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Journal of Urban Design

ISSN: 1357-4809 (Print) 1469-9664 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjud20

Transit-oriented street design in Beijing

Weichang Kong & Dorina Pojani

To cite this article: Weichang Kong & Dorina Pojani (2017) Transit-oriented street design inBeijing, Journal of Urban Design, 22:3, 388-410, DOI: 10.1080/13574809.2016.1271700

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2016.1271700

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Journal of urban Design, 2017Vol. 22, no. 3, 388–410http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2016.1271700

Transit-oriented street design in Beijing

Weichang Kong and Dorina Pojani

school of earth and environmental sciences (sees), The university of Queensland, brisbane, australia

ABSTRACTUsing Beijing as a case study, this paper seeks to contribute to academic and professional debates about how general Transit-Oriented design principles can be translated into the Chinese context. It focuses on TOD designs of commercial streets adjacent to transit nodes (rather than residential neighbourhoods or other developments). The evidence presented in the paper suggests that while the Chinese public agrees with many of the basic TOD tenets laid out in the international literature, views about specific design aspects are closely linked to national cultural views and practices. Chinese urbanites are as desirous for human activities, pedestrian safety and comfort, visual variety, natural elements (trees and water) and complexity in outdoor spaces as Western publics. At the same time, in line with China’s pre-socialist and socialist style of urbanism, support for cycling and bus lanes, as well as mixed uses and commerce (including street vending) in TOD streets, is much higher than in Western countries. Personal security is less of a concern while the acceptable development scale is much higher than in the West.

Introduction

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is generally considered to be development near, and/or easily accessible from, mass transit facilities. Common TOD traits include mixed-use, urban compactness, pedestrian and cycle-friendly environs, public and civic spaces near stations, and stations as community hubs. Typically, a multimodal TOD neighbourhood is built around a public transport station or stop (e.g. train station, metro station, tram stop, Bus Rapid Transit stop, bus stop or even ferry stop), surrounded by relatively high-density development with progressively lower-density development spreading outward from the centre. The concept of TOD has become popular throughout the world due to a combination of factors, the principal of which are the quest for sustainable development patterns, reduced commuting times and easy access to public transport (see Curtis, Renne, and Bertolini 2009).

In Europe and North America, new TOD projects are often seen as important contributors to good urban design, in order to coordinate transportation modes, mix land uses and create an appealing public space within a limited area (Jacobson and Forsyth 2008; Pojani and Stead 2015). A new-found accent on urban design reflects a contemporary Western trend to consciously employ distinctive aesthetics as an economic development tool in the new

© 2017 informa uK limited, trading as Taylor & francis group

CONTACT Dorina Pojani [email protected]

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mailto: [email protected]

http://www.tandfonline.com

JOURNAL OF URBAN DESIGN 389

competitive, globalized milieu (Gospodini 2002). It is unclear whether Western concepts are effective or useful for Asian cities undertaking TOD, and if so, what constitutes superior TOD design in these contexts.

Much of the discussion of Asian (and Western) TOD in the academic literature to date has been limited to considerations about planning or policy dimensions, such as the coordination of transit and land uses, the scheduling and frequency of transit services, the integration of public transport ticketing and the implementation of development control mechanisms (see Tang et al. 2004; Cervero and Day 2008; Cervero and Murakami 2009; Loo, Chen, and Chan 2010; Ma, Ye, and Titheridge 2013). Scholarly attention to urban design issues and features related to TOD has been quite limited to date. Furthermore, nearly all the research that does exist in this area originates from the United States (e.g. Calthorpe 1993; Transit Cooperative Research Program 1997, 2002; Jacobson and Forsyth 2008; Ewing and Bartholomew 2013). Asian-based studies of Transit-Oriented design are virtually non-exist-ent. The authors’ view is that urban design is the missing link in TOD studies.

Although the key concepts in this study area might provide a good foundation for the development of an ‘ideal’ or ‘universal’ TOD model, the applicability of the finer details of these texts is somewhat limited across other countries and continents. Clearly, contextual variables such as the nature of the urban environment, the local culture and climate, the system of governance, the economic level, the consumption patterns and the availability of different modes of transport (and the propensity to use them) will affect design preferences. While much professional urban design practice is now ‘global’, ultimately its uses and per-ceptions are local. Context sensitive urban design requires knowledge about these local conditions in order to understand both universal phenomena and the specifics of the locality (Bull 2007).

This paper seeks to contribute to academic and professional debates about how general principles can be translated into urban design for TOD in China. Research related to urban design in Chinese cities (apart from Hong Kong) is surprisingly scarce, especially in view of the abundance of studies by local and international scholars on Chinese urban governance, the planning system and urban development in general (see Whitehand and Gu 2006).

Using Beijing as a case study, this paper discusses the extent to which internationally formulated TOD principles and models are relevant to Chinese circumstances and percep-tions. It focuses on TOD designs of commercial streets adjacent to transit nodes (rather than residential neighbourhoods or other developments). The physical design of streets is gen-erally considered to be a key element in TOD zones as streets are the interface between land uses and transportation networks (Jacobson and Forsyth 2008). The evidence presented in the paper suggests that, while the Chinese public agrees with many of the basic TOD design principles laid out in the international literature, their views about specific design aspects are closely linked to national cultural views and practices.

Although the discussion focuses on a city-specific case, it is relevant to those outside Beijing and even outside China because it raises certain issues and leads to new considera-tions by academics and practitioners. Some criteria will probably be different in Beijing than elsewhere, but other features might be much more transferable to other settings, especially in neighbouring countries.

The paper is divided into three parts. The first part summarizes international literature concerning the design theories and guidelines related to TOD. The theoretical framework, which guides the data collection and analysis in this paper, is derived from these theories.

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390 W. KONG AND D. POJANI

A brief historic overview of urban design principles applied in Chinese cities is also provided at this point. The second part of the paper presents the case study context of Beijing and sets out the research method. The third part discusses the findings.

Literature review

The study of desirable TOD design features in China is placed into three theoretical contexts: (1) Western TOD design principles; (2) TOD planning issues in Asian contexts (not exclusively China); and (3) traditional and modern Chinese urban design practices.

TOD design in Western contexts

Most theories on how to design successful TOD projects have been developed in the United States, as mentioned. Key works by Peter Calthorpe, the American Planning Association, the Transit Cooperative Research Program, the Urban Land Institute and the Center for TOD have codified Transit-Oriented Development, drawing on classic urban design literature (see Calthorpe 1993; Ewing 1996; Transit Cooperative Research Program 1997, 2002; Urban Land Institute 2003; Dunphy, Myerson, and Pawlukiewicz 2003; Ditmarr and Ohland 2004; Ewing and Bartholomew 2013). Following these texts, numerous North American city-regions (including the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Cleveland, Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, Portland, Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary) have adopted TOD guidelines.

