Matthew Leach

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Public Transportation Nodes|
dictating function and form of the built environment
1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 THE ABSTRACT
ass transit systems are one of the oldest forms of public transportation in
developed societies and by sharing the journey it is the most efficient type of
transit. Yet in the last decade we have replaced this type of public transit with a new
type of transportation. This is where the private automobile takes control of the transit
market yet it requires much more space and resources to move people than the old
system. The old system of shared public transit has seen and experienced many changes,
and challenges along the way but the basic function of people movement has always
stayed constant. The efficiency and speed of these systems has fluctuated rapidly to fit
the needs of the rising of populations from the vast roman carriages that roamed the
immense network of early roman roads built in 500 BC, to Japans current high-speed
bullet train that is capable of 180mph. All had the common goal of moving people yet
the innovation of new technology and larger networks pushed the form of these systems.
As a result this often resulted in the urban form to be morphed to fit with the changing
times.
his historical record of changing typology can be found through times past with
varying impact on the character of the landscapes. The Ancient Roman times with
their preferred to engineer solutions that helped accentuate the landscape rather than
carve into these obstacles they encountered in the landscape whenever possible. This
resulted in the society giving the irregularities in the landscape the ultimate showcase
rather than the form of the roads themselves taking center stage. But as we transcend
time we can see the shift form the landscape form dictating the placement of the
public transportation systems to the public transport systems implying major changes
onto the landscape. In the recent century we have seen more change to the landscape
than humans have caused in any other time period and most are nor for the good of the
society.
Keywords| Transit Oriented Design (TOD), New Urbanism, Public Transit, Mass
Transportation, Public Transportation


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2 BACKGROUND
2.1 THE REASON
ovement of people across the lands has always dictated the organization of the
society and the way they use these places. The Romans built their cities streets
based on the angles of the sun which gave the cities a distinct vista. They also
implemented laws that defined the right to use a road as a servitus, or claim. This
expanded further to define three types of land uses for their streets; the "right of going"
or footpath, across private land; the "right of driving", or carriage track and a combined
types of pedestrian or carriage uses. This structured settlement patterns of most
societies have been centered on the public transportation of its people weather for
pilgrimages, armies, daily lives, or trading routes that shaped their style, feel and pace
of life. This type of modeling of the landscape to meet the needs of transporting people
would be the gateway to more radical changes to the urban form yet to come.
n the early twentieth century many industrializing nations faced the first major eye-
opener to the impact of transportation on are cities. The streets of many
metropolitans had been congested with trains that spewed smoke and suet all over are
cities impacting our health, lives and building maintenance. This era of dominant rail
transit was soon replaced the motorization of our developed countries which resulted in
the suburban sprawl issues that we currently face. During this time our cities faced
rapid suburban flight and disinvestment in our city centers. The masses of Baby boomers
now had access to FHA housing loans that allowed them to buy the American dream of a
single family house with the picket fence. This era resulted in the first major housing
boom that invested billions of dollars on this new suburban dream. All new roads and
other infrastructural supports where also constructed during this time. This type of
street was probably most prevalent in America with its Interstate Highway System that
was introduced in 1956, which is now known as the motorization era that followed the
Industrial Revolution and the production shift to Fordism that swept the country in the
1920s and the globe by 1930s. This new archetype of development was proposed as a
cheaper way of living that would homogenize the public into a more responsible
consumer. During this period housing became the indicator of the health of the
economy and that still holds true today. This era in Americas history has resulted in
one of the largest paradigm shift in how people live, work and play in their communities
(Cervero). As a result of this intense network of roads that provided the country with an
economic engine for increased production and consumption of global goods, massive
housing boom, blue collar economy that was necessary following WWII. It was this
aggressive new economy that led to Americas Global Power Status but in the past
decade many professionals, government officials and communities are now starting to
realize the scale of the impact that that the highway system and the motorization of
America has had on the suburban sprawl epidemic that swept the country. This type of
planning created Americas overconsumption behaviors that has given rise to the
overtaxing of our social services programs, decreased public investment, and the
collapsing of many communities and in some instances entire cities like in the case of
the city of Detroit. Early studies in the 1970s have shown the estimated costs of traffic
congestion to automobile users as a result of eliminating public transit during peak only
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could result in $38 million in wasted time (Sheldon). So as we look back at this time of
booming construction and new jobs we now know that we had not acted the most
responsively when planning for our future communities.
ow as we look for an alternative to the traditional vehicular dominant communities
there has been an increased interest in commuter communities. They look to
challenge the image of the personal vehicle in the landscape and replace that with
public transit alternatives. Although this concept is not new, yet the scale and budget in
which these projects are being proposed there is a significant risk to the public and
private sector that these new communities function as intended without the impactions
that the vehicle has had on the landscape. Since the BART was approved in 1962 it has
resulted in a 78% increase in office space available or under construction at a cost of
$800,000,000 worth of public and private investment to the area of San Francisco. Yet
this was a costly project it has brought millions of dollars to the economy and has been
evolving to meet the needs of its commuters. As of 2012 the BART system was allocated
$50 million to update it to a high speed rail line which is expected to provide more
private and public investment along the corridor and as a result altering the landscape
to meet the new needs of the investors, businesses, and corporations that invest in the
area. What is not known is how this will impacted the way we use this new landscape?
As a place to call home, a place to use our skills to earn a living and a place to enjoy
what makes use happy. What is known is that the resurgence of investment into
Americas downtowns is at levels that would rival that experienced after WWII and the
trend of continuing growth and maturity of Americas suburbs are struggling to become
cities of their own (Ohland). Lastly is the renewed interest in rail transit and rail
investments that hasnt been seen in fifty years.

