URBP-280 Planning Research Topics:

High-Speed Rail Stations Planning in France and Spain (3 units)

Summer Session 2025

 

Instructors:	Eric Eidlin, AICP
Office location:	Virtual
Telephone:	415-373-8629 (Eric Eidlin)
Email:	eric.eidlin@sjsu.edu
Office hours:	(details will be added as course is finalized)
Class days/time:	Two pre-trip class meetings on Zoom are required on Friday, May 2, 2025 and Friday, May 16, 2025 followed by in-country travel from May 26 - June 7, 2025. There is also a required post-trip class presentation session on Zoom on June 27, 2025.
Classroom:	Zoom for the two pre-class meetings and one post-trip presentation meeting.
Class website:	See Canvas site
Prerequisites:	Interview with the instructors is required as a condition of admittance. Admitted students are required to complete all paperwork and pay all program fees as specified by SJSU’s Faculty-Led Programs office.
Units:	3.0

Course Catalog Description

In-depth examination of selected planning research topics introduced in core seminars for the Master of Urban Planning degree, such as the social and environmental impacts of planning policies.

Course Description

Students will learn about the planning and design of high-speed rail station megaprojects in France and Spain, two world leaders in high-speed rail development, with visits to Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Lyon, Paris, and Strasbourg. Key topics will include the governmental challenges involved in managing megaprojects, designing stations that support both neighborhood and regional development goals, integrating rail stations into local and national transportation networks, and principles of effective station design. Course activities will include guided site visits, meetings with local experts, and opportunities for independent data collection on station and neighborhood design. Students will reflect on how best practices from the two countries can be applied in the US, including for development of the California High-Speed Rail Project.

With respect to intercultural learning, students will have a chance to learn how government planning processes differ between Spain, France, and the US. Also, students will develop an understanding of how the urban built environment differs across cultures. Finally, students will have many opportunities to enjoy the culture, food, and language in a variety of exciting Spanish and French cities.

 

Course Learning Objectives (CLOs)

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Explain why megaprojects create unique planning and building challenges
2. Evaluate how a HSR rail system will impact urban and regional development
3. Identify the essential structures for public agencies governing station planning and designs
4. Compare the effectiveness of different approaches to wayfinding in HSR stations, including use of signage and intuitive architecture
5. Evaluate how the amenities at HSR stations (retail, services, public spaces, rest-rooms, information centers, etc.) influence the passenger experience and serve the neighboring community
6. Evaluate how land-uses in the station-adjacent neighborhood influence use of the HSR station and system
7. Evaluate how accessible a HSR station will be for people with a disability
8. Conduct a public-space activity audit and evaluate how the station design influences the way people use the space
9. Evaluate the effectiveness of the connections between a HSR station and the adjacent streets and activities through a multi-modal station access audit and other tools.

Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) Knowledge Components

This course partially covers the following PAB Knowledge Components: 

1e) The Future: understanding of the relationships between past, present, and future in planning domains, as well as the potential for methods of design, analysis, and intervention to influence the future.

2a) Research: tools for assembling and analyzing ideas and information from prior practice and scholarship, and from primary and secondary sources.

2b) Written, Oral and Graphic Communication: ability to prepare clear, accurate and compelling text, graphics and maps for use in documents and presentations.

A complete list of the PAB Knowledge Components can be found at http://www.sjsu.edu/urbanplanning/courses/pabknowledge.html.  

 

Course Format

The course will begin with two two-hour online meetings on (dates TBD) to prepare for the in-country experience. These meetings will involve discussions about high-speed rail (both in California and in Spain and France), Spanish/French cultural norms and basic language phrases, an overview of the cities and projects we will explore, and discussion of assigned readings.

Between May 26 and June 7, 2025, students will travel with the instructors and participate in lectures, field trips, sightseeing, and cross-cultural discussions.