While a body of prescriptive theories (from both academia and practice) is now available, there have been few evaluations of the design quality in the existing TOD projects. One systematic and comparative study by Jacobson and Forsyth (2008) reformulated a series of ‘best practices’ for TOD design in the US context. Another study, by Pojani and Stead (2015), focused on TOD design ‘best practices’ in the Netherlands, building on Jacobson and Forsyth’s work (2008). Both studies, as well as the present study, were informed by the general liter-ature on post hoc urban design measurements (see Clemente et al. 2005; Porta and Renne 2005; Ewing and Clemente 2013).

The main TOD design principles and practices (eight in total) which were identified in the studies by Jacobson and Forsyth (2008) and Pojani and Stead (2015) have been combined in Table 1. This list of ‘dimensions’ provided the main focus for the collection and analysis of the empirical data in this paper. Clearly, the dimensions are not mutually exclusive and the elements are overlapping.

For the most part, they embody many of the same design elements found in neo-tradi-tional and New Urbanist movements, such as moderately high densities, interconnected street patterns, mixed land uses, convenient and safe walkways, varied housing products, civic squares and priority for non-motorized transport. A comparison of the two studies shows that most of the TOD design principles identified in the US are also suitable to the Dutch context. However, some differences exist, in terms of acceptable building scale, density and height, and in station access modes (bicycle use is much more widespread in the Netherlands). In addition, while many TODs are built from scratch in the US, heritage pro-tection is a larger concern in the Netherlands. By contrast, Asian and Chinese urban design, which will be discussed below, has followed a different path from both the US and Europe.

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Tabl

e 1.

Key

urb

an d

esig

n di

men

sion

s and

gui

delin

es fo

r To

D d

eriv

ed fr

om th

e ac

adem

ic li

tera

ture

.

Dim

ensi

on

Reco

mm

ende

d gu

idel

ine

or a

ppro

ach

US

(bas

ed o

n Ja

cobs

on a

nd F

orsy

th 2

008)

The

Net

herla

nds

(bas

ed o

n Po

jani

and

Ste

ad 2

015)

Dim

ensi

on 1

: sca

le

and

dens

ity

• Co

mfo

rtab

le w

alki

ng d

ista

nces

bet

wee

n po

ints

(1 k

m T

oD

radi

us)

• Co

mm

erci

al u

ses,

jobs

, par

ks a

nd c

ivic

use

s with

in w

alki

ng d

ista

nce

of tr

ansi

t sto

ps•

Dec

reas

ing

dens

ities

with

dis

tanc

e fr

om a

stat

ion

(i.e.

a ‘w

eddi

ng c

ake’

or ‘z

iggu

rat’

dens

ity)

• su

ffici

ent d

ensi

ties t

o su

stai

n tr

ansi

t inv

estm

ents

(max

. far

)

• 2‒

3 km

To

D ra

dius

(‘bi

cycl

e sp

here

of i

nflue

nce’

)•

Hig

h-ris

e bu

ildin

gs (7

+st

orey

s) o

nly

in th

e im

med

iate

stat

ion

surr

ound

ings

• ri

bbon

dev

elop

men

t alo

ng th

e ra

ilway

trac

ks, p

refe

rabl

y w

ith o

ffice

sp

ace

(sou

nd b

arrie

r)•

Mod

erat

e he

ight

s but

hig

h de

nsiti

es•

Com

pact

ness

• M

ixed

-inco

me

hous

ing

supp

ly

Dim

ensi

on 2

: Pub

lic

spac

es fo

r hum

an

use

• Pu

blic

spac

es a

s foc

us (i

.e. c

lust

ered

ben

ches

and

sitt

ing

ledg

es, s

peci

al p

ublic

art

, flex

ible

us

e, o

utdo

or d

inin

g, w

ater

feat

ures

and

smal

l set

back

s).

• H

uman

-sca

le d

etai

ls (a

rchi

tect

ural

feat

ures

and

text

ures

, str

eet f

urni

ture

, col

ourf

ul

vege

tatio

n, p

ublic

seat

ing,

a m

ix o

f bui

ldin

g co

lour

s, pl

antin

gs)

• ’o

utdo

or ro

oms’ ‒

reco

mm

ende

d m

inim

um h

eigh

t-to

-wid

th ra

tio 1

:3.

• bu

ildin

gs li

ne th

e st

reet

s (no

t iso

late

d in

lots

); m

ain

entr

ance

s and

win

dow

s fac

e th

e st

reet

• la

rge

shad

e tr

ees w

ith c

ontin

uous

can

opie

s•

soft

tran

sitio

ns fr

om th

e ou

tdoo

rs to

bui

ldin

gs (d

esig

n po

rtic

os, a

rcad

es, l

ow fe

ncin

g,

stoo

ps, s

helte

rs)

• at

trac

tive

land

mar

ks a

nd g

atew

ays

• Co

zine

ss, p

edes

tria

n ac

cess

, pub

lic sp

ace

encl

osur

e, o

utdo

or d

inin

g,

tree

s, tr

ansp

aren

cy o

f faç

ades

, spa

tial o

rient

atio

n, o

penn

ess o

f the

st

atio

n to

war

d th

e ou

tdoo

rs, h

uman

scal

e of

the

stat

ion

area

• n

atur

al e

lem

ents

(gra

ss, w

ater

feat

ures

)•

net

wor

k of

mod

erat

ely-

size

d pu

blic

spac

es•

avoi

d ex

cess

ive

open

/gre

en sp

ace

Dim

ensi

on 3

: Var

iety

an

d co

mpl

exity

• br

eak

up lo

ng st

reet

s with

par

ks a

nd o

ther

div

erse

, col

ourf

ul a

nd in

tere

stin

g pu

blic

spac

es•

avoi

d m

onot

ony

and

unifo

rmity

• av

oid

larg

e bi

llboa

rds,

larg

e on

-str

eet t

rash

dum

pste

rs a

nd h

igh

light

pol

es.

