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“Does Compact Development Make People Drive Less?” The Answer Is Yes

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... COMP is closely linked to density but focuses on different aspects of the built environment. It describes a tendency of urban form changes that counter urban sprawl, highlighting high-density built areas and shorter commuting distances that support mixed-use neighborhoods and self-sufficient districts (Ewing and Cervero, 2017;Lehmann, 2019). ...
... To evaluate future planning effectively, it is essential to employ multidimensional composite measures that consider both the built and green spaces (Wellmann et al., 2020). In the Chinese context, Guan and Rowe Cervero and Kockelman (1997); Ewing and Cervero (2017); Wellmann et al. (2020) Density is a multifaceted concept that can be measured and defined in various ways. In this paper, BD is calculated by the ratio of the total gross floor area of all buildings to the overall area of the plots Diversity of land use (DIV) Cervero and Kockelman (1997); Ewing and Cervero (2017); Guan et al. (2022) One of the most widely used indices for measuring diversity of land use mix Distance to destination (ACCESS) Carthy et al. (2020); Cervero and Kockelman (1997); Ewing and Cervero (2017) Accessibility to destination is one way to represent connectivity of street networks, which can be measured by the inverse distance weighting (IDW) model (2016) introduced the concept of urban intensity to comprehensively assess resource distribution, transportation efficiency, and social integration for optimizing urban spatial layouts. ...
... In the Chinese context, Guan and Rowe Cervero and Kockelman (1997); Ewing and Cervero (2017); Wellmann et al. (2020) Density is a multifaceted concept that can be measured and defined in various ways. In this paper, BD is calculated by the ratio of the total gross floor area of all buildings to the overall area of the plots Diversity of land use (DIV) Cervero and Kockelman (1997); Ewing and Cervero (2017); Guan et al. (2022) One of the most widely used indices for measuring diversity of land use mix Distance to destination (ACCESS) Carthy et al. (2020); Cervero and Kockelman (1997); Ewing and Cervero (2017) Accessibility to destination is one way to represent connectivity of street networks, which can be measured by the inverse distance weighting (IDW) model (2016) introduced the concept of urban intensity to comprehensively assess resource distribution, transportation efficiency, and social integration for optimizing urban spatial layouts. Building on this concept, subsequent studies utilized similar urban intensity indices, including density, compactness, diversity, and accessibility, to evaluate the spatial structure of Chinese towns. ...
Article
Various spatial indices have been used by scholars to evaluate the built environment of towns. However, previous analysis has fallen short in systematically addressing the distribution of green space in future town planning. This paper fills the gap by integrating green space indices in an expanded urban intensity framework and comparing existing conditions (2018) and future planning schemes (2030) of eleven towns in Zhejiang Province, China. In this paper, we computed spatial indices in ARCGIS and FRAGSTATS, used correlation analysis in STATA for statistical analysis, and adopted demographic, economic, and environmental variables to validate the selected indices. The results show that: (1) The future planning schemes can result in either reduction of green spaces in town centers or uneven distribution of green spaces; (2) Validation of green space indicators reveals observable association with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which implies that the chosen framework can effectively reflect the condition of greenery; and (3) The regulatory detailed planning does not always improve the future spatial layout of towns, especially after considering green space distributions. These findings emphasize the importance of suitable spatial layouts of green spaces over large monolithic blocks for effective planning. Moreover, achieving optimal urban intensity necessitates a balanced distribution of the built and green spaces. Finally, the integration of green space factors and the adoption of a comprehensive approach, as highlighted in this study, can serve as a valuable guide for town planners and policymakers in different jurisdictions to achieve more desirable spatial layouts.
... Efforts to attain sustainable transportation are generally realised by reducing associated environmental impacts and applying economic instruments to decrease the use of private vehicles (Campisi, Basbas, et al., 2020;Ewing and Cervero, 2017;Williams, 2016). These efforts are carried out by developing an ideal urban form; thus, the use of nonmotorised transportation, such as walking, is increasing. ...
... Urban form can be measured at the city, neighbourhood, and site scales (see Figure 1); these scales define the urban form and are commonly used to identify its effect on other variables (Barros, Martínez, et al., 2017;Cervero and Gorham, 1995;Ewing and Rong, 2008;Stojanovski, 2019;Toker, 2015). Some researchers have defined urban form on a city and neighbourhood scale using variables that include urban compactness, land use, public transportation availability, population density, and the level of settlement sprawl (Burgess, 2000;Cervero and Gorham, 1995;Crane, 1996;Ewing and Cervero, 2017;Ewing and Rong, 2008;Frank and Pivo, 1994;Jabareen, 2006;Newman and Kenworthy, 2000;Seong, Lee, et al., 2021;Stojanovski, 2019). Further, several others have defined urban form on a micro/meso scale (Burchfield, Overman, et al., 2006;Fulton, Pendall, et al., 2001;Heidicar, 2000;Hess, Moudon, et al., 1999;Kang, 2015Kang, , 2017Kang, , 2018Lopez and Hynes, 2006;Neves, da Silva et al., 2021;Osorio, McCullen, Urban Form (Cervero and Gorham, 1995;Jabareen, 2006;Toker, 2015;Osorio et al., 2017;Barros et al., 2017;Stojanovski et al., 2019) Macro ...
... Public transportation (Cervero and Gorham, 1995;Burges, 2000;Barros et al., 2017;Stojanovski et al., 2019) City/service centre/Moran's Centrality (Ewing and Rong, 2008;Barros et al., 2017) Compactness (Crane, 1994;Burges, 2000;Jabareen, 2006;Ewing and Cervero, 2017) Land use, city size, density (Frank and Pivo, 1995;Burges, 2000;Newman and Kenworthy, 1989;Ewing and Cervero, 2017;Seoang et al., 2021) Infrastructure (Heidicar, 2000;Hess et al., 1999;Kaplan et al., 2016;Kang, 2015Kang, , 2017Kang, , 2018 Proximity to city/service centre (Heidicar, 2000;Ye, 2017b;Barros et al., 2017;Stojanovski et al., 2019;Neves et al., 2021) Neighbourhood/ site quality, street pattern (Toker, 2015;Kaplan et al., 2016;Ribeiro, 2018;Stojanovski et al., 2019;Seong et al., 2021;Neves et al., 2021 ) et al., 2017; Ribeiro and Hoffimann, 2018;Seong, Lee, et al., 2021;Stojanovski, 2019;Ye, Fei, et al., 2017b). ...
