The Relationship between Built Environment Characteristics and Metro Stations Pedestrian Catchment Areas

The study of pedestrian catchment areas for metro stations serves as the foundation for addressing issues such as-passenger flow forecasting, land use planning around stations, and transportation link facility planning. This study aims to investigate how various factors related to pedestrians, the environment, and the characteristics of metro stations affect the areas where pedestrians are attracted to. The goal is to gain insights into design strategies and policy interventions that can enhance the appeal of metro stations. The present study considers the metro stations in the Chengdu area as the primary research objects. A framework for examining the connection between the built environment and the pedestrian catchment area of a subway station through the use of a hybrid gradient decision tree approach has been used. The study examines the pedestrian catchment areas of these stations and confirms the presence of a nonlinear relationship between pedestrian catchment areas and variables at these stations. There exists a negative correlation, within specific thresholds, between the number of companies, bus stops, and road network density with the catchment area of passengers. Concurrently, there is a positive correlation between the distances to the city center and the catchment area. Furthermore, this framework, which accounts for spatial heterogeneity, showed significant goodness-of-fit and predictive capability, aspects that were overlooked in earlier research. As a result, these research findings can serve as a key foundation for advancing the theoretical framework and statistical proof to facilitate land planning and development near metro stations, predicting passenger flow, and designing essential connecting amenities in the vicinity of such facilities.