• se

nse

of id

entit

y (i.

e. c

omm

on v

ocab

ular

y fo

r bui

ldin

gs a

nd p

ublic

spac

es)

• aff

orda

ble

hous

ing

optio

ns

• ar

chite

ctur

al v

arie

ty (e

mpl

oy m

ore

than

one

des

ign

stud

io fo

r a T

oD

pr

ojec

t)•

in h

isto

ric c

ities

, mat

ch e

xist

ing

built

env

ironm

ent p

atte

rns a

nd

mat

eria

ls•

in n

ewer

citi

es, a

pply

cre

ativ

e m

oder

n de

sign

• g

ener

ally

, ext

rem

ely

sens

itivi

ty to

con

text

• bl

end

the

ToD

are

a se

amle

ssly

with

rest

of c

ity•

’Zig

gura

t’ de

sign

in h

igh-

rise

build

ings

• n

oise

wal

ls a

nd fe

nces

alo

ng tr

acks

; noi

se-r

educ

ing

glas

s & sc

reen

ing

mat

eria

ls in

hou

ses

Dim

ensi

on 4

: se

curit

y •

goo

d lig

htin

g at

nig

ht•

Cont

rolle

d ac

cess

in n

on-p

ublic

spac

es (f

enci

ng, l

ight

ing,

land

scap

e)•

Tran

spar

ent f

açad

es w

ith n

on-r

eflec

tive

glas

s•

adeq

uate

sigh

t lin

es•

avoi

d tu

nnel

s, na

rrow

pat

hs, e

ntra

pmen

t spo

ts, i

sola

ted

area

s•

Varie

ty o

f use

s rou

nd-t

he-c

lock

• M

ixed

-use

, enc

lose

d bl

ocks

• ad

equa

te li

ghtin

g

(Con

tinue

d)

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Dim

ensi

on

Reco

mm

ende

d gu

idel

ine

or a

ppro

ach

US

(bas

ed o

n Ja

cobs

on a

nd F

orsy

th 2

008)

The

Net

herla

nds

(bas

ed o

n Po

jani

and

Ste

ad 2

015)

Dim

ensi

on 5

: Co

nnec

tions

• sm

all b

lock

s (i.e

. per

imet

er li

mits

400‒4

50 m

etre

s)•

Pede

stria

n-fr

iend

ly st

reet

net

wor

ks a

nd c

ut-t

hrou

gh p

aths

• av

oid

culs

-de-

sac

• av

oid

barr

iers

(hig

hway

s, la

rge

park

ing

lots

)•

grid

stre

et n

etw

orks

• M

oder

ate-

size

, per

mea

ble

and

inte

rcon

nect

ed b

lock

s with

hig

h-qu

al-

ity d

esig

n•

shor

tcut

s for

ped

estr

ians

and

cyc

lists

• bu

s and

tram

acc

ess t

o an

d fr

om th

e To

D a

rea

• Cl

ear s

igna

ge a

nd o

ther

way

-find

ing

aids

• ra

dial

or f

an st

reet

pat

tern

sche

mes

• W

ell-d

esig

ned

pede

stria

n br

idge

s and

tunn

els t

o co

nnec

t the

two

side

s of t

he ra

ilway

• Pl

aza

in fr

ont o

f the

mai

n en

tran

ce o

f the

stat

ion

Dim

ensi

on 6

: Pe

dest

rian

and

cycl

ist o

rient

atio

n

• Tr

affic

calm

ing

devi

ces (

sign

al ti

min

g, sp

eed

bum

ps/t

able

s, m

edia

ns, c

hica

nes,

smal

l ker

b ra

dii,

low

er sp

eeds

and

nar

row

road

way

s)•

buffe

rs b

etw

een

mov

ing

traffi

c an

d pe

dest

rians

(i.e

. tre

es, fl

ower

box

es, g

rass

strip

s, di

ffere

nt m

ater

ials

, ker

b bu

lb-o

uts)

• Co

ntin

uous

net

wor

k of

side

wal

ks•

Max

. and

min

. sid

ewal

k w

idth

s (1.

5‒7

m)

• bi

cycl

e st

atio

ns a

t maj

or st

ops

• se

cure

bic

ycle

par

king

at m

inor

stop

s•

Two-

or f

our-

lane

stre

ets m

axim

um

• H

igh

qual

ity p

edes

tria

n an

d cy

clis

t inf

rast

ruct

ure

• n

arro

w, f

riend

ly st

reet

s and

soft

pla

ntin

g•

avoi

d st

erile

har

dsca

pe v

oids

Dim

ensi

on 7

: Tra

nsit

in th

e ur

ban

patt

ern

• Tr

ansi

t sto

ps a

s cen

tre

of th

e co

mm

unity

• H

igh

qual

ity d

esig

n of

the

mai

n tr

ansi

t sto

p•

attr

activ

e, c

omfo

rtab

le, i

nfor

mat

ive

and

shel

tere

d tr

ansi

t sto

ps•

for u

nder

grou

nd st

atio

ns: o

pen

up st

airs

and

esc

alat

or a

rea

for e

asy

and

plea

sant

acc

ess

• M

odal

inte

grat

ion,

i.e.

bet

wee

n bu

ses a

nd tr

ains

• ’l

andm

ark’

stat

us fo

r the

trai

n st

atio

n•

Hig

h de

sign

qua

lity

for v

iadu

cts

• Po

ssib

ly re

loca

te ra

il tr

acks

und

ergr

ound

• M

ultim

odal

ity a

nd c

lear

mod

al h

iera

rchy

• re

gion

al fu

nctio

nal T

oD

hie

rarc

hy•

in sm

alle

r citi

es, l

imit

com

mer

cial

use

s at t

he st

atio

n•

Clea

r lin

es o

f vie

w fr

om th

e st

atio

n to

war

ds th

e ci

ty c

entr

e

Dim

ensi

on 8

: Car

m

ovem

ent a

nd

park

ing

• Pa

rkin

g m

ax. u

p to

9%

of t

he su

rfac

e ar

ea•

flex

ible

par

king

stan

dard

s•

Park

ing

away

from

pla

tfor

m•

shar

ed/p

oole

d pa

rkin

g fa

cilit

ies

• Pr

efer

able

enc

lose

d pa

rkin

g•

Park

ing

stru

ctur

es w

rapp

ed w

ith se

rvic

e an

d en

tert

ainm

ent e

stab

lishm

ents

• Pa

rkin

g lo

ts in

the

back

of b

uild

ings

& fe

nced

• al

low

ed o

n-st

reet

par

king

• Pa

rk-a

nd-r

ide

lots

use

d fo

r oth

er a

ctiv

ities

pas

t bus

ines

s hou

rs

• si

mila

r tra

ffic

calm

ing

and

park

ing

rest

rictio

n de

vice

s sim

ilar t

o th

ose

in p

lace

in h

isto

ric c

entr

es•

avoi

d su

rfac

e pa

rkin

g (p

ark-

and-

ride

lots

at e

xurb

an tr

ansf

er st

atio

ns

only

)•

Poss

ibly

pla

ce p

arki

ng u

nder

grou

nd•

Car a

cces

s in

subu

rban

To

Ds b

ut n

ot u

rban

one

s

Tabl

e 1.