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The relationship between urban form and transportation mode choice is complex. Moreover, studies have reported inconsistent results, including on the correlation between urban form and walking choice. This research explores this correlation in the medium-sized and small cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta, Indonesia, respectively. In this study, activity-based daily trip behavioural data were employed, and the respondents were selected using stratified random sampling based on the walkability of the environment and the distance to the city centre. Further, logistic regression analysis and the chi-square test were used to identify the correlation between urban form and walking choice. The results reveal that urban form has a significant effect on the decision to walk, particularly in relation to transit trips, the distance to the city centre, and pedestrian-friendly environments. However, the decision to walk is also affected by socio-economic factors. In addition, specific factors, such as gender and vehicle ownership, have different effects compared to those reported in previous studies.
... Stevens (2017) meta-analysis quantifies the elasticity of each built environment indicator on travel outcomes, such as VMT. Despite the small effect size of land use or built environment variables, Handy (2017) and Ewing and Cervero (2017) convincingly argue that reducing driving significantly is challenging without compact development. The anticipated reduction in VMT associated with compact development is expected to contribute to a decrease in congestion. ...
... Several studies, including Ewing et al. (2003), Sarzynski et al. (2006), Sultana and Weber (2007), Zolnik (2011Zolnik ( , 2012, Ewing, Hamidi, Gallivan, et al. (2014), , Holcombe and Williams (2010), Gordon et al. (1989Gordon et al. ( , 1991, Lee (2020), Sardari et al. (2023), and Sevtuk and Amindarbari (2020), have investigated this relationship. Findings indicate that compact development encourages less driving (Ewing & Cervero, 2017;, while sprawl is positively associated with VMT (Ewing, Hamidi, Gallivan, et al., 2014). Commuters from sprawl areas tend to have longer and lengthier trips, particularly if they travel to the central part of the city (Sultana & Weber, 2007). ...
... As illuminated in the literature, compact development aligns with an accessibility-oriented planning approach, emphasizing not only the reduction of mobility impedances (speed, distance, or time) but also the enhancement of the quality of destinations, such as well-matched job locations. The longterm impact of compactness on VMT has been established in previous research (Ewing & Cervero, 2017), indicating a tendency for people to drive less in more compact urban environments. By considering a time lag between the development conditions of urbanized areas and VMT/ auto driver behavior, our study captures the impact of compactness on VMT. ...
Article
There is a lack of extensive empirical research on the influence of sprawl on commuting accounting for indirect effect of mediating factors. The study aims to fill this gap by exploring the relationship between urban sprawl and commute time in 162 urbanized areas in the United States, with a comprehensive analytical framework using a structural equation model (SEM). Specifically, we evaluate the direct, indirect, and total effects of sprawl factors on commuting outcomes and consider the mediating effect of automobile ownership, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and congestion. The results indicate that compact development reduced VMT per capita, which in turn led to reduced commuting time. However, compact development also increased congestion-related delays, which offset some of the positive effects on commuting time. Additionally, the study found that compact development reduced automobile ownership, leading to higher average automobile commuting time in studied urbanized areas. Overall, we found that a doubling of compactness was associated with a 30.3 % decline in average auto commute time, holding other factors constant. The study highlights the importance of considering the indirect effects of urban form on commuting and provides insights for city planners and policymakers in developing comprehensive travel demand management plans.
... Since the rise of the TOD concept in 1993 Peter Calthorpe introduced the TOD term, the TOD design principles have been varied to be more inclusive to include density, mixed-use, walkability, and accessibility (Calthorpe, 1993;CapMetro, 2021;ITDP, 2017;Thomas and Bertolini, 2017). Ewing and C (2010) proposed a five-dimensional scheme, including Density, Diversity, Design, Destination, and Distance to Transit, as critical indicators for TOD design (R. Ewing and Cervero, 2017). ...
... The TOD density is usually referred to as the Population density, reflecting the number of residents, and building density, represented by the Floor Area Ratio (FAR). Both the population and building densities play a significant role in the TOD's density evaluation (R. Ewing and Cervero, 2017;NIUA, 2016;Sohoni et al., 2017). • Diversity: Promoting diverse land uses within TODs enhances accessibility and reduces the need for commuting. ...
... This paper applies the 5D framework proposed by Ewing and C (2010) to examine the urban structure of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) areas (R. Ewing and Cervero, 2017). The framework includes dimensions of Density, Diversity, Design, Destination, and Distance to Transit. ...
... Furthermore, Zhu et al. (2017) maintained that consolidating facilities in a smaller space can conserve land resources and reduce the costs associated with infrastructure provision and maintenance. Considering recommendations from various scholars, density should be assessed alongside other land-use indicators (Ewing et al., 2017). This study incorporated factors such as job-housing balance, land-use mixture, design of pedestrian and cycling facilities, and proximity to public transit. ...
... A sample item for this variable was "Travel time has increased." In addition, the measurement items for residential density were obtained from Ewing et al. (2017), Chhetri et al. (2013), and Zhang et al. (2022). A sample item for this variable was "Economic activities are poorly mixed in neighborhoods". ...
... Based on this, travel behavior provides insights into the effect of residential density on traffic congestion. This finding is consistent with several empirical studies, including those by Sarzynski et al. (2006), Nasri and Zhang (2012), Ewing et al. (2016), Ewing et al. (2017), and Chang et al. (2021), which demonstrated how travel behavior influences residential density and traffic congestion. However, given the scarcity of empirical evidence on the mediating role of travel behavior on the relationship between residential density and traffic congestion in developing countries, this finding represents a significant contribution that this study makes toward land use and transport interaction. ...
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There is a noticeable dearth of empirical studies on the mediating role of travel behaviour on the influence of residential density on traffic congestion in developing countries, particularly in Zimbabwe. To address this gap, this study examined the effect of residential density on traffic congestion and delved into the potential mediating role of travel behaviour in this relationship. This study used data from a sample of 384 households in the Harare metropolitan province of Zimbabwe. Structural equation modelling was used to test the research hypotheses. The findings indicate that residential density and travel behaviour have a positive effect on traffic congestion. The results also established that travel behaviour partially mediates the relationship between residential density and traffic congestion. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge by providing an array of indicators that can inform policymakers in transportation and urban planning to alleviate traffic congestion.
... Previous studies have shown that compact urban development is associated with shorter vehicle kilometer traveled (VKT) which significantly contributes to lower travel-related emissions [7,8,9]. Compact development is defined via a set of features called the "6Ds of compact development", describing a location's destination access, density, distance to transit, diversity, design and demographic properties [10]. Most prior studies concluded that the two variables that contribute the most to reducing VKT are accessibility, described by the proximity to a city center (or a certain number of jobs) [11,12,10,13,14,15], followed by urban density measures, such as population density [15,12,11,16,17,10,18,19,20,21]. ...