2.2 PREVIOUS RESEARCH
2.2.1.1 Transit Oriented Development
n the recent decade many professions have looked into this idea of transit oriented
development juxtaposed to the vehicle oriented development standard. It is a back
to the future approach to developing cities more like old cities built after WWII in
Europe, France and areas like San Francisco, California. It goal is to promote
revitalization around and beyond the station area, accessible jobs, housing, services,
and recreational opportunities for residents, reduced transportation costs for
residents, create affordable housing and mixed-income communities, increased
transportation mobility and access to jobs and other opportunities, along with local
economic development. There is five main goals to TOD: Location efficiency, Rich
Mix of Choices, Value Capture, Place Making, and Resolution of the tension between
node and place.
Within those goals there are sub components that the development must reach to
achieve. For location efficiency there is density, transit availability, and pedestrian
friendliness. Rich mix of choices allows the neighborhood to adapt to fit many
different ages and lifestyles by offering them choices in the places they live and shop.
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They typically include choices like large single family houses, bungalows, condos and
apartments. This reduces the need to drive to the paces the use on a daily basis.
Value capture looks to provide frequent, high quality transit service, good
connections between transit and the community, community amenities and a
dedication to place making, along with scorekeeping and attention to financial
returns. Place Making looks to address things like providing places for the people,
enriching the existing, making connections, working with the landscape, mix uses and
forms, managing the investment, and designing for change.
Belzer, D., and G. Autler. ., Transit Oriented Development: Moving From Rhetoric to Reality.
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2002. Print.

Dittmar, Hank, and Gloria Ohland. The New Transit Town: Best Practices in Transit-oriented
Development. Washington, DC: Island, 2004. Print.
2.2.1.2 New Urbanism
his type of development practice has received a lot of attention and also focuses
around providing access to public transit as a key element of the design. It
focuses on providing multimodal transit options that would meet the needs of a
diverse community. A key component is to provide a mixed used development that
attracts a wide age and lifestyle group. This will encourage engagement and life to
the public spaces at different times of the day creating a more vibrant urban form
that is inviting. Many professionals have researched this topic including Charles
Waldheim from the GSD School of Design at Harvard, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and
Andrs Duany have all contributed to this research.
Duany, Andres, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl
and the Decline of the American Dream. New York: North Point, 2000. Print.

Waldheim, Charles. The Landscape Urbanism Reader. New York: Princeton Architectural,
2006. Print.
2.2.1.3 Railroad Metropolis
will uses this to compare historical changes in the character of the transit
communities as technology and innovations changed the way we move people. I will
be able to use the historical images to compare and contrast how people used these
places, how we moved through spaces and what the feel or character of these places
where like. It focuses on railroad development historically and currently so it shows
the evolution, challenges and opportunities that the network has experienced.
Middleton, William D. Metropolitan Railways: Rapid Transit in America. Bloomington: Indiana
UP, 2003. Print.