Upon return, on (date TBD) students will meet for a 2-hour online class session during which they will present their final group projects and reflect on lessons learned from the course.

Required Course Readings and Videos:

Albatoate, Daniel, and Xavier Fageda. “High Speed Rail and Tourism: Evidence from Spain.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 85 (2016), 174-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2016.01.009.

 

Banerjee, Iman. “Railway station, The Image of the City, and Transit-Oriented Development: An Appraisal of the Cognitive Value of Transit Hubs.” Asian Geographer (2023). https://doi.org/10.1080/10225706.2023.2288351.

 

Chandra, Shailesh, and Sharada Vadali. “Evaluating accessibility impacts of the proposed America 2050 high-speed rail corridor for the Appalachian Region.” Journal of Transport Geography 37 (2014), 28-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2014.04.002.

 

City of San Jose. “Mobility,” in Diridon Station Area Plan, 118 - 163. May 25, 2021. https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/74711.

 

Du, Jinglun, et al. “Place Quality in High-Speed Rail Station Areas: Concept Definition.”
 Journal of Transport and Land Use 14, no. 1 (2021), pp. 1165-1186. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48646227.

 

Eidlin, Eric. Making the Most of High-Speed Rail in California. German Marshall Fund of the United States, 2015. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281119877_Making_the_Most_of_High-Speed_Rail_in_California_Lessons_from_France_and_Germany

 

Flyvbjerg, Bent, and Gardner, Dan. How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, From Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between. Crown Publishing Group, 2023. ISBN-13: 9780593239513.

 

Garmendia, Maddi, et al. “High Speed Rail: Implication for Cities.” Cities 29 (2012), S26 - S31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2012.06.005.

 

Goldwyn, Eric, et. al. Transit Costs Project: Understanding Transit Infrastructure Costs in American Cities. New York University, Marron Institute of Urban Management, 2023. https://transitcosts.com/Final-Report/.

 

Leheis, Stephanie. “High-Speed Train Planning in France: Lessons from the Mediterranean TGV-line.” Transport Policy 21 (2012), 37 - 44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2011.11.004.

 

International Olympic Committee. “Barcelona 1992: A City Turning Towards the Sea and Winning the Hearts of the World.” 2022. https://olympics.com/ioc/news/barcelona-1992-a-city-turning-towards-the-sea-and-winning-the-hearts-of-the-world

 

Moore, Rowan. “How the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics are Driving the City’s Green Revolution.”  The Guardian, December 31, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/dec/31/paris-2024-olympics-green-transformation-anne-hidalgo-clean-seine.

Monzón, Andrés. “Efficiency and Spatial Equity Impacts of High-Speed Rail Extensions in Urban Areas.” Cities 30 (2013), 18 - 30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2011.11.002.

 

Neuman, Michael. “Ildefons Cerdà and the Future of Spatial Planning: The Network Urbanism of a City Planning Pioneer.” The Town Planning Review 82, no. 2 (2011), 117 - 143. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27975988.

 

Otsuka, Noriko, and Alan Reeve. “Railway Stations as Public Spaces: How to Promote Rail Journeys via Multi-Functional Railway Stations.” European Planning Studies 32, no. 5 (2024), 973 - 1009.

 

Pinto, Pedro Janela, and Gustavo Lopes dos Santos. “Olympic Waterfronts: An Evaluation of Wasted Opportunities and Lasting Legacies.” Sustainability 14, no. 4 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14041968

 

Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 9th edition (University of Chicago Press, 2013, ISBN 780226816388).

 

Vickerman, Roger. “High-Speed Rail and Regional Development: The Case of Intermediate Stations.” Journal of Transport Geography 42 (2015), 157 - 165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2014.06.008.

 

Recommended Course Readings

 

Barles, S. “Urban Metabolism and River Systems: An Historical Perspective – Paris and the Seine, 1790–1970.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 11 (2007), 1757–1769. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-11-1757-2007, 2007.