... Compact development is defined via a set of features called the "6Ds of compact development", describing a location's destination access, density, distance to transit, diversity, design and demographic properties [10]. Most prior studies concluded that the two variables that contribute the most to reducing VKT are accessibility, described by the proximity to a city center (or a certain number of jobs) [11,12,10,13,14,15], followed by urban density measures, such as population density [15,12,11,16,17,10,18,19,20,21]. Socio-demographic variables, such as income, age or gender were also found to have an effect. ...
... Compact development is defined via a set of features called the "6Ds of compact development", describing a location's destination access, density, distance to transit, diversity, design and demographic properties [10]. Most prior studies concluded that the two variables that contribute the most to reducing VKT are accessibility, described by the proximity to a city center (or a certain number of jobs) [11,12,10,13,14,15], followed by urban density measures, such as population density [15,12,11,16,17,10,18,19,20,21]. Socio-demographic variables, such as income, age or gender were also found to have an effect. ...
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Global sustainability requires low-carbon urban transport systems, shaped by adequate infrastructure, deployment of low-carbon transport modes and shifts in travel behavior. To adequately implement alterations in infrastructure, it's essential to grasp the location-specific cause-and-effect mechanisms that the constructed environment has on travel. Yet, current research falls short in representing causal relationships between the 6D urban form variables and travel, generalizing across different regions, and modeling urban form effects at high spatial resolution. Here, we address all three gaps by utilizing a causal discovery and an explainable machine learning framework to detect urban form effects on intra-city travel based on high-resolution mobility data of six cities across three continents. We show that both distance to city center, demographics and density indirectly affect other urban form features. By considering the causal relationships, we find that location-specific influences align across cities, yet vary in magnitude. In addition, the spread of the city and the coverage of jobs across the city are the strongest determinants of travel-related emissions, highlighting the benefits of compact development and associated benefits. Differences in urban form effects across the cities call for a more holistic definition of 6D measures. Our work is a starting point for location-specific analysis of urban form effects on mobility behavior using causal discovery approaches, which is highly relevant for city planners and municipalities across continents.
... The United Nations predicts a 20 % increase in urban density to approximately 1.1 billion urban citizens by 2030, resulting in 70 % of the world's population living in cities [19]. Urban design determines how people move around cities. Cities without infrastructure for active travel or high urban sprawl promote car travel [20], thereby increasing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and reducing incidental PA [21]. In Australia (a car-centric country), domestic transport accounted for 84 % of greenhouse gas emissions (106,000 gigagrams of CO 2 ) in 2022-2023, in comparison to 9 % from aviation [22]. ...
... The walkability and land area of cities directly impacts opportunities for active travel. Cities that are compact and conducive to active travel have higher rates of transport-related PA [21], and decreased rates of morbidity and mortality [23]. The incidence of modifiable risk factors for CVD is lower in compact, walkable cities such as Barcelona (32.7 %) and Girona (32.6 %) compared to spaced-out areas that rely on cars such as the Canary Islands (65 %) and Murcia (66.7 %) [58]. ...
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the top contributors to global disease burden. Meeting the physical activity guidelines can effectively control and prevent several CVD risk factors, including obesity, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The effects of climate change are multifactorial and have direct impacts on cardiovascular health. Increasing ambient temperatures, worsening air and water quality and urbanisation and loss of greenspace will also have indirect effects of cardiovascular health by impacting the ability and opportunity to participate in physical activity. A changing climate also has implications for large scale sporting events and policies regarding risk mitigation during exercise in hot climates. This review will discuss the impact of a changing climate on cardiovascular health and physical activity and the implications for the future of organised sport.
... They also underline that compact city development can bring marginal benefits, especially if accompanied by excessive population density or lack of accompanying network measures (Ewing and Hamidi, 2015;Ewing et al, 2018;Li et al, 2019;Fan and Chapman, 2022). Sustainable compact development with public transport attractiveness offers greater potential of durable lowering of car dependency and associated traffic externalities (Ewing et al, 2018;Andong and Sajor, 2017;Ewing and Cervero, 2017). Moreover, our simulation results for Warsaw expose the risks of (further) sprawl development as a By examining possible future scenarios of continuing sprawl and compact development, we show how urban planning decisions not only shape the physical landscape but also impact transport emissions, air quality, and population exposure to pollutants. ...
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This study examines the environmental impacts of urban growth in Warsaw since 2006 and models the implications of future urban development for traffic pollutant emissions and pollution levels. Our findings demonstrate that, over the past two decades, urban sprawl has resulted in decreases in accessibility to public transport, social services, and natural areas. We analyse CO2 traffic emissions, NO2 concentrations, and population exposure across urban areas in future scenarios of further sprawling or alternative compacting land-use development. Results indicate that a compact future scenario reduces transport CO2 emissions and urban NO2 levels, though increases in population density raise exposure to air pollution. A sprawl future scenario increases CO2 and NOx emissions due to longer commutes and congestion, and NO2 levels increase up to 25% in parts of the city. Several traffic abatement strategies were simulated, and in all simulations a compact city consistently yields the largest reductions in CO2 emissions and NO2 levels, implying that the best abatement strategy for combating negative consequences of sprawl is to reduce sprawling. In both city layouts, network-wide improvements of public transport travel times gave significantly reduced emissions. Combined, our findings highlight the importance of co-beneficial urban planning strategies to balance CO2 emissions reduction, and air pollution exposure in expanding cities.
... We controlled for built environment characteristics. Research on the so-called "Five Ds"-density, diversity, design, destination accessibility, and distance to transitsuggests that the built environment can affect people's travel behavior, although the extent of this influence remains a source of debate (Ewing & Cervero 2017, 2010Stevens, 2017). We measured built environment attributes using neighborhood typology data developed by Voulgaris et al. (2017). ...
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We examine parking policy’s potential to influence people’s travel behavior, including their decision to work from home. Drawing on the California Household Travel Survey, we first show that most households have residential parking included in the rent or purchase price of their home, that most employed individuals have free parking at work, and most vehicle trips end with a free parking space, usually off-street. Furthermore, we confirm that most cars are mostly parked; the median household vehicle in California spends 23 hours a day parked. Using regression models, we uncover strong associations between choosing to drive and having free parking at work or home. We find that households with bundled parking are more likely to drive, and less likely to use transit. We further find that employees with free parking at work are more likely to drive for their commutes. Finally, we estimate regressions that analyze the decision to work from home. Data constraints make these regressions less conclusive, but our results suggest, consistent with previous literature, that working from home is associated with more, rather than less, vehicle travel.