Con

tinue

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TOD planning issues in Asian contexts

Because the term ‘TOD’ has originated in the US, this model is often assumed to be a recent import from North American cities. However, TOD is more widespread in East Asia than in the US. While many studies are now available on Western TODs (see Curtis, Renne, and Bertolini 2009), TOD-related research in Asian cities remains rather limited. The main findings of a few existing case studies in Asia are summarized below.

Tokyo is a typical example of a railway-oriented city. Historically, TOD was made possible because private railway developers owned both the infrastructure and large portions of surrounding land. Natural urban growth nodes emerged at the intersection of radial rail lines with the loop (Yamanote) that circumscribes the inner city. Post-property bubble devel-opment refocused on the centre after decades of rail-based suburbanization. To intensify and direct development toward TOD nodes, Tokyo has employed a ‘floor area ratio’ (FAR) rather than urban design mechanisms (Chorus 2009).

In South Korea, many local planning experts and policy makers are sceptical about the application of TOD in the local context on the basis that most of South Korean cities are already dense and compact. The Rosario Concept, a rail-oriented development model fol-lowing a beads-on-a-string pattern (a ‘rosary’ or rosario) similar to Tokyo’s, was proposed for Seoul in 1980 but set aside. Peripheral ‘new towns’ were developed in the late 1980s, but led to increases in car rather than transit use. Mixed use and inter-modality rather than higher densities have been found to promote ridership in local TODs. Narrow grid-type road network patterns are found to be less effective here than in the West (Sung and Oh 2011).

Similar to Seoul, the development of peripheral ‘new towns’ centred on transit (initiated in the first city-wide Concept Plan) was Singapore’s first attempt at TOD. Transit lines were planned parallel to development corridors. This produced a decentralized urban pattern which now appears linear-radial in shape. Factors such as a strongly articulated density distribution, a pedestrian-friendly environment and high transit ridership which increases in relation to the density gradient, all support TOD in Singapore (Yang and Lew 2009).

In Taipei, automobile-based development in past decades has created serious problems. Rapid transit systems have been developed since the 1990s, but ridership distributions vary significantly by station and time of day. Higher densities are found to increase transit rider-ship on weekdays and disperse ridership over time on weekends and therefore are desirable, whereas mixed land uses concentrate ridership in time on both weekdays and weekends and therefore are found to be less desirable. Transfer stations outperform other stations for increasing and dispersing metro ridership on both weekdays and weekends and therefore need to have priority in deploying TOD. Grid patterns of streets, which are considered desir-able in the US, have a negative effect on ridership and improve accessibility for cars more than for pedestrians in Taipei (Lin and Shin 2008).

Hong Kong is internationally renowned for its successful integration of rail transit invest-ments and urban development. The city has exceptionally high densities and has aggressively pursued transit value capture to finance railway infrastructure through its ‘Rail + Property’ development programme (R+P). More than half of all the income of railway operators comes from property development. Most R+P projects focus on housing although all have some commercial development. Recent R+P projects have stressed pedestrian quality, which in turn has increased ridership but also housing prices (Cervero and Murakami 2009).

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Finally, in China studies are available on Shanghai and Dalian. Here, the TOD concept is applied almost uniformly to the planning of all transit station areas, including ones located at the urban periphery. Some newly developed station areas have failed to attract a sufficient number of new residents, which has resulted in high vacancy rates. This situation contrasts sharply with the vibrant housing markets of central cities. In these two contexts, the creation of TOD alone has been found to be ineffective in reducing car ownership if there are no constraints on car use. In some localities, governance conditions are inadequate as planners are focused on place-branding rather than land use and transport coordination. Often the planning process has been too fast, without deliberate comparisons among alternatives (Pan, Shen, and Liu 2011; Mu and Jong 2012).

Overall, it is evident that a number of large Asian cities have attempted or embraced TOD in order to spatially structure their rapid urban population growth, concentrate employment centres around transit nodes and tackle the high levels of traffic congestion. In particular, many cities in former and current communist countries in Asia have realized that the ‘car affair’ of the past few decades is unsustainable and are trying now to curb private automo-bility. A main difference between ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ TODs is the much higher population density in the latter. As seen, the forgoing studies provide valuable information on land use and transport but they largely neglect urban design issues.

Urban design in the Chinese context

China has a long and unique urban design tradition which during much of history has influ-enced the neighbouring countries, including Japan and Korea, and has fascinated the Western world. For the purpose of the present paper, four main urban design phases can be discerned which coincide with four historical periods: imperialism (pre-1911), post-imperi-alism (1912‒1948), communism (1949‒1978) and post-reform (1979-present). Some long-standing design traditions from the imperial era still underpin modern Chinese cityscapes (Chen 2007). However, socialist ideologies, as well as later capitalist and consumerist drives, have completely transformed the contemporary form of cities (Deng 2009).

China’s imperial history is one of a cyclical rise and fall of dynasties starting in 1700 BCE. During the imperial era, ‘grand unification’ was a key principle, not only in urban design but also for the organization of society (Figure 1). Accordingly, strict hierarchy and symmetry, suggesting the order unity of central control, dominated the Chinese urban form (Wu and Cui 2005). Another key principle was ‘harmony’, that is, the adaptation of buildings to local conditions, such as topography, vegetation, water, soil structure and climate. The placement and orientation of buildings on a site and the design of man-made landscapes were tradi-tionally based on feng shui philosophy, which in turn was influenced by Confucianism (Figure 2). Unlike the Western approach of human domination over nature, humans were considered as an inseparable part of nature and, therefore, their built artefacts were designed to co-exist in an organic order and integrity with the natural environment (Wang 2012).

By the turn of the twentieth century, imperialism declined. The last dynasty, Qing, came to be seen as extremely conservative and backward and it was finally overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. Afterwards, China entered a multi-decade period of debilitating chaos, unrest and wars, during which the imperial urban design concerns were left aside. The New China (People’s Republic of China) was established in 1949. During Mao ZeDong’s rule, urban planning and design reassumed a central role, although the style was a radical

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departure from the Chinese tradition. A typical top-down and rationalist Soviet approach was adopted. The national government formulated planning and design guidelines which were implemented by the lower government tiers. Feng shui was entirely suppressed during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. In a context of nationalized urban land, planning was little more than a technical exercise. Cities were adapted to walking, cycling and bus-based public transport for job accessibility and other social activities, although apartment units were small and cramped and consumer goods were scarce. The Maoist legacy is clearly visible in Chinese cities today, which are marked by large, standardized housing estates, overpow-ering roads and monumental squares (Xie and Costa 1991; Liu 2013; Gu, Wei, and Cook 2015).

