Exploring the role of inclusion in railway hubs: a literature review over the last decade

Railway stations play a key role within the territory and have a strong impact on the urban structure. These infrastructures not only act as complex nodes of transport and mobility but also as identity places and crucial points in the creation of relevant public space. From this perspective, railway stations represent a relevant opportunity within urban regeneration processes to foster an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. The paper is part of the debate on the relationship among infrastructures, urban tissue, and spatial inclusion, focusing on an international literature review (2013-2023) concerning railway station nodes and their role within public space. The research examined the extent to which railway nodes have been investigated and how accessibility has been considered, not understood exclusively in terms of mobility and intermobility but as a key concept for spatial inclusion. The research results showed that 41% of the scientific articles consulted analysed the railway station with reference to the node quality and the TOD (Transit Oriented Development) approach. Moreover, concerning accessibility in terms of walkability, intermobility, and density of the area in which the station is. The 23.5% of the literature consulted dealt with accessibility concerning spatial inclusiveness, analysing the relationship between the station and vulnerable people, the elderly, or simply people with heavy luggage. The remaining 35.5% of the literature reviewed, interprets the role of nodes with different themes.