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2.3 SUMMARY OF CURRENT KNOWLEDGE
he current development methods used during the 1930s -1980s manly in America
led to suburbs that are known as edge cities or the creation of the suburban
sprawl communities that are completely car dependent. This has resulted in many of
our towns and cities to have as much as 65% paved for the facilitation of vehicular
movement. As a result many of our youths and aging have no access to the services
critical to a basic community without have access to a vehicle.
ailways are making a rebirth as many commuters have lost the battle to congestion
and look for alternate means of transportation. The railways companies have been
able to steer the market in their favor as the prices of gasoline increase globally and
the speed and efficiency of the intercity high speed rail networks increase. As a result
in many European markets they have been able to capture 63% of the air travel market.
(Richards). The same business the apposed these systems ten years ago now are
demanding their employees be able to access these services as a more reliable form of
transportation and often offset the construction costs. Which brings into question
whether these types of intercity stations are an essential element for the development
of any future city.
tation Design has become the new outlet for architectural expressionism. It has
attracted all of the major players in Architecture, City Planning and Engineering like
Foster, Le Corbusier, Kohn and Vaysse Architects. They are designing these new stations
that fit the demand of the new transit types that have emerged along with the urban
fabric they are embedded in.
lthough much research has gone into the development of these new paradigms of
city planning little has been done to determine the visual quality of these new
communities and more importantly the lasting effects of these planning styles. What are
the inherent pros and cons of shifting our cities to fit this new archetype? But with the
research that has been done on the vitality and resiliency of these communities along
with the case studies that have been performed on the different styles of development
(New Urbanism, Transit Oriented Design, Etc.) was used to compile an in-depth analysis
on the character of these communities.


3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 PHOTOGRAPHY
or this method I will be using photos of various transit nodes ranging in scale to
help visualize the types of forms that these places have. I will then start comparing
the different sites to see if there is any direct connection with the form of the transit
node or if the community has influenced the form of the transit node. I will also use
these photos to capture the character and vibe that is present at these sites. I can
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then start to categorize the different types of land use that are present along with
what types of activities are people engaging in.
3.2 CASE STUDIES
his method I will be looking to examine the level of interdependency of these
communities and the transit node. Through this process I was then able to compare
the pros and cons of the different development types exposing the implications of each
developmental framework.
3.3 ANALYTIC
his final method will combine the previous three methods into a categorized
roadmap that will help to expose the complex network of interconnectivity that
occurs between these nodes and the communities that they are in.


4 RESULTS
ased on my research I broke the different typology that emerged from analyzing
photography, comparing case studies and using my own analytic process into main
categories. The categories that materialized where form and function. Form is the
physical element that represents how we see the landscape, the size of the forms within
this space, the materiality of these places and the colors that will be represented there.
The secondary category is function which represents the way we use the space. Function
can be broken down into the land value, land use and demographics
4.1 FORM
orm is a major element that dictated by physical components like scale, materiality,
and color. Each of these components work in harmony to create a cohesive rhythm
that provokes peoples emotions, memories and interactions. The form of transit nodes
within the built environment can influence the surrounding community through
emulating the style of these dominant social centers. The sheer numbers of commuters
that pass through these spaces makes these the central form in many of these city
centers. As a result you can often find those transit nodes to influence the color, size
and material form of the surrounding businesses, homes and civic centers.
4.1.1 Scale
he scale of the transit node has the largest influence on the level of dictation of
character. These transit nodes come in various different scales from a simple
street bus stop to a multiple story metro station. As the scale increases so does the
level of influence of the form of the surrounding community. A simple street side bus
stop will cause little changes in the form of the city. Maybe there is a curb cut or pull
off with a simple windbreak structure. Yet this type of structure pulls most of its
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physical character form the surrounding neighborhood. While a larger multiple story
metro station will most likely cause physical change to the community because of its
level of integration in the cities function. These changes could influence the
surrounding building heights, footprint, and setbacks. With the increase of scale comes
more connection types and the more commuters which will result in a larger influence
of these nodes as a dictator of character.
s the scale of the new transit station reaches to capture the new types of
transportation like the high speed rail networks. This has resulted in a social-
political nightmare that can result in the slowing of projects and loss of historical
neighborhoods, parks and districts. Like in the cases of Stuttgart, Germany when they
destroyed a historic terminal and adjacent forest in the construction of an advanced
new multi-tiered station and Paris that destroyed a historic market during the
construction of the Regional Express (RER) interchange (Richards).

