The node-place analysis on the “hubtropolis” urban form: The case of Shanghai Hongqiao air-rail hub

This paper uses the Shanghai Hongqiao Integrated Transportation Hub (“the Hongqiao Hub”) as an empirical case to conduct a preliminary node (transportation functional value) and place (urban functional value) analysis. The Hongqiao Hub is the strategic node not only for the Hongqiao Business District (“the Hongqiao Hubtropolis”), but also for the western Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, and the rest of Yangtze River Delta Region and beyond. This newly emerging “hubtropolis” is a brand new urban form integrating air, rail and other transportation modes as well as urban functions, which is more complicated than single-mode “aerotropolis” urban form in terms of both node functions and place functions. The existing Hongqiao Hub remains as the unbalanced node case, but will become more balanced after the complete construction of the Hongqiao Business District. This study also finds that, even though Bertolini's node-place model provides an important tool, its operationalisation remains a huge challenge.