Multiscalar trip resilience and metro station-area characteristics: A case study of Hong Kong amid the pandemic

Abstract

A resilient urban system should cope with the dynamic human activities in its subsystems. Since travel allows people to have their needs satisfied in scattered locales, the dynamics of travel and its effects on people's well-being can vary across different spatial scales (including different subsystems) and over time. However, little empirical research has been done regarding these spatiotemporal variations. In this article, we introduced a trip resilience (TR) index to measure the time-varying travel characteristics, especially trip attraction changes, across different spatial scales. Using empirical data from Hong Kong, we quantified the TR indices for metro trips at a station across three spatial scales: local, neighborhood, and citywide. Then, we examined the spatial distribution of the TR and investigated which station (area) characteristics could explain the stations' TR indices for trips in different scales. We found that the TR indices and their predictors varied across the scales. The diversity of points of interest significantly predicted the TR indices across all the scales. Yet, other characteristics, such as the median age of residents, street density, working population, and provisions of parking spaces, only predicted the TR indices for trips at one or two of the scales. These findings shed light on more refined urban and transport planning strategies and policies concerning travel demand management across spatial scales in the post-COVID-19 era.