... While a good portion of the existing literature concluded that built environment could influence travel behavior, the reported findings on the magnitude of influence of the built environment on travel outcomes remain mixed. A meta-analysis of the existing literature by Stevens (2017) indicated that the impact of compact development on reducing driving is marginal, sparking debate among scholars (Clifton, 2017;Ewing & Cervero, 2017;Handy, 2017;Heres & Niemeier, 2017;Knaap et al., 2017;Manville, 2017;Nelson, 2017). Some of the key issues identified through this debate include the reliance on linear models and cross-sectional data, which may have underestimated the impact of the built environment on travel behavior in earlier studies (Clifton, 2017;Handy, 2017). ...
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This study investigates the dynamic relationship between the built environment and travel in Austin, Texas, over a 20-year period. Using three waves of household travel surveys from 1997, 2006, and 2017, the research employs a repeated cross-sectional approach to address the limitations of traditional longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. Methodologically, it integrates machine learning and inferential modeling to uncover non-linear relationships and threshold effects of built environment characteristics on travel. Findings reveal that the built environment serves as a sustainable tool for managing travel in the long term, contributing 50% or more to the total feature importance in predicting individual travel-surpassing the combined effects of personal and household characteristics. Increased transit accessibility, local and regional destination accessibility, population and employment density, and diversity significantly reduce travel, particularly within their identified thresholds, though the magnitude of their influence varies across time periods. These findings highlight the potential of smart growth policies-such as expanding transit accessibility, promoting high-density and mixed-use development, and discouraging single-use development and peripheral sprawl-as effective strategies to reduce car dependency and manage travel demand.
... That is, the combined contributions of built environmental elements were more substantial than their individual contributions. This finding was supported by studies on the built environment-travel behavior relationship, which argued that singular elements of the built environment exerted marginal impacts, while their combined influence was considerably substantial (Ewing and Cervero 2017). This insight is crucial for understanding the complex association between environmental factors and BMI and underscores the importance of considering the built environment as a holistic entity in public health strategies. ...
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Obesity is a prominent risk contributor to health. However, few studies have explored the nonlinear relationships between commuting and built environments, particularly around workplaces, with obesity. Based on a sample of 1080 respondents in Shanghai, China, we used the gradient-boosting decision trees model to investigate the relative contributions and nonlinear relationships of commuting and built environments surrounding residences and workplaces with body mass index (BMI). Results showed that the built environment made greater contributions to BMI than sociodemographics and behavioral attributes. The built environment around workplaces was more important than that around residences, and commuting behavior rather than exercise or food intake contributed more. Gender and age were the most important predictors among all predictors. Moreover, most predictors were nonlinearly related to BMI. Car and bus commuters had higher BMI. Commuting distance (<20 km) was positively related to BMI and the duration of active modes (<20 min) was negatively associated with BMI. Around workplaces, green space (<0.28 km²) and population density (10,000–28,000 people/km²) had negative associations with BMI. Land use diversity around workplaces (>0.5) had a U-shaped relationship with BMI and the threshold was 0.78, but it around residences (0.82–0.85) had a positive effect. A longer distance to the subway station from residences (<1500 m) was associated with lower BMI. Men had higher BMI and age (24–47 years) was positively correlated with BMI. Beyond the thresholds, these predictors had limited contributions to BMI. We concluded that prioritizing interventions in the built environment around workplaces and commuting behavior to reach effective thresholds is important to reduce obesity.
... In contrast, long commutes and high traffic density may lead to chronic stress and lack of exercise, increasing the risk of obesity and hypertension. Conversely, appropriate intersection density, land-use diversity, destination convenience, and accessibility might encourage walking, improve health, and reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, which are cardiovascular-related problems [24][25][26]. The density and accessibility of supermarkets have a direct impact on the dietary habits of community residents, wherein excessive density may increase the risk of obesity and diabetes and correlate with blood pressure levels [27]. ...
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Background The built environment, as a critical factor influencing residents' cardiovascular health, has a significant potential impact on the incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Methods Taking Xixiangtang District in Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China as a case study, we utilized the geographic location information of CVD patients, detailed road network data, and urban points of interest (POI) data. Kernel density estimation (KDE) and spatial autocorrelation analysis were specifically employed to identify the spatial distribution patterns, spatial clustering, and spatial correlations of built environment elements and diseases. The GeoDetector method (GDM) was used to assess the impact of environmental factors on diseases, and geographically weighted regression (GWR) analysis was adopted to reveal the spatial heterogeneity effect of environmental factors on CVD risk. Results The results indicate that the built environment elements and CVDs samples exhibit significant clustering characteristics in their spatial distribution, with a positive correlation between the distribution density of environmental elements and the incidence of CVDs (Moran’s I > 0, p < 0.01). Further factor detection revealed that the distribution of healthcare facilities had the most significant impact on CVDs (q = 0.532, p < 0.01), followed by shopping and consumption (q = 0.493, p < 0.01), dining (q = 0.433, p < 0.01), and transportation facilities (q = 0.423, p < 0.01), while the impact of parks and squares (q = 0.174, p < 0.01) and road networks (q = 0.159, p < 0.01) was relatively smaller. Additionally, the interaction between different built environment elements exhibited a bi-factor enhancement effect on CVDs. In the local analysis, the spatial heterogeneity of different built environment elements on CVDs further revealed the regional differences and complexities. Conclusions The spatial distribution of built environment elements is significantly correlated with CVDs to varying degrees and impacts differently across regions, underscoring the importance of the built environment on cardiovascular health. When planning and improving urban environments, elements and areas that have a more significant impact on CVDs should be given priority consideration.
... Although there is some disagreement as to how strong the effect of the BE on local travel activity is compared to people's attitudes and preferences (Bohte et al. 2009, cao et al. 2009, Ewing, Cervero 2017, Handy 2017, Stevens 2017, there is strong quantitative and qualitative evidence of both statistical association and causal effects . The BE, preferences for certain residential conditions and mobility behaviour are intertwined in a dynamic relationship (Lu 2023). ...
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Mobility is an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a major contributor to human-induced climate change. Much of these emissions result from urban residents' travel within urban areas (i.e. short-distance travel [SDT]) and away from them (i.e. long-distance travel [LDT]). In this study, we focus on the distribution of mobility-related GHG emissions in two functional urban areas in Poland: Poznań and the Tri-city. Using data from a representative survey (N ~2000 in each area), we investigate the emission distribution and associations between emission levels and the socioeconomic characteristics and residential locations of study participants. Emission levels are unequally distributed: the top 10% of emitters contribute >50% of SDT and LDT emissions. People with high education and income levels tend to travel and emit more within and away from the cities. People of retirement age travel and emit much less than the younger people. SDT emission levels are clustered spatially and increase with the increasing distance from the main city centres and decreasing density. LDT emissions have only very weak or no association with residential location.
