Assessing Railway Stations in Jakarta Based on Neighbourhood Built Environment

To state that one railway station is “Good” can be done in different aspects. There are no absolute criteria and this ranges between scales. To a passenger, “Good” station is, perhaps, the one that is well lightened, clean, and have clear signage; or the one that has restaurants, convenience store, and safe. To the businessmen, “Good” station is the one that attracts most traffic as the probability for their purchase in the stations' increases. To the operators, the “Good” station is the one that delivers the most cash flow and has a low maintenance cost. There are many criteria for many actors for each has its own interests.

From the architectural/human scale, a good station perhaps is the one that holds enough capacity, has decent supporting facilities, and aesthetically pleasing. Taking it to a higher scale, urban design, one might look at the linkage and land use synergy supporting the station activity or being supported by the existence of the station.

Defining Good

Well, I like making it simple. Coming from Urban and Regional Planning background, in this essay, I am going to assess all stations in Jakarta City based on built environment quality. The attribute of a station is defined by the built environment surrounding the station by permeability; a good station has high permeability. Permeability is the ability of a substance to let others pass through it; in this context, a good station must serve a high amount…