From the Platform to the Sidewalk. Continuities and Intermittences Around the Railway Stations of the Vall Baixa in the Metropolitan Barcelona

Abstract

In the dialogue between railway stations and their urban surrounding areas, the precise definition of pathways between the platforms and the sidewalks becomes a key issue for promoting public transportation and pedestrian-friendly routes. Focused on the territory of La Vall Baixa del Llobregat, westwards of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, this research observes the string of stations distributed along an infrastructural corridor that serves as a privileged urban laboratory. The urban analysis of the eleven railway stations and their surroundings is based on the observation and parameterization of four dimensions that define the proper integration between the stations and the city: the architecture and design of the stations, the pedestrian connection and urbanization, the surrounding residential density, and the functional mix and urban intensity. Using various graphic representation tools, the research conducts a diagnosis and prospective study of the whole, illustrating the cases of stations "anchored" in their surroundings in contrast to those with a "floating" condition. The research concludes by establishing some strategies at the local and territorial scale in regards: overcoming the barrier effect of infrastructure, pacifying the surroundings of the stations, selectively densifying residential areas, and promoting mixed land use. All together, these actions represent approaches that can be applied to a broader range of cases, and certainly contribute to a better articulation of the discontinuous Barcelona metropolis through the consolidation of its constellation of railway urban micro-centralities.