... Potential areas may be gaps between buildings, sites with suboptimal urban land use and restructuring or densification potential, brownfields formerly used for commercial or traffic purposes, former rail facilities or airports and military conversion sites as well as the conversion or reuse of existing buildings (REISS-SCHMIDT 2018). On the one hand, studies have shown that infilling can lead to higher economic growth, better access to public transportation, reduced reliance on private cars and a reduced need for new greenfield development (MOURATIDIS 2018, HORTAS-RICO & SOLÉ-OLLÉ 2010, EWING & CERVERO 2017. On the other hand, however, studies have also shown that it can result in increased traffic congestion, higher housing costs, downsizing of cold air corridors, more urban heat islands and the displacement of low-income residents (THORNE et al. 2017, CHAKRABORTY et al. 2021. ...
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Infilling is considered one of the most important planning principles worldwide to reduce urban growth and urban sprawl. This also applies to Germany. However, due to a lack of nationwide small-scale data, there are hardly any empirical findings on how infilling has taken place in German cities. Using a newly developed GIS-based algorithm and small-scale data on residential construction activity (100x100m grid cells) and built-up areas, we analyse how residential development has evolved in 30 German case studies over a study period from 1991 to 2011. Within concentric 1km rings, our analysis differentiates residential construction activity by infilling, building types, land cover and housing density. Using cluster analysis, we further group the case studies into more homogeneous groups. The findings show that infilling has been pursued and implemented by most of the case studies since the 1990s. However, it becomes clear that there are large differences in the extent of infilling and that it does not necessarily lead to an increase in housing density. The findings show-in addition to national regulations and guidelines as well as population development-that it is primarily the structural framework conditions, the specific commitment of the municipalities as well as local and regional challenges that determine the type of residential construction activity.
... In terms of carbon reduction, we should concentrate on the construction of three high-tech groups in the east and advocate for the development direction of low carbon. To foster compact urban development, efforts will be intensified to promote the construction of bus lanes and dedicated roads [44][45][46]. In terms of increasing foreign exchange, we should construct a recreational and cultural green belt in the plain area [47][48][49]. ...
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Land use changes in rapidly urbanizing regions around the world constitute a principal anthropogenic element fueling the surge in carbon emissions. Here, land use patterns within the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration under low-carbon development (LCD) scenarios were simulated. Additionally, social network analysis was employed to formulate carbon balance planning guidelines for various administrative regions. (1) In the ecological protection scenario, carbon emissions from land use were 643.42 × 104 tons lower compared to the natural development scenario. Counties with high ecological support coefficients accounted for 22%, making them better suited for predicting outcomes related to low-carbon-oriented land use. (2) The spatial connections of carbon emissions in BTH were closely related, forming the three main carbon emission spatial linkage areas. (3) A carbon balance zoning plan for the BTH in 2035 under the LCD scenario was formulated. Furthermore, key areas for the implementation of carbon peak and carbon neutrality projects were delineated, and targeted measures for carbon reduction and sink increase were proposed. This study provides a new perspective for implementing territorial spatial planning in Chinese urban agglomerations and can aid the government in formulating a reasonable low-carbon-oriented regional planning policy.
... This topic has been extensively studied across various disciplines, including health, education, geography, data science, architecture, and urbanism. Researchers have consistently found a relationship between the characteristics of the urban built environment and people's movement patterns [1][2][3]. ...
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Active mobility to school (AMS) has been identified as a pivotal element in promoting health and physical activity during childhood, adolescence, and beyond. However, the importance of AMS is often downplayed or disregarded in urban and transportation planning, especially in Latin American cities. Factors such as cultural and political dynamics, socioeconomic conditions, urban and social environments, household and individual characteristics, and parental perceptions and attitudes collectively shape the mobility behavior of schoolchildren. This research analyzes the outcomes of a study on AMS at public schools in Cuenca and Ibarra (Ecuador), through the lens of the Socio-Ecological Model framework. The findings show that 47% of students from schools in Cuenca and 26% from Ibarra engage in active commuting to school for at least part of their journey. Key factors correlated with AMS include gender (individual dimension), travel duration, household socioeconomic characteristics, and parental attitudes towards active mobility (household dimension), as well as street-level attributes and land use density surrounding schools (urban environment dimension). This study offers three significant contributions: a detailed portrayal of student mobility behavior at six public schools in Cuenca and Ibarra, an exploration of the factors linked with active commuting, and a methodology for estimating land-use parameters.
... Some authors, such as Duncan (2016) and Stead and Marshall (2001) concluded that the influence of the built environment is expected to be minor. On the other hand, Ewing and Cervero (2017) provided strong evidence that a dense area with high connectivity generally reduces car driving. For example, while many studies confirm the role of density in promoting nonauto modes (Barnes, 2001;Chatman, 2003;Concas & DeSalvo, 2012;Gehrke & Welch, 2017), some contend that the impact of density is limited (Ewing & Cervero, 2001, 2017Handy, 1997). ...
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Understanding the connections between the built environment and travel mode choice is a major research topic in transportation. However, existing studies usually examine the relationship through trip-based analyses rather than tour-based approaches. A tour consists of multiple trips that originate and end at the same place, which is increasingly considered the more appropriate analysis unit for travel behaviors. Applying a tour-based approach, this study employs random forest to investigate the non-linear impacts of built environment factors and tour attributes on different mode combinations of a tour. We find that tour attributes and connectivity-related variables (e.g., block size and intersection density) have a strong association with the use of active travel modes when their values are within a certain threshold. In addition, capturing mode change behaviors offers more nuanced understanding of how various built environment variables shape people’s decision to combine modes in a tour.
... Studies demonstrate that a good urban design, including reasonable land allocation and street layout, can enable people to easily access various life services, and foster the development of a positive attitude and a healthy body, thus lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases 23 . Compact urban development may encourage physical activity, and decrease the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders 24 . Long commuting time and tra c density may lead to chronic stress and lack of exercise, increasing the risk of obesity and hypertension. ...
