Evaluation of Pedestrian Networks in Urban Rail Transit Station Catchment Areas Using Entropy Weight Method and TOPSIS Models: Empirical Evidence from Nanjing, China

Analyzing the pedestrian networks within the catchment areas of urban rail transit stations is crucial. It serves as a vital link between residents and these stations, playing a key role in optimizing travel dynamics and fostering a rail transit–oriented green transportation system. By gathering multisource data, including points of interest, road networks, and street views from areas around urban rail transit stations in Nanjing, China, an entropy weight method (EWM)-technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) model is constructed in this study to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the pedestrian networks in the area influenced by rail transit stations. The results show that the EWM-TOPSIS model can meet the actual needs of the evaluation of pedestrian networks in urban rail transit station catchment areas. The relative walking width has the largest weight in the pedestrian networks evaluation, accounting for 17.390%, and the integration has the minimal weight, accounting for 3.467%. The overall spatial distribution of the pedestrian networks’ comprehensive score index presents a root-spreading state radiating outward from the station as the center. Targeted optimization strategies are formulated based on the comprehensive analysis of each sub-dimension’s specific conditions.