perspective strategic planning for railway stations. The systematic approach allows for a better understanding of the interrelations between railway stations and their context.

AB - The classification of railway stations is a potentially powerful tool for strategic transport and land use planning. Existing classifications rely strongly on the indicator “passenger frequency”, which focuses on transport related issues, blending performance with preconditions at a given site. We argue that a classification system for strategic planning should focus on the demands and conditions of the site within which the railway station must function, i.e. system context. Here, we present such a classification system: a cluster analysis of the 1700 Swiss railway stations relying solely on context factors. The resulting classes vary primarily in density (of land use and transport services) and use (commuting, leisure time, tourism). Common geographic patterns and class-specific dynamics are discernable. These results indicate that classification based on the relevant demands and conditions given by context leads to clearly interpretable classes and supports multi-perspective strategic planning for railway stations. The systematic approach allows for a better understanding of the interrelations between railway stations and their context.

KW - Environmental planning

KW - Railway stationt

KW - Comparability

KW - Classification

KW - Functional requirements

KW - Context

KW - Environment

KW - Classification

KW - Comparability

KW - Context

KW - Environment

KW - Functional requirements

KW - Railway station

KW - Sustainability Science

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79957494296&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2010.08.008

DO - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2010.08.008

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 19

SP - 670

EP - 679

JO - Journal of Transport Geography

JF - Journal of Transport Geography

SN - 0966-6923

IS - 4

ER -