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Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a major public health concern, and their morbidity is influenced by various built environment elements. This paper aims to investigate the influence mechanisms of different built environment elements on CVDs, and to provide a theoretical foundation for health-oriented urban planning and CVD prevention. We selected the Xixiangtang built-up area of Nanning city as the case study area, and used the distribution data of CVDs and urban point of interests (POIs) as the main data sources. We applied spatial autocorrelation analysis, kernel density analysis, and geographic detector methods to examine the spatial correlation and influence of urban built environment elements on CVD samples. The results show that both the built environment elements and the CVD samples have a spatially clustered distribution, and there is a significant positive correlation between the distribution density of each environmental element and the CVD morbidity. Among the environmental elements, medical care has the largest influence on CVDs, followed by shopping consumption, catering and food, and transportation facilities, while parks and squares and the road network have relatively small influence.
... Nevertheless, conventional linear regression methods ignore potential correlations among variables. The combined built environment effects can be substantial (Ewing and Cervero, 2017), which is in contrast to some studies' findings that show interactions among built environment variables in influencing travel behavior (Ding et al., 2018;Ding et al., 2022). Therefore, it is necessary to consider the interactions among independent variables when discussing the true built environment impact magnitude. ...
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Numerous studies have attempted to quantify the genuine impact of the built environment factors on travel behavior which is not through residential self-selection (RSS). Nevertheless, the interactions among built environment variables have rarely been included in investigations. To address this gap, this study utilizes a natural experiment formed by the unique urban housing context in Beijing, China. It specifically focuses on resettlement housing families, whose place of residence is largely exogenous, effectively mitigating the bias caused by RSS. By using a gradient boosting decision trees model, this study investigates the combined influence of the built environment on household vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT). The results show that the net built environment contributes about 64% to household VKT, and RSS plays a trivial role (less than 2%) in the relationship between the built environment and household VKT in Beijing. However, the built environment variables influence household VKT in different ways for resettlement households and commercial housing households. These results increase our understanding of how the built environment influences travel behavior.
... The impacts of land use mix on walkability are sensitive to the definitions of land use mixture, scales of analysis, and types of land use (Koohsari et al., 2019). Such variation may be related to urban spatial structure, a critical issue affecting people's travel modes, as people who live away from urban centers prefer to drive rather than walk for their travel needs, and urban centers may cover more travel purposes (Ewing and Cervero, 2017;Stevens, 2017). Main urban centers may also have greater impacts on walkability than local centers, suggesting the sensitivity of walking behavior to the power of urban centers (Mouratidis et al., 2019;Naess et al., 2019). ...
... Exposure to greenspace at standards recommended by the World Health Organization has been estimated to prevent 42,000 deaths annually in European cities [26]. Compact urban design with higher accessibility to bus stops near home and mixed land use (which increases walkable destinations compared to single land use) can also facilitate active travel, enhancing daily physical health thereby reducing cardiovascular risks [27,28]. ...
Article
With rapid urbanization, built environment has emerged as a set of modifiable factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize evidence on the associations of attributes of urban built environment (e.g. residential density, land use mix, greenness and walkability) with cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. hypertension and arterial stiffness) and major CVD events including mortality. A total of 63 studies, including 31 of cross-sectional design and 32 of longitudinal design conducted across 21 geographical locations and published between 2012 and 2023 were extracted for review. Overall, we report moderately consistent evidence of protective associations of greenness with cardiovascular risks and major CVD events (cross-sectional studies: 12 of 15 on hypertension/blood pressure (BP) and 2 of 3 on arterial stiffness; and longitudinal studies: 6 of 8 on hypertension/BP, 7 of 8 on CVD mortality, 3 of 3 on ischemic heart disease mortality and 5 of 8 studies on stroke hospitalization or mortality reporting significant inverse associations). Consistently, walkability was associated with lower risks of hypertension, arterial stiffness and major CVD events (cross-sectional studies: 11 of 12 on hypertension/BP and 1 of 1 on arterial stiffness; and longitudinal studies: 3 of 6 on hypertension/BP and 1 of 2 studies on CVD events being protective). Sixty-seven percent of the studies were rated as “probably high” risk of confounding bias because of inability to adjust for underlying comorbidities/family history of diseases in their statistical models. Forty-six percent and 14% of the studies were rated as “probably high” risk of bias for exposure and outcome measurements, respectively. Future studies with robust design will further help elucidate the linkages between urban built environment and cardiovascular health, thereby informing planning policies for creating healthy cities.
... The study suggests that smart urban design and non-motorized transport are crucial in promoting transformative climate urbanism in the area. Compact urban design and effective land use can reduce motorized trips and encourage non-motorized modes like walking and cycling [67,68]. Furthermore, information accessibility, adopting smart watersaving strategies, and green building materials are found to be significant transformative attributes of climate urbanism in the study area. ...
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Climate change impacts, the resulting spatiotemporal changes, and growing uncertainty exert pressure on city leaders and policy makers to create climate adaptive development strategies worldwide. This article introduces climate urbanism as a new development paradigm that advocates for a climate adaptive urban development process, safeguarding urban economics and infrastructure , and ensuring equitable implementation of related strategies. The objective of this article is to determine how far a climate vulnerable city in the Global South has progressed toward climate urbanism. The study employs Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to develop a conceptual framework. Afterward, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and indexing are used to develop a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) method to assess the selected climate sensitive factors related to climate urbanism. Findings reveal that the city of Khulna's climate urbanism index score is 0.36, which is extremely low and denotes subpar urban performance. 'Climate Conscious Governance' and 'Climate Smart Infrastructure' contribute little, while 'Adaptive and Dynamic Urban Form' and 'Urban Ecosystem Services' contribute even less. The binary logistic regression analysis reveals the significant indicators of (transformative) climate urbanism. The article provides a critical lens for stakeholders to evaluate climate urbanism and promote urban sustainability in the face of climate change.
... The TOD must be on a trunk line network (either light rail or bus line) or a feeder bus line network segment within 10 minutes of public transit travel time from the main network. Regarding the compact development concept, Ewing and Cervero (2017) argue that the benefits of compact development range from increased walking and transit use, reduced pedestrian and motor vehicle fatalities, to increased sense of community, and increased social capital. Improvement of accessibility and mobility supported by the TOD concept is able to reduce high dependence on the use of private vehicles and direct the public to walk or use a bicycle for their activities. ...
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Transit ridership had been decreasing in major cities across the United States prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Seattle as a notable exception. I examine the relationship between travel behavior and Seattle’s land use planning program in conjunction with transit improvements. I use econometric methods to analyze multiple waves of the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) Household Travel Survey from 2014 to 2021. Living in one of Seattle’s Urban Villages is significantly associated with a higher likelihood of taking transit. This relationship holds during the pandemic time period and when controlling for self-selection.