Since the Reform and Opening policy, starting with Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in 1979, China has embarked on a dramatic rise to become a global economic power. Industrialization and economic growth have been accompanied by rapid urbanization. In 2011, for the first time the proportion of urban population surpassed the proportion of rural population. By 2020, the total urban population is expected to reach 850 million (Zhao 2011). In the decade between 2005 and 2014 alone, the total urbanized area increased by more than 15,000 sq. km (Chinese Statistical Bureau 2015). Chinese cities have grown much denser and taller but they have also expanded outwards in a substantial way (Abramson 2008). Suburbanization trends have placed many residents in locations that are far less accessible to workplaces than their prior residences, requiring motorized travel. Private motorization has increased substantially. These growth patterns have produced a number of serious problems, including traffic congestion, reduced accessibility, and air and noise pollution. These have undermined the quality of life of urban residents (Zhang 2007; UN Habitat 2008; Cervero and Day 2008).

Figure 1. Map of beijing during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368‒c.1800). source: baike.

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Consequently, urban planning issues have come to the forefront of the political agenda. Cities are seeking mechanisms, including the development of urban rail transit systems and TOD, to improve the quality of life for their residents (Cervero and Day 2008; Cervero and Murakami 2009; Tang et al. 2004; Loo, Chen, and Chan 2010; Salat and Bourdic 2014). While TOD nodes have been created, their urban design quality varies, although as mentioned, no systematic evaluations have taken place. Anecdotally, many TOD locations suffer from some of the same ills that affect the contemporary built environment in Chinese cities. Generic TOD templates, which have been applied in some cities, have tended to backfire in others.

Much contemporary urban design in China is a replica of Western models which are increasingly infiltrating Chinese culture (Figure 3). These models do not take into account the unique local contexts, as well as social and cultural traditions (Zheng 2007). The con-struction boom, which many Chinese cities have experienced, has attracted a number of international ‘starchitects’. New architectural landmarks have had a massive branding and

Figure 2. Traditional layout based on feng shui. The design concept is concerned with the relationship between the buildings and the natural environment, i.e. the surrounding mountains and water features that symbolically protect the built site. source: image courtesy of He and luo (2000).

Figure 3. beijing’s contemporary skyline, in full contrast with traditional urban design principles. The China Central Television Headquarters designed by rem Koolhaas and ole scheeren is on the right. The building has been dubbed ‘giant Trousers’. source: Photo by authors.

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‘modernizing’ effect. ‘Window dressing’ or showcasing of wealth and power through large-scale developments has been a conscious strategy of the Chinese government (Miao 2011). However, the traditional styles and small-scale public spaces have been sacrificed in this process (Denison 2008).

Moreover, urban design is increasingly commercialized. Massive and popular shopping centres constitute the new privatized public realm, in which entertainment and other activ-ities are regulated and controlled by private owners. On the positive side, after a period of extreme densification and green space erosion, there is a new-found interest in providing urban parks and green pockets (Gaubatz 2008; Gu, Wei, and Cook 2015).

In terms of residential development, new elements of urban form have appeared, includ-ing informal settlements (slums) and gated communities, which were formerly unknown. In particular, the introduction of the gated community (modified from the Western sin-gle-family home concept) has sparked a new trend across China. This type of neighbourhood, also called ‘sealed residential quarter’ (xiaoqu), refers to a basic residential development unit housing 2000‒3000 households. The neighbourhood is surrounded by high walls or fences, and provides all the necessary amenities and open space internally. In a sense, xiaoqu rep-resents a return to the traditional, enclosed li-fang neighbourhoods of the imperial era, and are very popular with the middle classes. However, they cause a series of problems in urban life, such as space fragmentation and a false sense of security. Above all, they constitute another blatant manifestation of the privatization of the public realm in contemporary Chinese cities (Miao 2003).

Recently, the State Council, China’s cabinet and the Communist Party’s Central Committee issued a directive (Beijing News, ‘Directive on Strengthening Urban Planning and Construction Management’, 21 February 2016) which prohibits or discourages urban design that is “over-sized, xenocentric, weird” and devoid of cultural tradition. Instead, buildings should be “suit-able, economic, green and pleasing to the eye”. This is partly an attempt by the Chinese leadership to make itself more independent and rely on its own urban design talent and tradition. Local governments have already begun to approve more conservative designs. The directive also calls for an end to gated communities. Those already in existence will be gradually opened to the public. The current government led by Xi Jinping recognizes that gated communities are ideologically inappropriate in a communist context. However, this is also an attempt to ease and redistribute traffic (Li 2016).

Case study of Beijing

The second largest city in China in terms of population, Beijing was once a walking-, cycling- and bus-based city. Now it is enduring major population and transportation pressures (Yang et al. 2013). Its metropolitan population increased from 9 million in 1980 to nearly 20 million in 2010. With economic growth and the boom in the Chinese car industry, privately owned cars ‒ the symbol of a modern country ‒ became more available and affordable, starting from around 2002. By 2013, the private car fleet exceeded 4 million. The dramatic automobile penetration led Beijing to initially develop substantial new road space and automobile-based land use. Bicycle lanes were taken over by car and parking lanes, seriously undermining the safety of cyclists. Consequently, soaring housing prices and deteriorating air quality pushed local residents to re-settle in the suburbs, both voluntarily and involuntarily. Beijing turned into a large and dense megacity drowning in traffic. The Seventh Ring Road (a highway loop

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around the capital region) is currently under construction. It is expected to produce another 13 satellite cities around Beijing (Guo et al. 2015; Gao and Kenworthy 2017).

However, as awareness of the root causes of urban problems grows, Beijing is transitioning from unquestioned support for cars toward prioritizing the development of public transport, especially the subway system, and the densification of areas around subway stations (in other words, TOD). A booming economy has helped the city to accumulate the massive capital and investment required to enact meaningful and effective change in transportation infrastructure (Beijing Transport Research Development Center 2008; Xue et al. 2015).

The Beijing Subway, which was built in the 1960s but only counted two lines before 2002, is now one of the world’s busiest systems. It has 18 lines (including an airport line), 278 stations and 554 km of track in operation. It serves 9.3 million trips per day and new lines are under construction (Beijing Subway 2015). Its rapid development has changed the com-muting behaviour in the city. It has also had an influence on street designs and land-use patterns in neighbourhoods around its stations, which typically accommodate major com-mercial venues, as well as other functions, such as offices and housing.

The experiences of Hong Kong, Tokyo and other East Asian megacities illustrate that successful TOD integrates adequate public transportation services and a high-quality urban environment (Tang et al. 2004; Cervero and Murakami 2009; Curtis, Renne, and Bertolini 2009). In Beijing, TOD is still in the early stages and, therefore, studies that evaluate the design quality of streets in TOD areas are lacking. The present paper aims to take a step into this research space.