REGIONAL EXPRESS INTERCHANGE (INGEROP) STUTTGART (arkhitekton)

In many developed city centers areas it will be difficult to treat these points of
interest with the respect they deserve but it will also be critical for the city of the
future to adapt to fit the needs of the society. It will be difficult to predict how
planners will deal with bringing these massive stations down to a human scale. It will
be critical for these new stations to be intimate to the millions of people needed to
make these mega stations work. They will need to provide us with multimodal transit
options without letting the human scale get lost in the process.
4.1.2 Materiality
he materiality is another major indicator of form and transit nodes often are
influencers of the material composition of urban forms. The material composition
of small transit nodes often uses the surrounding forms as a palate to integrate these
micro nodes into that community instead of creating an anomaly in the landscape.
Resulting in the transit nodes pull in the material from the surrounding built
environment. This helps to homogenize the landscape as a form with rhythm, harmony,
and contrast that makes the node feel integral to the community. As the scale of the
transit node increases so does its influence on the materiality of these neighborhoods.
As soon as there is a physical structure larger than a windbreak you can start to see
that the transit node becomes the major influencer of the material of these public
spaces. As this transition occurs the material of the transit node spills out into the
surrounding urban form. This provides a level of symmetry, balance and rhythm that
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the surrounding community to pull material influences from in the axial directions of
the transit corridor.
s the construction industry shifts into the new age with high tech products, faster
methods and do so using less resources to do the same job. At the same time the
architectural and design industry has shifted to a minimalist approach to design in the
recent years. This has resulted in cheaper products that can mimic the materiality of
products that had once been considered luxury like marble, brick, and natural stones.
In the case of car free housing large areas that had once been occupied by asphalt are
now places for playing, meeting the neighbors and space available for landscaping.
Like in the examples of Edinburg, Scotland and a car-reduced community called
Vauban in a new suburban district of Freiburg, Germany that have managed to carol
the car in favor of car free living. Replacing streets with bike paths and walkable paths.
All of which are less intensive products that also provide the landscape with a higher
level of infiltration of storm water. Lastly these communities typically only have a 30%
car ownership rate which also limits the material chain. Most residents walk or bike to
the places they need for their personal life and ride public transit to the places they
work. This is an extremely more efficient means of living which should be giving
consideration for future development options.

Edinburg, Scotland (edinburgharchitecture) Car Reduced Community, Vauban (Times)
4.1.3 Color
he color is the final major indicator dictating the form of the communities
surrounding the transit node. Color is also influenced by the previous two types of
form such as the material of a community often dictates the color palate of the
surrounding neighborhood. The scale of the transit node also determines the direction
of influence color has. The smaller the node the more likely it will pull its color palate
from the surrounding community to blend into or compliment there form. Yet as the
node becomes the dominant figure in the landscape this shifts the influence to the
transit node as the dictator of color. Often as a result the transit node becomes the
anomaly, perhaps to show hierarch of function in the built environment.