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Background: The built world has changed a lot because of how quickly cities are growing. These changes have a direct effect on people's health and quality of life. Cities are great for culture and economic growth, but bad infrastructure can make health problems worse, pollute the air, and make it harder to get to resources that people need. A well-planned urban infrastructure is important for making places that are healthy, safe, and fair for everyone. Aim: This paper will look at how health-centered design can change cities into places that improve people's physical, mental, and social health and how urban infrastructure affects quality of life. Methods: A thorough review of urban health studies, an analysis of quality-of-life measures, and case studies of successful urban design solutions in global cities were all used. To look into the role of infrastructure in promoting health fairness, both quantitative and qualitative studies were used. Results: The main results show that fair housing, well-connected transportation systems, and easy access to green areas all make a big difference in improving public health. On the other hand, pollution and urban sprawl are highly linked to health problems.
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As cities struggle with challenges such as climate change and increased demands for livability, human-centred urban design models like 'superblocks' have gained prominence. Defined as a new urban unit, superblocks propose a rethinking of urban space by changing mobility networks within blocks to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists over motorised traffic, intending to reduce car dependency and enhance public and green spaces. Known locally as 'Kiezblocks', the model in Berlin has been driven by bottom-up neighbourhood initiatives, unlike other cities where tactical urbanism measures have been adopted as policy to drive sustainable urban transformation. This study seeks to explore the potential impact of superblocks on driving urban sustainability in Berlin. By showing how the introduction of superblocks could contribute to the expansion of public or urban green spaces across the city and assessing the attitudes and the socio-demographic characteristics of supporters and opponents of superblocks in Berlin, the research aims to provide a thorough analysis using a mixed methods approach. Findings reveal that a majority of respondents support the implementation of a Kiezblock in their neighbourhood, perceiving superblocks positively to improve livability in urban areas and to enhance public space. Among the most important reasons for those who support the introduction of superblocks in their neighbourhood are car-related externalities such as traffic, noise or pollution, and increased access to green and public spaces. The results also show a high level of polarisation on the issue, highlighting the need for more public consultation to ensure public support and an inclusive planning approach. In terms of urban design, while skewing away from the original superblock model from Barcelona, the study shows that the potential for Kiezblocks in Berlin is high, as 184 neighbourhoods could potentially be transformed into superblocks. By reclaiming just 5% of road or parking space, a total of 722 hectares (7.2 km²) could be converted into public or green spaces, enhancing the city's overall livability and climate resilience.
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Introduction This study investigates the impact of built environment factors on travel behavior in Mumbai, India, focusing on the non-linear effects on driving distances. The rapid urbanization and complex urban of Mumbai constitute present challenges for sustainable transportation, necessitating a deeper understanding of how urban planning influences travel behavior. While demographic factors have often been highlighted in travel studies, this research prioritizes the role of built environment factors. Materials and Methods The study utilized Gradient Boosting Decision Trees (GBDT) to analyze household travel survey data from Mumbai, capturing the non-linear relationships between built environment variables and driving distances. Partial dependence plots were used to visualize these effects, and the relative importance of each variable was assessed to identify key determinants of travel behavior. Results The analysis identified trip time as the most influential factor in determining driving distances, followed by built environment characteristics, such as proximity to commercial areas and intersection density. Socio-demographic factors were found to have a comparatively low impact. Non-linear relationships were observed, such as the stabilization of driving distances beyond certain thresholds of block density and proximity to bus stops. Discussion The findings challenge the traditional emphasis on demographic factors in explaining travel behavior, highlighting the significant role of urban form. The study reveals that specific built environment factors, such as accessibility and connectivity, play a crucial role in shaping driving behavior in a rapidly urbanizing city like Mumbai. These results suggest that urban planning strategies should prioritize these factors to reduce car dependency. Conclusion This study underscores the importance of the built environment in influencing travel behavior in Mumbai, particularly in reducing driving distances. The insights gained offer valuable guidance for urban planners and policymakers aiming to promote sustainable mobility in rapidly developing cities. Further research is recommended to validate and expand upon these findings in other urban contexts.
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City markets are one of the busiest urban areas in India and experience heavy pedestrian footfall. This study uses multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) techniques to rank market roads based on the existing condition of pedestrian infrastructure. A set of seven key attributes was identified containing 28 sub-attributes influencing pedestrian walkability. Videography and photographic surveys were conducted at selected roads of Aminabad Market (AM) in Lucknow, and Silchar Market (SM) in Silchar. Attribute weights were calculated using the entropy weight method, and the roads were ranked using the analytical hierarchy process, the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution, and a novel walkability metric called the Market Walkability Index. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was found to be more than 0.9 among all three methods, indicating conformity in ranking. Internal or minor roads of both the market areas (AM and SM) were observed to be the most used roads of the market areas for pedestrian movement. Still, they were not safe and walkable for pedestrian movement, indicating that more emphasis is required on these roads to improve the overall quality of the pedestrian walking environment. Research findings are expected to be essential inputs for rational decision-making about pedestrian infrastructure improvement in developing countries, which could contribute to a safer and more efficient environment for pedestrian movement.
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As the adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) surges into the spotlight of mainstream transportation networks, their implications for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13 for climate action become ever more significant. Despite the symbolic optimism about their perceived potential to meet global climate targets, the discourse around legitimizing mass adoption of EVs often dives into the uncharted waters of prolonged public and political debates. A familiar question arises “Can EVs truly meet sustainable energy demands?” One reason for this skepticism is the understudied confounding relationships exposing the uncertainties surrounding EV use. This study is the first to synthesize conflicting perspectives on sustainable adoption, offering thorough insights from relevant scholarships for those unfamiliar with or skeptical about EV technology. Employing PRISMA's systematic review framework, 101 relevant studies and reports were selected from a total of 3712 for analysis. Our paper discusses the long-term planning implications of BEV adoption on modern transportation and energy systems, shaping debates around sustainability objectives. The findings unraveled nuanced dilemmas capturing socio-environmental impacts associated with lithium-ion battery production, social equity considerations, and strain on grid infrastructure. The study concludes by calling for three strategic approaches to steer electric mobility toward a future characterized by sustainability, efficiency, and equity.
