Project
Human-centred mobility hubs: Designing for inclusive and sustainable travel
NIRAS is proud to have partnered on the international research project “Transit Oriented Development 2 (TOD2),” developed in collaboration with KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Nanjing University and Tongji University. This project expands traditional TOD by bringing greater focus to the human experience, carbon neutral development, and the evolution of stations into fully integrated mobility hubs. It looks beyond proximity to public transport to consider the experience of the mobility hub and its connection with the surrounding community.
February 21, 2025
- SECTORS: Sustainable mobility, Infrastructure
- COUNTRIES: Denmark and China
Whether planning a new station area or upgrading an existing mobility hub, understanding how people experience the journey is essential. Does it feel safe? Can people see where to change modes? Is it clear how to reach their destination? Does the station connect naturally to the places around it?
TOD2 explores what makes these spaces work better for the people who use them, balancing the needs of movement with the station area's role as a place and a gateway to the surrounding community.
Understanding urban space based on international research
As the Danish partner, NIRAS developed a new approach to evaluating mobility hubs from the user's perspective, with particular focus on safety, comfort and the overall experience of moving through, and beyond, the station area.
“Transit-oriented Development 2 (TOD2) puts people at the center of urban design, creating safe, human-scaled streets that make cities more livable. By developing a framework for these transit areas and sustainable mobility hubs, we will help communities shift from car dependence to walking, biking, and transit – improving both quality of life and environmental impact.”
Mary Elbech, project manager and senior mobility consultant at NIRAS.
Our Strategic Analysis of Mobility Hubs builds on the research conducted through the project, with NIRAS’ contribution rooted in the Danish design tradition of people-centred urban planning. Throughout the project, we have placed particular emphasis on understanding the perspectives and experiences of people of all ages and abilities, ensuring that a broad range of needs and viewpoints are reflected in the methodology. The result is a practical tool for municipalities, transport authorities, consultants and developers working to create more accessible, inclusive and user-friendly urban environments around public transport.
Rather than focusing solely on infrastructure, the analysis evaluates how the mobility hub functions as a complete system for the user, considering both transport efficiency and the quality of the surrounding public space.
Our methodology helps answer questions such as:
- How easy is the mobility hub to understand and navigate for someone who does not use it regularly?
- Where do people encounter barriers to safety, comfort or accessibility, and how can it be improved?
- How well do the different transport options visually connect with one another?
- How well does the hub connect with the surrounding community?
- Which improvements will have the greatest impact on user experience?
- Where should time and investment be prioritised?
The result provides decision makers with a clear picture of how the hub performs today, where improvements are needed, and which interventions could have the greatest impact.
Understand the urban environment from the user perspective
Improving a mobility hub does not always require a major investment or redevelopment. A strategic analysis can help identify where relatively small interventions, including tactical urbanism and urban acupuncture, can improve the quality of the space and eyes on the street, while strengthening wider urban development and sustainable mobility goals.
Whether you're in the early planning stages or looking to improve an existing hub, we'd be happy to discuss how the methodology can support your project.
What our knowledge can help you achieve
Our methodology can support organisations looking to:
- Support modal shift, by making connections between public transport, walking, cycling and shared mobility easier and more intuitive
- Identify barriers to active mobility, including walking, cycling, and improve accessibility for different user groups
- Improve perceived safety around stations, mobility hubs and public spaces
- Strengthen the balance between public space and transport flow to create more accessible, attractive and human-centred mobility hubs
- Integrate mobility hubs with surrounding urban development through coordinated transport, land-use and public-space planning
The analysis provides practical recommendations based on observed user behaviour and international best practice.
The framework has been tested across multiple case studies in Denmark and China, ranging from major city-centre stations to smaller suburban hubs – combining international research with practical planning experience to develop a tool that can be applied in a wide range of urban contexts.
Get in touch to learn more about the Strategic Analysis of Mobility Hubs could be applied to your mobility hub, station area, or development project.
Facts about the TOD2 project
The TOD2 project is carried out with support from JPI Urban Europe, and NIRAS' share is financed by Innovationsfonden (The Danish Innovation Foundation) and the NIRAS Alectia Foundation.
The project is carried out in collaboration between NIRAS, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, Nanjing University and Tongji University.
The project had a total budget of 1.3 million euros, it began on May 1, 2023, and ended June 2026.
Want to improve mobility and quality of life in your city?
Our urban mobility and transport planning experts can help you with:
TOD policy, strategy and implementation guidance // Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) // Strategic urban mobility and transport planning // Mobility analysis, accessibility and travel patterns // Mobility hubs and transit-oriented development (TOD) // Public transport planning and multimodal connections // Modal shift strategies, modal share analysis and congestion management // Car-lite and car-free planning integrating parking, walking, cycling and public transport // Inclusive mobility and human-centred urban planning // Safety and perception of safety analysis // Stakeholder engagement and public participation
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