 

Caro, Robert. The Power Broker. 1975

 

Whyte, William H. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, 8th edition. 2001

 

Course Requirements and Assignments

Your grade for the course will be based on the following assignments and other activities:

 

Assignment	Due date	% of course grade	Course Learning Objectives
Assignment 2. for team project on one station planning or design theme	May 27 - June 8, 2025	30%	4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Assignment 3.	May 27 - June 8, 2025	Pass/fail	1 - 9
Assignment 4.	June 27, 2025	50%	1 - 9

 

Additional details on each assignment will be distributed as class handouts and posted on Canvas. A brief description of each assignment follows:

Assignment 1 – In this assignment, to be completed individually before the trip, students will complete readings and watch videos to learn about planning for, and construction of, the California high-speed rail system. Students will summarize their findings in writing and post them to Canvas to stimulate discussion. Students can reflect on any aspect of the project, ranging from cost, project delivery, procurement, station design, urban integration, governance, or any other aspect of the project. Findings from this assignment will serve as a basis for future comparisons between US and European high-speed rail planning projects as part of Assignment 4.

Assignment 2 – Working in teams of 3 to 5, students will use audit tools to systematically evaluate conditions inside of HSR stations and in the neighborhoods surrounding them. Each team will be responsible for evaluating one theme for all of the stations we visit. Themes assigned may be wayfinding, station amenities, disability access, station-area activity, and multi-modal station access. The teams will later summarize their theme-based findings in a detailed report, including narrative photos, sketches, and other graphics to illustrate comparisons between the stations visited.

Assignment 3 – Students will prepare a travel journal comprised of two parts: (1) a free-form section where students add whatever material they wish to document course findings; and (2) a semi-structured section where students respond on Canvas discussion boards to prompts asking them to reflect on different course topics, including megaproject planning, transit station layout and amenities, and transit station connection to surrounding neighborhoods.

Assignment 4 – As a culminating experience for this course, student teams will prepare a report and online presentation summarizing the lessons learned about their specific topic. The teams will compare their observations from Spain and France and develop recommendations for station development in California or other US systems. All students in this course will be required to attend the presentation and have a speaking role. Interested members of the SJSU community and others interested in high-speed rail planning will be invited to attend the presentation.

Final Examination or Evaluation

There is no final examination for this course. The assignments listed above constitute the full range of materials that students will submit for grading purposes.

Grading Information

We will calculate the final letter grade for the course by weighting the grade for each assignment according to the percentages in the table above. Letter grades for each assignment are converted to a number using a 4-point scale (A+ = 4.2, A = 4.0, A- = 3.67, B+ = 3.33, B = 3.0, B- = 2.67, C+ = 2.33, C = 2.0, C- = 1.67, D = 1, and F = 0).

The scores for each assignment and the weights for each assignment are used to calculate a final, numerical grade for the course. That number is then converted back to a letter grade (A = 3.85+, A- = 3.50 – 3.84, B+ = 3.17 – 3.49, B = 2.85 – 3.16, B- = 2.50 – 2.84, C+ = 2.17 – 2.49, C = 1.85 – 2.16, C- = 1.41 – 1.84, D+ = 1.17 – 1.40, D = 0.85 – 1.16, F = 0 – 0.84). 

University Policies

Per University Policy S16-9, relevant university policy concerning all courses, such as student responsibilities, academic integrity, accommodations, dropping and adding, consent for recording of class, etc. and available student services (e.g. learning assistance, counseling, and other resources) are listed on Syllabus Information web page (https://www.sjsu.edu/curriculum/courses/syllabus-info.php). Make sure to visit this page to review and be aware of these university policies and resources.

 

Plagiarism and Citing Sources Properly

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's language, images, data, or ideas without proper attribution. It is a very serious offense both in the university and in your professional work. In essence, plagiarism is both theft and lying: you have stolen someone else's ideas, and then lied by implying that they are your own.