Methodology

The principal research method for this study was a face-to-face survey of business owners, tenants and employees in commercial streets in TOD zones next to subway stations. Their opinions and perceptions are crucial as they have the most to gain or lose from the quality of design in their area. In addition, they observe the area for extended periods each day (in Beijing businesses, especially retail stores, operate through the evening). It must be noted that ideally the views of both businesses and local residents would be sought as the strength of TOD is in the mixed land use and the densities support it. However, collecting a large-scale survey was not feasible in this case.

Four case study streets in Beijing were selected: Xidan North St, South Luogu Ln, Zhongguancun St and Guangshun South St (Figure 4). Xidan North St is one of the most important modern shopping precincts in Beijing. South Luogu Ln is a small-scale shopping street in a heritage zone. Zhongguancun St is located in an academic district, close to uni-versities, research institutes and hi-tech companies. Finally, Guangshun South St is located in a suburban bedroom community (Figure 5). Given their location near major rail inter-change nodes, the land value on these streets is high. In addition to being transit-oriented streets, they are conceptually similar to Western ‘main streets’ within their respective areas. As such, this cluster sample is representative of other key TOD streets in Beijing.

In total, 160 individuals (40 in each location) were approached with a request to complete a lengthy survey form (in Chinese). In total 101 surveys were completed. The overall response rate was 63%, with the responses evenly distributed among the four locations. The survey included 50 questions (or variables). Respondents were asked to rate urban design elements in their street on a 4-point Likert scale (ranging from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’

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with no neutral option). The survey questions were designed based on the theoretical frame-work set forth earlier. An open-ended question on any additional thoughts and suggestions was included, but it received very few responses.

The survey data were analyzed using PSPP (an open source program). Confirmatory factor analysis was performed in order to reduce the components that needed to be interpreted and confirm the validity of the theoretical framework.1 Factor analysis is a method of survey data reduction, which seeks underlying unobservable or latent variables that are reflected in the observed or manifest variables. Factor analysis is considered to be a ‘data hungry’ method. Unlike linear regression, it requires a large amount of survey data in order to extract factors or themes. In theory, ‘strong data’ means uniformly high communalities (the level of shared variance) without cross loadings, plus several variables loading strongly on each

Figure 4. location of the four case study ToDs. The central rectangle is the forbidden City. source: google Maps, modified by authors.

Figure 5. Views of the four case study ToDs. from the left: Xidan north st, south luogu ln, Zhongguancun st and guangshun south st. source: image by authors.

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factor. In practice, these conditions are rare. Recommendations vary widely on the minimum number of observations (N) and the observations-to-variables ratio (p) required for factor analysis. Probably, there is no one ratio that will work in all cases. The number of variables per factor and communalities and variable loading magnitudes are important as well. Some statisticians argue that the total sample size rather than the observations-to-variables ratio is crucial for a sound analysis, while others find this claim too simplistic (MacCallum et al. 1999; Costello and Osborne 2005; Hogarty et al. 2005).

In the present study, six factors were extracted compared to the eight dimensions of the framework. They were labelled: ‘public spaces for human use’, ‘vehicular movement and parking’, ‘variety and complexity’, ‘security’, ‘scale and density’ and ‘pedestrian and cyclist orientation’. Two of the frameworks’ dimensions, ‘connections and land use’ and ‘transit in the urban patter’, were integrated into other factors. The variables with weak loadings (less than 0.3) were dropped from the factor analysis. Ultimately, only 24 variables were retained, for an N = 100 and p = 4.2 (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.78). After reducing the data, the scores assigned to each factor were summed, and descriptive statistics (mean and standard devi-ation) were used to evaluate and compare the importance of the factors. To illustrate certain points, the frequency distribution of responses to key individual questions was reported, even where the variable was dropped from a factor due to a weak loading. The frequencies are relevant to the discussion of the dimensions since a theoretical framework was employed as a starting point. In this case, the data were combined into two categories: agree/disagree. In addition, descriptive statistics for individual responses were calculated (median and stand-ard deviation).

The results were interpreted based on the available literature (which is very limited, as mentioned), and, especially, the authors’ understanding and experience of Beijing’s context. (One of the authors is Chinese and has lived in Beijing.)

Findings and discussion

The main statistics related to the respondents’ views with regard to the six urban design dimensions identified in the analysis are shown in Figure 6. The correlations between the factors (dimensions), and their explanatory power are shown in Table 2. Clearly, the ‘pedes-trian and cyclist orientation’ is considered as the main urban design issue in TOD areas (with

2.492.37

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2.06

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Scale and density

Public spaces for human use

Variety and complexity

Security

Pedestrian and cyclist orientation

Vehicular movement and parking

Mean Std. Dev.

Figure 6. The relative importance of the six urban design dimensions.

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Table 3. Key findings.

Dimension

Recommended guideline or approach

Beijing Dimension 1: scale and

density • allow taller buildings (e.g. 25-storeys)• allow high densities

Dimension 2: Public spaces for human use

• include natural elements (water fountains, pocket parks, street trees, vegetation)• Design weather-sensitive streetscaping (protection from sun and precipitation)• ensure street hygiene, sitting spaces and general maintenance• Provide service centres, allow street vending and open markets within easy reach• limit and/or regulate street performers and entertainers

Dimension 3: Variety and complexity

• intensify land uses (housing, shops, restaurants)• limit nightclubs• Combines modern, cutting-edge architecture and older, traditional buildings• include street art and colourful buildings• Control size and location of advertising billboards in historic areas

Dimension 4: security • Provide secure bicycle parking• ensure that streets are well lit in the evenings

Dimension 5: Pedestrian and cyclist orientation

• schedule and enforce maintenance of local sidewalks• Design wider sidewalks where possible• Design safe crossings with long pedestrian signal timing on wide roads• limit car speeds on commercial streets• Provide fences along sidewalks to protect pedestrians• Provide segregated cycling lanes• Clearly design the signage that links stations to the wider ToD area (landmarks, clear

sight lines and other orientation devices may be helpful)

Dimension 6: Vehicular movement and parking

• limit motorized traffic speeds• Create segregated bus lanes• increase parking supply if needed, but also educate the public that a large provision of

parking is detrimental in the long run• Provide overhead or underground crossings if needed, but also raise awareness on the

need to prioritize people over automobiles in street design

Table 2. Correlations between the six extracted factors, and the total variance explained by the factors.

* Values significant at p = 0.05.

