Abstract

Urban Transitions: Transit Oriented Development

I am studying four locations in New York City so that I understand how the subway impacts transitions in order to understand how to develop transit oriented developments. My research focuses on how the New York City subway stations impact urban transitions around them. Additional, my research looks into how the urban transition impacts the particular subway station. It is in my interest to conclude from my research that either the presence of the subway system is one reason for the urban transition or it is the urban transition that gives reason for the subway station.

To conduct my research, I looked at four areas within New York City: Columbus Circle, Atlantic Yards, Times Square, and the High line. Here I compared the history of the place’s development and subway stations to what they are today. From there, I took note of activity zones, access points of the subway system, and subway station within the area of transition; most importantly, whether the area had a subway station at all.

My results show that major activity zones occur within the boundaries that the subway access points create or the subway stations themselves create. In the case of New York City’s subway, not much has changed as far as station stops but there have been changes as far as access and usage of the station. I conclude that it is the transition that influences the subway, but it is the subway that gives some reasoning for the transition.