Plagiarism will lead to grade penalties and a record filed with the Office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. In severe cases, students may also fail the course or even be expelled from the university.

If you are unsure what constitutes plagiarism, it is your responsibility to make sure you clarify the issues before you hand in draft or final work.

Learning when to cite a source and when not to is an art, not a science. However, here are some common examples of plagiarism that you should be careful to avoid:

• Using a sentence (or even a part of a sentence) that someone else wrote without identifying the language as a quote by putting the text in quote marks and referencing the source.
• Paraphrasing somebody else's theory or idea without referencing the source.
• Using a picture or table from a webpage or book without reference the source.
• Using data some other person or organization has collected without referencing the source.

The University of Indiana has developed a very helpful website with concrete examples about proper paraphrasing and quotation. See in particular the following pages:

• Overview of plagiarism at indiana.edu/~istd/overview.html
• Examples of plagiarism at indiana.edu/~istd/examples.html
• Plagiarism quiz at indiana.edu/~istd/test.html

 

If you still have questions, feel free to talk to the instructors. There is nothing wrong with asking for help, whereas even unintentional plagiarism is a serious offense.

Citation style

It is important to properly cite any references you use in your assignments. The Department of Urban and Regional Planning uses Kate Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 9th edition (University of Chicago Press, 2013, ISBN 780226816388). Copies are available in the SJSU King Library. Additionally, the book is relatively inexpensive, and you may wish to purchase a copy.

 Please note that Turabian’s book describes two systems for referencing materials: (1) “n in otes” (footnotes or endnotes), plus a corresponding bibliography, and (2) in-text parenthetical references, plus a corresponding reference list. In this class, students should use the "notes" style.

Library Liaison

The SJSU Library Liaison for the Urban and Regional Planning Department is Ms. Lauren DeCelle. If you have questions, you can contact her at lauren.decelle@sjsu.edu.

 

 

 

URBP-280: Planning Research Topics

Summer Session 2025  |  Course Schedule*

 