Correlations (Pearson, 2-tailed)

Scale and density

Public spaces for human

useVariety and complexity Security


Vehicular movement

and parkingscale and

density1


0.28* 1


0.12 0.22* 1

security 0.31* 0.28* 0.11 1Pedestrian and

cyclist orientation

0.11 0.34* 0.21* 0.37* 1


−0.10 0.25* 0.36* −0.05 0.23* 1

Component

Initial Eigenvalues

% of Variance Cumulative %Vehicular movement and parking 19 19scale and density 15 34Pedestrian and cyclist orientation 9 43Variety and complexity 8 52Public spaces for human use 7 58security 5 64

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both a higher mean and a lower standard deviation than the other dimensions). On the other hand, ‘vehicular movement and parking’ is less of a concern for respondents, but there is disagreement here (as evidenced by a higher standard deviation). In addition, opinions seem to vary significantly on the issues of ‘security’ and ‘scale and density’. Overall, the scores are not high. However, given a 4-point Likert scale, they are all above average, suggesting that there is some public attention directed at urban design issues in the city, but this is not a top priority. The findings are summarized in Table 3, which has the same structure as Table 1 for easy comparison between Beijing’s case and other contexts discussed in the literature. A more detailed discussion of each dimension follows.

Scale and density

Preferences with regard to scale and density are entirely different in Beijing compared to the West. The Chinese public is accustomed to much taller buildings than the accepted standard in most US or European cities. Surveys included a series of questions on the height limits that the respondents believed should apply in their street. Options of 5, 10 and 25 storeys were given. Responses show that 25-storey buildings are preferred to 10- and 5-storey ones. (Only in South Luogu Ln, the coziest and more traditional of the four TOD streets in the cluster, there is a tendency to prefer lower heights.) In addition, many respondents would like to see more housing built on their street; however, more than a preference for higher density, this response might reflect the fact that commercial uses (retail, etc.) take precedence in Beijing’s TOD zones while housing provision lags behind (Table 4). Guangshun South St is an exception, being located in a bedroom community, therefore is predominately residential.

There might be a variety of reasons as to why the Beijing population appears to prefer high densities. First, a simple visual habituation as high-rise construction has been a mainstay in Chinese cities since the formation of New China. The government and the public alike tend to consider high-rise buildings as a marker of modernization and development. In addition, roads tend to be very wide in Beijing (commonly with six to eight lanes) and tall buildings might provide some sense of enclosure. Given the survey target, shop owners and employees might believe that a higher population threshold in proximity to their business will translate into higher earnings. Finally, respondents might be more aware than elsewhere that, despite their personal preferences, in a megacity of Beijing’s proportions, medium or low densities are unfeasible and high-density, compact housing is needed to accommodate the population at an affordable cost and within reasonable distances. However, more research is needed to confirm the relative importance of these possible explanations.

Table 4. scale and density*.

*strong loading: X ≥ 0.5 (highlighted); moderate loading: 0.5 ≥ X ≥ 0.3; weak loading: X ≤ 0.3.

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The results for this dimension are rather similar to outcomes in international studies (Table 5). Natural elements, including water fountains, pocket parks and especially street trees and veg-etation, are considered to be very desirable in TOD streets. A weather-sensitive streetscape, which takes into consideration Beijing’s cold winters and, especially, hot summers, is also desir-able. Many respondents lament that their street lacks sun and/or shade at different times of the year. Street hygiene, sitting spaces and general maintenance are also important to respond-ents. South Luogu Ln and Zhongguancun St, which are the most pedestrian friendly in the cluster, fare better on this dimension.

As mentioned, harmony between the natural and built environment was a trademark of Chinese urban design for centuries. By contrast, contemporary design elements in Beijing are conventional and inefficient. Anti-human hardscapes dominate. With high land values in Beijing’s commercial districts, green and blue city spaces are often neglected in new plans. Urban design is geared towards displaying government achievements and sustaining ‘big’ developers’ profits rather than providing human comfort and wellbeing. However, clearly the populace longs for some of the past values. In the currently fast-paced urban develop-ment stage, there seems to rarely be sufficient time to consult with the public and solicit public input on urban design matters.

In terms of street activities and amenities, the results vary. For example, while all four study locations have a commercial nature, many respondents would like to see more services, including street vendors and open markets. This echoes a concept of urbanism, ingrained in Chinese and other Asian cultures, which views streets as an arena for commerce. It also reflects the legacy of socialist urban design, in which most daily services were provided within immediate access of people’s homes. A preference for commercial activities within easy reach differs from the US context, in which land uses have been traditionally segregated. On the other hand, a majority of respondents express a dislike for street performers and entertainers, who, in many Western cities, are considered as an asset because they add interest to an area and provide a sense of spontaneity. Cultural preferences in terms of acceptable behaviour in public spaces might explain this.

Table 5. Public spaces for human use*.


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Most respondents agree that their street includes a good variety of businesses (Table 6). However, when asked whether three potential land uses need to be intensified in their street ‒ shops, restaurants and nightclubs ‒ again most answer positively (although views on nightclubs are less positive, perhaps due to the noise that these produce or the relatively recent concepts of ‘commercial nightlife’ and disco dancing). As seen earlier, more street vending and open markets are also desired. Most respondents would ideally like a TOD street that combines modern, cutting-edge architecture and older, traditional buildings. This pref-erence is similar to the US but different from Europe where ‘modern’ is more often viewed as out of context and heritage protection is considered crucial, as seen in the theoretical framework.

Street art and colourful buildings are also considered an asset. Advertising billboards, which feature prominently in Beijing and other Asian cities, are less of a concern, with the exception of Xidan North St, a major shopping precinct. (This situation is different in Northern Europe, where billboards are considered a nuisance and regulations often apply to limit their use.) These findings reflect a Chinese (and Asian) cultural penchant for visually vibrant and functionally dynamic and around-the-clock street activity ‒ with a level of intensity rarely encountered in European or North American cities.

Security

By international standards, personal security and violence are not major issues in Beijing. In the selected TOD streets, in particular, it is likely that a high number of passers-by largely prevents criminal behaviour. However, nearly half of the respondents (most often in Xidan North St and Guangshun South St, the least pedestrian-friendly streets in the sample) indicate being fearful of crimes happening in their street (Table 7). This perception might be due to the fact that in the past prior to recent urbanization and commercialization waves, Chinese society was nearly entirely crime free. Therefore, even a relatively small surge in crime levels

Table 6. Variety and complexity*.


Table 7. security*.


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might be very concerning for the population. While the survey did not specify the types of crimes that cause apprehension among business owners, tenants and employees, it is likely that respondents are referring to bicycle theft and pickpocketing rather than violent personal attacks. In fact, a lack of bicycle parking racks emerged as a major issue (this is discussed later in the paper). However, most respondents agree that their street is well lit in the evening, which imparts a sense of security. This dimension is reflected by only two items, which might affect reliability. Further research into security perceptions in Chinese cities is needed to confirm the present finding.


