Po Nien Chen

First and second supervisors 

• Dr Kayvan Karimi
• Dr Sam Griffiths 

Abstract

Public transport, especially the rail-based public transport system, is considered to bring a significant impact on the flow of people and freight in the cities. The spatial development of the transport network and infrastructure, could either improve or impede socio-economic and cultural processes in the long run. However, current transport and urban studies have yet to clarify the spatial effect of the network accessibility related to public transport.    

On the one hand, studies in transport planning and engineering presume the transport network as an equilibrium system based on the supply and demand of the traffic. Studies usually apply the transport simulation analysis to forecast and optimise the usage of the transport network, but somehow neglect the spatial influence of transport infrastructure on the built environment. 

On the other hand, studies in urban planning and morphology seem to analyse network accessibility mostly within the vehicular street network without concerning the multi-dimensional effect of the public transport network. This research aims to bridge the gap between transport and urban studies by applying space syntax as the primary methodology to investigate and uncover the spatial phenomena of the multi-layer transport network. 

An advanced integrated urban network model, which could adopt various spatial network accessibility measures, will be developed and applied for the examination of new public transport systems. The model will not only allow access to the configurational effect of urban structure but also could provide a comprehensive understanding of the spatial accessibility of the multi-level network in cities. 

Biography

Po Nien Chen received his Spatial Design: Architecture & Cities MRes from The Bartlett School of Architecture in 2017. He is a PhD student at the Space Syntax Laboratory, funded by Ministry of Education, Taiwan, since 2018. He is currently a postgraduate teaching assistant for Space Syntax: Architecture & Cities MSc/MRes at The Bartlett.
 
Before he joined Space Syntax Laboratory, he practiced in architecture design as an architect and interior designer in Taiwan. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, and a Master’s degree in civil engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York University.
 
His research interests focus on spatial analysis, urban transport network accessibility and modelling. His current research investigates the spatial impact of the London public transport network on the urban mobility by applying a multi-level urban network model.    

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Image: Catchment Analysis of London Underground Services. OS MasterMap® Integrated Transport Network Layer [GML2 geospatial data]. Scale 1:1250. Tiles: GB. Updated: 1 April 2018, Ordnance Survey (GB), processed and visualised by Po Nien Chen.