Date	Topics		Hotel in:	Work Due
May 2 (Friday) 5 - 7 pm (Pacific)	Pre-trip meeting #1 Self-introductions. Interest in class/topic Course overview Trip preparations: what to expect in Spain and France	Zoom
May 16 (Friday) Pre-trip meeting #2 5 - 7 pm (Pacific)	Pre-trip meeting #2 Introduction to HSR station planning and the CA HSR plans Discussion of discussion post	Zoom		Discussion post due Read Mobility chapter of Diridon Station Area Plan
May 29 (Thurs)	•       2pm  Visit to Musée des Egouts de Paris [optional] •       4pm Visit to Notre Dame Cathedral [optional]. •       Orientation, team-building activity  •       Welcome dinner [included]	Paris 1		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Read Du, et al, “Place Quality in High-Speed Rail Station Areas: Concept Definition” [Suggested book to read before arriving in Europe, and definitely before we arrive in Madrid on June 9]: Flyvbjerg, How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors that Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything in between
May 30 (Friday)	•       10am: meet at Gare du Nord. meeting with Fabrice Morenon and other representatives of the French Railways Stations and Connections Group. Site tour of Gare du Nord. •       Travel with group by metro to Gare St. Lazare to see adaptive reuse project that has large shopping mall attached to station. •       Lunch on your own nearby •       Afternoon: meeting with representatives of the Société des Grand Projets and tour of St. Denis-Pleyel station, one of the new stations built as part of the Grand Paris Metro Expansion •       Option #1 for evening Seine boat tour (Bateaux Mouche)	Paris 2		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Station data collection (Assignment #3) Read Moore, “How the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics are Driving the City’s Green Revolution”
May 31 (Sat)	Day-trip to Strasbourg   •       9:00am. Pre-trip visit of Gare de l’Est before departing for Strasbourg (optional) •       10:25 depart Paris Gare de l’Est by high-speed train for Strasbourg. Arrival at 12:10pm (ARRIVE BY 10AM) •       Group lunch in central Strasbourg with traditional Alsatian food (Flammkuchen, Baeckeoffe [lunch included] •       Tour of Strasbourg-Ville Station •       Tour of central city, Short visit of Strasbourg Cathedral, river tour, time permitting]. •       4-6pm: Guided tour with   of either COOP or Krutenau. •       6:57pm depart from Strasbourg-Ville Station for Paris by high-speed train [ARRIVE BY 6:30PM]. Arrive Paris Gare de l’Est at 8:43pm Train Strasbourg - Paris (~ 2 hours)	Paris 3		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Station data collection (Assignment #3) Read Hurstel, “Old and new architecture, the delicate relationship: The train station of Strasbourg”
June 1 (Sunday)	•       10:30am: Guided tour of Issy-les Moulineaux neighborhood and Issy multimodal hub by Cynthia Ghorra-Gobin, currently under construction and slated for completion in 2026. Tour will include station area development. •       Lunch nearby, on your own  •       2pm: Guided walking tour of historic core (Ile de la Cite, etc., organized by la Sorbonne) •       Late afternon: optional visit to the “Rive Gauche” district of Paris around Gare d’Austerlitz, a site that includes a massive rail overbuild over railroad tracks (optional) •       Option #1 for evening Seine boat tour (Bateaux Mouche)	Paris 4		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Station data collection (Assignment #3)
June 2 (Monday)	•       9:30 am: site tour of Gare de Lyon Station before departure(optional) •       Depart 10:59am by high-speed trail for Lyon. Arrival Lyon Part Dieu station 12:56pm [ARRIVE BY 10:30].  •       Group lunch at traditional “bouchon” on rue des Marronniers [lunch included; may opt for group dinner instead] •       Afternoon: Guided walking tour of Old Lyon and Lyon Confluence Redevelopment Area by Professor Laurent Guihery of Cergy Paris University	Lyon  1		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Station data collection (Assignment #3)
June 3 (Tues)	Morning: •       Discussion of findings from station visits to date •       Meeting with representatives of SNCF Gare et Connexions in Lyon who are in charge of redesigning Lyon Part-Dieu station to accommodate greater numbers of trains and passengers. Site tour of station. •       Afternoon: meeting with representatives of SPL Lyon Part-Dieu (Guillaume Bruge, Naomie Piteux), the governance entity that is in charge of redeveloping the area surrounding Lyon Part-Dieu Station. Site tour of the redevelopment area. •       Data collection exercise at station. •       Optional activities: (1)   Ride Rhone-Express train connection to airport from Lyon Part-Dieu Station. Visit Lyon St-Exupery Airport, designed by Santiago Calatrava. Arrange for an architectural tour of air/rail hub with SNCF Gares et Connexions (2)   Tour of Confluence neighborhood	Lyon 2		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Station data collection (Assignment #3) Read Otsuka and Reeve, “Railway Stations as Public Spaces: How to Promote Rail Journeys via Multi-Functional Railway Stations”
