Aims
Railway station areas can play a crucial role in promoting sustainable development if integrated with cities and be fluctuation-responsive through effective urban design. However, during the design stage, assessing the station areas' performance, of which user satisfaction is indicative, is challenging due to methodological limitations. Agent-based simulation (ABS) is promising as it can link spatial features with agents' behavior features. This research questions to what extent ABS can help assess the urban design of station areas.

Methods
This paper adopts the user pyramid as the theoretical framework, which outlines five types of user needs: safety, speed, ease, comfort, and experience. The paper selects indicators linking satisfaction and spatial features at the district and building levels. These indicators are measured in the simulation of the station system using digital tools, including MassMotion and Python scripts. The theory, indicators, and tools, in combination, serve as an assessment framework. Rotterdam Central Station is used as a case to demonstrate how the framework works.

Results
The framework is capable of assessing design alternatives by identifying changes in user satisfaction. It can be applied on the district level (at a scale of 250 m) with substantial details to inform design decision-making, and it is useful during the design stage when only limited data is available. This paper strengthens the scientific knowledge of railway station areas through the multidisciplinary literature review that translates user needs for urban design use, and it advances the digital means to visualize user satisfaction affected by design.@en

Introduction: In China, Station-City Integration is proposed by the design academy in China to solve problems and add value. This research focuses on urban design for the redevelopment of Old Major Railway Stations in Megacities in China.

Problems & Goals: From our focused cases, two problems are discovered: Stuckness and congestion on peak days, Space underuse on normal days. Two goals are proposed correspondingly: Mobility Resilience and Public Space Flexibility.

Knowledge Gaps: Theoretical and practical knowledge are lacking for the proposed goals. The component words of the goals all have rich meanings. Some of them have related assessment tools and design recommendations.

Research Questions: For urban design research and practice, how can Mobility Resilience and Public Space Flexibility be defined, assessed, and designed?

Deliverables: The deliverables will be Concept Definitions, Assessment Frameworks, and Design Principles. The Concept Definitions offer researchers a new way to see the Station City problems. The Assessment Frameworks offer researchers a new tool to assess the Station City problems through different dimensions. It can also be used for evaluations during the iterative design process. The Design Principles can be used for the scheme establishment.

Methods: For Concept Definitions, papers about mobility, resilience, public space, and flexibility were examined to propose definitions. For Assessment Framework, available technologies & data will be tested. For Design Principles, case studies of the best practices will be conducted.

Relevance: Scientifically, the Problem Identifications show a creative way of framing research problems between specification and generalization. These Concept Definitions show a solid way of transferring knowledge from other disciplines to urban design fields. Societally, the Problems Identifications and Concept Definitions set a starting point for practitioners to take action. The Assessment Frameworks and Design Principles are practical tools for designers.@en