Transit system as a project of urbanity

Up to which point a transit system, a primarily utilitarian element of the
city, could become a positive constituent of urban context, giving it a new
significance and an additional value? In the last few decades, there is a relatively
new and increasing phenomenon in urbanism which is to put more
effort into the integration of transit system and its surrounding. In different
regions of the world, multidisciplinary teams of planners are working on
many-sided urban projects along the transit routes in order to establish a
stronger dialog between mobility and the built environment, regardless the
transport mode, size of city or urban context. The objective of this discussion
is to give a general overview of this phenomenon and to evaluate some common
ideas or outcomes.