June 4 (Wed)	•       Depart 8:06am by high-speed train from Lyon Part-Dieu Station for Barcelona, connection at Valence TGV. Arrive 2:29pm at Barcelona Sants. Participants will work during trip. [EARLY MORNING! WILL LEAVE HOTEL TOGETER AT 7AM] •       Tour of Barcelona Sants Station. •       Late afternoon: walking tour of central Barcelona, including Plaza de Catalunya •       Group dinner, possibly Restaurant Estevet [included]	Barc. 1		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2)
June 5 (Thurs)	•       Morning: meeting and site tour of Barcelona Sagrera Station redevelopment effort by Joan Baltà, general director of Barcelona Sagrera Alta Velocitat (BSAV) •       Afternoon: Meeting with Jordi Julià, general director of Ifercat (the Catalan Government railway agency) and Francesc Robusté, professor of Transportation. This will include two separate and wide-ranging presentations, which will cover the following topics:  ·       Overview of intercity and high-speed rail networks in Spain ·       Hub station planning in Barcelona, including the birth of the La Sagrera project ·       Development of the Barcelona Line 9 metro, the single-bore tunnel system that inspired the design for the BART to Silicon Valley Extension in San Jose •       Barcelona city planning and the legacy of the Olympics 1992, and transportation projects and urban mobility innovations in Barcelona.	Barc. 2		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Read International Olympic Committee, “Barcelona 1992: a city turning towards the sea and winning the hearts of the world”
June 6 (Fri)	Morning:  ·       Tour of redevelopment of recent bike infrastructure improvements by leading bike planner Sílvia Casorrán Martos. Start at Sant Antoni Superblock, look at along Borrell and Consell de Cent green corridors. End at Girona metro stop. Afternoon  ·       Tour of key physical changes that occurred as a result of the Olympics, both along the coast and also in the neighborhood of Montjuic where the Olympic Stadium was built. Visit select Olympic venues and Olympic Sports Museum. ·       Visit historic megaproject, the Sagrada Familia [optional]	Barc. 3		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Station data collection (Assignment #3) Read Garmendia, et al, “High Speed Rail: Implication for Cities”
June 7 (Sat)	·       Depart 9:05am on high-speed train for Zaragoza. Arrival Zaragoza Delicias Station 11:03am. [ARRIVE BY 8:30AM] •       Tour of Zaragoza Delicias Station, station area development, and historic city center by Spanish rail expert Ignacio Barron  ·       Depart 5:45pm for Madrid. Arrive Madrid Atocha Station 7:19pm	Madrid 1		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Station data collection (Assignment #3) Read Vickerman, “High-Speed Rail and Regional Development: The Case of Intermediate Stations”
June 8 (Sun)	•       Morning: Tour of Atocha Station and visit to Museo del Ferrocarri •       Afternoon: Sightseeing tour of historic Madrid and to select stations of Madrid Metro (optional)	Madrid 2		Travel journal entry (Assignment #2) Read Banerjee “Railway station, The Image of the City, and Transit-Oriented Development: An Appraisal of the Cognitive Value of Transit Hubs” Be sure to have finished Flyvbjerg, How Big Things Get Done
June 9 (Mon)	•       Guided visit to Madrid Atocha Station with representatives of ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias) •       Visit offices of ADIF •       Tour of the Madrid Metro, a system that was substantially expanded between 1998 and 2007 and that is hailed as an example of successful megaproject implementation. •       Data collection at Atocha Station •       Farewell dinner [included]	Madrid 3		Read Albatoate and Fageda, “High Speed Rail and Tourism: Evidence from Spain”
June 10 (Tues)	Class ends and students depart	N/A
June 27 (Fri) 5 - 7 pm (Pacific) Zoom	Final team presentations (assignment 4) Reflection on lessons learned from the course	Zoom		Assignment #4: report and presentation

 

*   This schedule is subject to change with fair notice in class or by email.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We don't actually have time for the central Paris train stations built into this itinerary.

 

 

Is this too much?

 

Of course, I'd like to add things....

 

Cathedral visit?

 

I'd also like to see if my friend Frederic Duvinage can meet with the students (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric-duvinage-56250555/?originalSubdomain=fr). He could perhaps talk about planning across multiple nations.

 

If we built in a lunch for everyone, I wonder if we could use that time for one of the speakers? Perhaps somewhere to eat flammekueche?

 

 

 

 

What about including a boat tour in Lyon? I see one that costs $15 euros per person and there is an option for groups that requires writing to the tourist office.

 

https://en.visiterlyon.com/out-and-about/culture-and-leisure/activities-and-relaxation/outdoor-activities/les-bateaux-lyonnais-boat-cruises