Uncovering the similarity and heterogeneity of metro stations: From passenger mobility, land use, and streetscapes semantics

Understanding the spatial and functional characteristics of metro stations in terms of passenger mobility and built environment is imperative for the transportation system development. This study integrates streetscape visual semantics with traditional mobility and land use factors to provide a multi-dimensional characterization of metro stations. By developing a novel semantic analysis framework, this study identifies distinct clusters of Shanghai Metro stations that share similar characteristics in mobility, location, and visual semantics. The results reveals a strong alignment in the similarity among passenger mobility, land use, and streetscapes. Metro stations in the commercial and entertainment zones of the urban center exhibit a high degree of visual enclosure, activity, and diversity, maintaining high ridership throughout the day. In contrast, residential-oriented stations in suburban transfer hubs display clear commuting patterns and more balanced visual characteristics. Furthermore, our findings highlight “partially similar stations”, which, despite exhibiting similar mobility patterns, reflect heterogeneous land use configurations and streetscapes owing to variations in urban structure and development. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the spatial dynamics of metro stations and offer valuable implications for urban planning and metro management.