There is a great deal of dissatisfaction with the quantity and quality of pedestrian and cycling features in all four TOD streets (Table 8). Respondents agree that the local sidewalks are poorly maintained and too narrow for the masses of pedestrians (although wide by inter-national standards), and are often overcrowded. The roadbeds are too wide (especially Xidan North St and Guangshun South St), and the crossings are unsafe due to busy traffic and fast car speeds.

Cycling is also considered unsafe. This is a major problem that affects the youth in par-ticular ‒ students being among the most frequent bicycle users. The respondents might have been critical of cycling conditions because the introduction in 2012 of public bicycles sharing systems in Beijing has done much to (re)raise the profile of cycling as a travel mode. Now there are more than 1600 pods across the city, including the four case study TOD streets. Most respondents take the view that some form of separation is needed between vehicular traffic and slow modes (e.g. fences for pedestrians and segregated lanes for cyclists). These opinions and desires are similar to the Western TOD contexts used as a comparison, although in those contexts conditions for non-motorized transport are more satisfactory.

Wayfinding is also viewed as problematic, especially the links between the transit station and the TOD street itself. In Asia, TOD is often conceived as a combination of the station building with other uses above or below, rather than in the immediate neighbourhood of the station. In addition, the station layouts, as well as the entrances/exits of the stations are

Table 8. Pedestrian and cyclist orientation*.


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confusing for many. For example, the Xidan station has 11 entrances/exits leading in different directions which users must learn to navigate. The links between TOD streets and transit stations could be improved through signage, landmarks (which serve as orientation devices) and clear sight lines, all items about which respondents feel positively. These findings confirm that adequate conditions for walking and orientation in space are universal human needs.


High traffic speeds (currently a 60 km/h speed limit applies in most commercial streets in Beijing) and an insufficient bus transport service are seen as problematic in all four TOD streets, probably because they reduce the accessibility, but also due to a large car traffic throughput in the areas (Table 9). Most respondents strongly favour the creation of bus lanes in their streets. The Beijing public is familiar with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), although the city contains just a limited system of four lines and there are no BRT stations in the study areas. (Beijing’s BRT system is much more contained than Guangzhou’s Gold Standard BRT.) A pro-BRT attitude is different from the US context, in which local merchants often oppose the conversion of car or parking lanes into bus lanes on account of losing car driving customers.

However, the respondents also lament a lack of parking spaces. The latter is a major issue citywide. Car parking has eroded the city’s pedestrian and cyclist space. In the case of TOD, a large provision of parking is all the more detrimental because the very purpose of TOD is to reduce car use and change the public attitude toward public transport use. (Of course, parking supply might have to be somewhat increased in zones where it is so low that motor-ists park in inappropriate places, such as sidewalks.)

These responses suggest a lack of awareness on the part of merchants on how to make their street more attractive. This finding is also reinforced by other responses. For example, an overwhelming majority of respondents believe that, in order to increase pedestrian safety, overhead or underground crossings must be provided which separate vehicular traffic from pedestrian traffic. In fact, overpasses are increasingly common measures in Chinese cites and appear to be popular despite the inconvenience of having to climb up. (In other coun-tries, overhead crossings tend to be resisted and are unenforceable, leading to more danger for pedestrians who venture to cross at grade.2) Underpasses are especially convenient for transit users, particularly during very cold or hot weather, as they can be connected through a network of tunnels to the subway stations, thus helping users emerge directly on the TOD street without having to face surface traffic. However, over- and underpasses take people away from the street spectacle at grade.

Table 9. Vehicular movement and parking.*.


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Conclusion

Through surveys of shop owners, tenants and employees, this research examined urban design preferences in Beijing’s TOD streets ‒ urban design being a largely ignored TOD policy aspect. A qualitative framework of urban design dimensions, which was constructed based on Western TOD case studies, was used for comparison purposes. The quantitative analysis of the survey data collected for this study confirmed the usefulness of this framework, although it was slightly contracted from the original framework and some of the employed variables had weak loadings. The authors’ adapted framework for the study of Transit-Oriented design comprises six categories, clearly not mutually exclusive: (1) scale and density; (2) public spaces for human use; (3) variety and complexity; (4) safety; (5) vehicular movement and parking; and (6) pedestrian and cyclist orientation.

The analysis revealed that there are some similarities between Chinese and Western pref-erences in terms of TOD design. For example, the Chinese public desires human activities, pedestrian safety and comfort, visual variety, natural elements (trees and water) and com-plexity in outdoor spaces as much as Western publics. However, due to China’s particular history, culture, economy and polity, differences exist too. For example, in line with China’s pre-socialist and socialist style of urbanism, support for cycling and bus lanes, as well as mixed uses and commerce (including street vending) in TOD streets, is much higher than in Western countries, particularly the US. Personal security is less of a concern while the accept-able development scale is much higher than in the West. The Chinese public, including merchants who have a major stake in the pedestrian appeal of their streets, appears to be not very informed on effective measures that encourage pedestrian use and discourage driving. Many believe that increasing the supply of parking and segregating motorized and pedestrian traffic will be the solution. This lack of awareness and modernist orientation is understandable in the country with limited experience with private motorization.

In this exploratory paper, the authors have analyzed four main TOD streets rather than entire TOD districts. Using the present findings as a starting point, future research needs to encompass and examine TOD nodes in a holistic manner, through a large sample and perhaps employing only the ‘stronger’ variables identified in this study. In addition, the urban design characteristics and problems evidenced in this paper might well be similar to non-TOD areas in Beijing. Future studies need to include ‘control’ areas (i.e. non-TOD areas) in order to discern any differences. However, a key point of this paper is that urban design issues in TOD zones need to be prioritized over other parts of the city, as transit-oriented living is crucial to achieving sustainability goals in Chinese cities. Urban design should be consciously employed as a tool to attract residents in TOD areas.

China has already lost much of its traditional styles and urban design principles. Its urban areas have been transformed from smaller settlements organized according to feng shui’s esoteric principles of order and harmony into first standardized but bicycle- and pedestri-an-oriented socialist cities, and then into overpowering capitalist megacities with massive traffic and skyscrapers. As Chinese cities become increasingly Westernized, the role of tra-dition in urban design might fade further in the background. However, it is likely that some urban design principles in TOD precincts will remain uniquely Chinese and cannot be rep-licated elsewhere without any thought for context. Local preferences, such as support for public and active transport, mixed uses and high densities, which are very positive in terms of urban sustainability, must be harnessed and strengthened. At the same time, if TOD is to

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succeed, the needs of the local populations in terms of public and green space (now much neglected) must be met.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interests was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The eigenvalue was set at > 2.2. This is a junction where two roads meet or cross.

ORCID

Dorina Pojani http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2018-6338

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