Barrier environment and configuration of bus stops’ gravity zones

The article examines the relationship between the gravity zones of local bus stops and the barrier of the geographical environment. This attitude remains almost unanalyzed in modern scientific literature, both in the academic environment and among practitioners. Most often, simple methods using ten-minute isochrons are used to determine gravity zones, which largely ignore the area's passenger throughput. The paper analyzes the bus system of three districts of the Leningrad region (Vsevolozhsky, Lugsky and Tikhvin), examining the gravity zones of 1118 bus stops. Objective (natural and anthropogenic) and subjective barriers that significantly affect the formation of Hinterlands are identified. The configurations of the gravity zones themselves are analyzed depending on their internal structure, identifying which of them are most susceptible to the barrier-like nature of the environment. Two key parameters (irregularity and permeability) are calculated for all types, clearly reflecting the influence of the environment on the configuration of the territory. The study revealed that the greatest impact is on territories with individual residential development and industrial production, the least impact is on territories with multi-apartment development.