The Functional Transformation on Urban Railway Heritage: A Case Study of Pukow Railway Station

Abstract

As a representative of the urban modernization, railways have a great influence on the geographic and social space of cities. However, in the current urban renewal, especially after the socio-economic transformation of the 1990s, some historical railway stations and auxiliary facilities (such as squares, living areas, factories, etc.) have lost their initial function and become a unique railway heritage in the city. This paper takes Pukow Railway Station-the end station of the Tientsin-Pukow Railway as an example and analyses the functional changes in the past century. From the perspective of function, this paper compares the physical urban morphology, architectural changes, population settlement data, and urban context of the station and the nearby area over the past 90 years. The function of Pukow Railway Station and the people living nearby are no longer related to railway transportation, and gradually transformed into commerce and general city residents. This area has become into a cultural and commercial district. After losing its transportation function, the urban railway heritage needs to be infused with new uses in conjunction with spontaneous changes. While retaining historical and social values, appropriate functional changes are the way to combine with other urban spaces and become a new urban attraction.