Designing Paris Gare du Nord for pedestrians or for clients? New retail patterns as flow optimization strategies

This article explores the links between flow management and retail development in railway stations. Questioning the way in which planners as well as station managers consider the relations between movement and commerciality, it combines theoretical insight and empirical findings at Paris Gare du Nord. In the planning literature, the progress of pedestrian traffic models and the social understanding of passenger behaviour have long been perceived as separate scientific goals. Today, however, the two domains are converging towards a more comprehensive approach, which in recent times has become a crucial aspect of railway competition strategies. In light of this, dynamic mapping conducted over the period 2010–2017 at Paris Gare du Nord shows how railway designers are reorganizing space to foster free movement and consumption. The article concludes with the presentation and discussion of two main principles of station retail planning and design. First, the production of a ‘servicescape’ through the intensification of nudge strategies. Second, the delivery of a ‘stationscape’ based on the use of trademarks as landmarks and a three-dimensional design that accentuates the socio-economic fragmentation of space.