Reimagining Bucharest’s Central Station: PPP and Air Rights as Tools for Metropolitan Integration

Abstract

This article explores how public-private partnerships (PPPs) combined with the development of air rights can unlock latent value above railways, finance modernization, and catalyze the intensification of smart mixed use. The proposed research focuses on how PPPs combined with the development of air rights can transform Bucharest's North Train Station-Basarab railway station into an intermodal hub of European importance. It argues that the development of land adjacent to railways can co-finance the modernization of the station, a high-quality public space and intensive mixed use, promoting decarbonization and metropolitan competitiveness. The study is based on node-site and TOD frameworks, international rail plus property models, and recent SCRD themes on urban regeneration and infrastructure governance. It extends these concepts to the context of Central and Eastern Europe, where integrated PPP/air rights applications remain under-explored. Methods combine GIS spatial analysis, scenario design for a covered "urban slab" operational modeling for a two-terminal concept, PPP/air rights financial structuring and value capture testing, plus stakeholder contributions/surveys on housing-work-study patterns and station use. Results show that selective coverage can unlock substantial buildable areas while connecting the urban fabric across rail barriers; value capture can co-finance rail and intermodal upgrades; an operational two-terminal model improves frequency, orientation, and transfer times; and intensified mixed use driven by stations supports polycentric growth and better public domain performance. The contribution is an integrated framework, adapted at the local level - spatially, operationally, and financially - that demonstrates how PPP + air rights can transform an old railway hub into a resilient metropolitan center, providing a scalable model for Romanian and European stations.