More than just a station forecourt? Exploring experiences, activities and wayfinding around public transport stations using ‘digital Tactical Urbanism’

Kurzfassung

Walking is an integral part of public transport. Therefore, the surrounding of a station must be attractive for pedestrians. Moreover, stations can fulfil more than just transport functions: Their forecourts can serve as a neighborhood anchor and social space. Most research investigates catchment areas or station’s interior. There is little research on the immediate station’s surroundings regarding walkability and sense of place. To explore this, we conducted a mixed-method study at a mobility hub in Berlin, Germany: (1) We held workshops with planning experts on the role of forecourts and (2) conducted a user survey to identify required features. Based on this, we (3) designed 3D-elements that were placed on the digitally walkable forecourt based on Tactical Urbanism principles. Finally, (4) the forecourt with and without virtual 3D-elements was shown to users and experts with Virtual Reality glasses and ‘digital walking interviews’ were conducted. This is defined as ‘digital Tactical Urbanism’ (dTU). The survey (n = 250) shows that participants desire cleanliness, safety and a high-quality walking environment. The interviews (users: n = 17, experts: n = 7) highlight that social safety remains essential despite redesigns; a clean, safe, green, and lively forecourt – offering short access, benches and food‑truck spots – can turn stations into neighbourhood anchors and increase ridership, whereas perceived insecurity and lacking maintenance deters use. dTU can make changes in urban environments tangible and allows testing measures before implementation. Approaches for handling social issues and planning concepts to realize neighbourhood anchors should receive attention when planning and researching station surroundings.