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4.2 FUNCTION
unction is the secondary element that dictates the character by altering the physical
environment by altering land use, value and demographics of the people that live,
work and play in these neighborhoods. Transit nodes can greatly influence the way
people use a space and as a result this can alter the physical function of theses public
spaces. This can have positive and negative results that can harm the viability of the
community making them unstable or create speculation of growth thought-provoking
investment into these areas. As a result you will find that the function of the urban
from can greatly influence these outliers.
4.2.1 Land Value
unction of an urban city center is greatly influenced by the land value and land
value is directly linked to the scale of the transit node. An individual bus stop or a
series of bus stops has little to no influence on the land value but as the size of the
node increases so does its influence on public and private investments that drive land
values. Typically this is not true for American rail lines but in European countries these
types of corridors become drivers for investment and revitalization of the surrounding
lands. In America rail lines often go through the least habitable, lowest income
neighborhoods and rust belt communities so this provides little influence on the land
value. Yet subway and metro stations in both countries stimulates investments and
increases land values.
n the case of Transit Oriented Design one of the key components is to value capture
and a sub component is to protect investment. But this in most cases cannot be
achieved without the public investment into these projects that help to facilitate
private investment because of their intense scale and complexity of mixed use
developments that often encompass fifty plus acres. The public benefits when the
private land value increases as a result of such development projects. They often bring
substantial social and finical returns and TODs values capture can be used to
rehabilitate communities, fund transit networks and create vibrant city centers
(Ohland). This type of development often provides a multiplier effect that provides
local governments with solid public returns, increased property tax, sales tax
increment, parking fees, utility user fees, business licenses generated by the new jobs
and businesses.
4.2.2 Land Use
he land use is a major element that dictates the function that a place serves. Land
use will determine the types of activities that occur in a particular place, the
diversity of people that are present in a space and the businesses that are present in
that space. If we do not control the way we have been settling in suburban
communities an estimated $920 billion in new roads will be required to accommodate
the growth in United States over the next twenty-five years (Ohland). That is why
location efficiency will become important element to consider for future transit
communities.
ransit Oriented Design tries to encourage the synergy between land uses by
providing a mix of land uses to provide an opportunity to reduce travel by
internalizing trips. This is accomplished by encouraging transit supportive land-uses for
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employment centers to internalize travel like banking services, variety of restaurants
and eateries, convenience retail shops, child care, personal retail like drycleaners and
barbers, business support services, along with recreational opportunities. They also
encourage internalized transit supportive land-uses for residential development. These
supportive land uses are neighborhood grocery, wide variety of restaurants, drug store
and pharmacys, banking services, along with personal retail.
4.2.3 Demographic
he last element under function is the demographics of the people present in a
landscape. This is important because all of the previous elements will impact the
diversity of place. As we saw as a result of the suburbanization of America which led
to primarily white families that could access the dream of suburban life through loans.
This was paralleled by the redlining of our cities by the Federal Housing Associations
which resulted in the disinvestment in inner city areas. But in both Transit Oriented
Design and New Urbanism developments have proven that a more diverse
neighborhood is often a more healthy and vibrant community as a result. The range in
lifestyles and ages groups gives these types of development a vibrancy at all hours,
while providing a safer and more intimate setting as the children play and the young
professionals rest during their lunch and the elderly watch over the grandchildren.


5 CONCLUSION
ith America at a cross roads of reinvestment into the city center and the maturity
of suburban growth at a tipping point. We have committed to investment in our
rail networks as a conductor of capitalistic growth. These new nodes of transportation
will alter the form and function of our communities to become a more internalized
society, relying less one intensive transportation and more on localized efficiency. As a
result this will change the landscape of the communities we live in to become a more
diverse and inclusive society providing a place for everyone to live work and play.
These denser more interdependent communities will also cause a multiplier effect
that increases land value and investment in infrastructure and services in the
surrounding area. The scale of our communities will change as we progress into transit
communities. Large metropolitans will have mega transit nodes that provide the
largest diversity of multimodal transit options to a dense community along with
connections to new sub cities that will be closely connected to these transit corridors
but focused more on an internalized economy. The materiality of our city centers will
also be tested as we enter a new phase of minimization and product innovation along
with the shrinking of our road networks and their required resources. With all that was
discovered most of the results will be positive to the efficiency and livelihood of our
communities. Yet the true results of these types of developments has yet to be
documented due to their infancy.

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6 WORKS CITED
arkhitekton. arkhitekton. n.d. Image. 27 April 2014.
Cervero, Robert. The Transit Metropolis: A Global Inquiry. Washington: Island Press, 1998.
edinburgharchitecture. Slateford Green Housing, Scotland : Architecture Information. n.d.
Article . 27 April 2014.
Ingerop. Ingerop. n.d. Image. 27 April 2014.
Ohland, Hank Dittmar & Gloria. The New Transit Town. Washington: Island Press, 2004.
Richards, Brain. Future Transport in Cities. New York: Spon Press, 2001.
Sheldon, Nacy W. The Economic and Social Impact of Investments in Publis Transit. Tronto:
Lexington Books, 1973. Hardcover.
Times, New York. Creating a Car-Free Community. 10 May 2009. Article. 27 April 2014.
Yago, Glenn. The Decline of Transit. Cambridge: Canbridge University Press, 84.