Classifying station areas in greater Manchester using the node-place-design model: A comparative analysis with system centrality and green space coverage

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is receiving increasing attention from planners and policymakers as an essential strategy for addressing urban travel inequalities and air pollution. As an analytical method based on the conceptual construct of TOD, the node-place-design (NPD) model is utilized by researchers to assess TOD in urban public transport systems. However, current research prioritizes local perspectives of station development and fails to identify the functions of stations at the system level. In addition, few TOD-related analyses have considered the ecological aspects of cities. In the present study, we used an NPD model to evaluate TOD development at rail stations in Greater Manchester. We incorporated extended indicators of systemic importance and green space coverage in our analysis to provide additional insight into the model. First, we found a low level of TOD integration around stations in Greater Manchester, and some differences in development levels around train stations and Metrolink stations. Second, a comparison with the extended system importance indicators revealed the potential for significant differences in the NPD index and the system importance indicators of stations. This identified some stations that have the potential to take on new routes and some areas that are worthy of transit-oriented development. Finally, we found a specific negative correlation between the NPD index and the green space indicator. This indicated that the TOD model sacrifices green space to a certain extent and demonstrated the importance of including ecological indicators in the TOD assessment. The present study provides additional insight into the NPD model by introducing extended systemic and ecological indicators.