Chapter
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the spatial injustice resulting from unequal access to basic services in urban areas. This underscores the importance of urban models focusing on criteria of active transport incentivization, building density optimization, proximity and diversity of primary and secondary uses, and the design of multi-functional urban spaces. This study investigates the criteria of density, diversity, and proximity as the foundational concept of urban models alternative to the modernist paradigm. The study develops a set of quantitative indicators to evaluate the potential implementation of the 15-minute city model in distinct parts of an urbanized area. The city of Perugia in Italy is selected as the case study. The proposed set of indicators is based on open, validated, and continuously integrated data. It combines urban form metrics, Place Syntax indicators, statistical and configurational metrics to measure the conditions of building density, diversity, proximity of services, and imageability of the urban spatial structure. The study addresses the need for tools that increase the transparency and impact of public policies. The proposed indicators can assist public agencies and local governments in identifying deprived areas, defining objectives of regeneration strategies, and measuring the outcomes of urban regeneration interventions.
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City information modelling (CIM) offers a digital depiction of the urban environment, empowering stakeholders to critically review and optimise the performance of energy. In the pursuit towards Zero Energy Cities (ZECs), CIM becomes an essential instrument of this process. However, despite the promise it delivers, the uptake is slow. This research therefore addresses the gap by providing a comprehensive overview of CIM’s potential for facilitating the achievement of ZECs in the built environment. The chapter employs an extensive review of the literature on the subject. The results reveal that, there exist a notable dearth of research concerning the design and execution of the zero-energy concept within the context of community-scale implementation. Moreover, the merging of CIM and UDT opens novel possibilities for establishing zero-carbon communities throughout their life cycle. By harnessing data from various origins such as buildings, energy grids, urban planning, environmental setups, transportation networks, and socio-demographic metrics, it then becomes feasible to construct a holistic digital portrayal of the community. It is consequently imperative to conduct comprehensive cross-sector inquiries that delves into the practical realization of the zero-energy community concept within the wider framework of local sustainability objectives. This entails examining the interplay between climate mitigation measures and sustainability goals, while carefully assessing both potential conflicts and opportunities.
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The pandemic and the environmental crisis raise the question of a radical transformation of cities to foster inclusion , sustainability, participation, and quality of life. The 15-minute city concept prefigures a reorganization of urban spaces, structures, and functions aimed at increasing residents' access to essential services, favoring sustainable modes of transportation, and transforming public urban spaces into multifunctional places. The proposed study develops a set of indicators derived from the spatial and configurational analysis to evaluate the compliance of urban systems with the 15-minute city concept. The selected areas of study are the cities of Cagliari, Perugia, Pisa, and Trieste, in Italy. The study investigates four issues: i) defining a set of relevant, reproducible, and comparable indicators for measuring density, proximity, and diversity; ii) investigating the influence of distinct urban planning concepts, manifested by distinct spatial configurations, on density, proximity , and diversity; iii) defining urban scale metrics to measure levels of spatial injustice in terms of unequal conditions of access to essential services and iv) measuring the correlation between configurational factors and access to services. The analysis underlines the gap in access to essential services among central compact districts and dispersed outer areas, thus enabling the identification of inequalities in the distribution of spatial capital. Moreover, the study underlines the relationship between the urban environment structure and the location of functions. As a result, the study emphasizes that the proposed set of indicators is instrumental to understanding the urban environment's potential to meet urban populations' needs and facilitating informed decisions in urban planning.
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Urban planners face challenges in justifying the behavioral impacts of public transit investments with causal evidence. In this study, we take a cost-effective approach to data collection by utilizing restricted-use Census Bureau microdata that provide rich individual characteristics and fine-geographical-resolution block information, and then construct a natural experiment. We evaluate the impacts of new rail transit lines on commuting behavior in Charlotte (NC), Dallas (TX), and Los Angeles (CA). We find that new transit lines lead to 10%, 6%, and insignificant increases in public transit ridership for Charlotte, Dallas, and Los Angeles, respectively, signaling potentially diminishing marginal returns of public transit investments. Also, we find no significant effects on commuting time across the three cities. This research demonstrates the potential of using Census Bureau microdata to assess the causal impact of urban infrastructure.
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To achieve the German government's 30-hectare land take per day target, infilling is considered a key planning guideline. However, there are hardly any valid empirical results on the extent of residential construction activity realised as infilling. This is due, on the one hand, to the fuzziness of what constitutes an inner urban area as a spatial construct in German law and planning practice and, on the other hand, to the lack of small-scale data on construction activity. This paper presents a methodology – based on the open data of the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) and the 2011 German Census – to determine and assess for the first time the relevance of infilling at a nationwide level over a period of more than 30 years. The methodology is applied to the 9.409.547 new housing units built in Germany between 1979 and 2011. The result shows a positive trend, indicating that German cities have succeeded over the course of time in boosting infilling. At the same time, major differences between urban and rural areas become apparent, with urban and more central regions being more successful in directing residential construction activity towards existing settlements and already-developed areas. Therefore, a key recommendation is to encourage and support especially smaller municipalities in their infilling efforts.
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Problem, research strategy, and findings: Planners commonly recommend compact development in part as a way of getting people to drive less, with the idea that less driving will lead to more sustainable communities. Planners base their recommendations on a substantial body of research that examines the impact of compact development on driving. Different studies, however, have found different outcomes: Some studies find that compact development causes people to drive less, while other studies do not. I use meta-regression analysis to a) explain why different studies on driving and compact development yield different results, and b) combine different findings from many studies into reliable statistics that can better inform planning practice. I address the following questions: Does compact development make people drive less, and if so, how much less? I find that compact development does make people drive less, because most of the compact development features I study have a statistically significant negative influence on driving. The impact, however, is fairly small: Compact development features do not appear to have much influence on driving. My findings are limited to some extent because they are derived from small sample sizes. Takeaway for practice: Planners should not rely on compact development as their only strategy for reducing driving unless their goals for reduced driving are very modest and can be achieved at a low cost.
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Contrary to the general perception, the United States has a much more class-bound society than other wealthy countries. The chance of upward mobility for Americans is just half that of the citizens of the Denmark and many other European countries. In addition to other influences, the built environment may contribute to the low rate of upward mobility in the U.S. This study tests the relationship between urban sprawl and upward mobility for commuting zones in the U.S. We examine potential pathways through which sprawl may have an effect on mobility. We use structural equation modeling to account for both direct and indirect effects of sprawl on upward mobility. We find that upward mobility is significantly higher in compact areas than sprawling areas. The direct effect, which we attribute to better job accessibility in more compact commuting zones, is stronger than the indirect effects. Of the indirect effects, only one, through the mediating variable income segregation, is significant.
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A decade ago, compactness/sprawl indices were developed for metropolitan areas and counties which have been widely used in health and other research. In this study, we first update the original county index to 2010, then develop a refined index that accounts for more relevant factors, and finally seek to test the relationship between sprawl and traffic crash rates using structural equation modelling. Controlling for covariates, we find that sprawl is associated with significantly higher direct and indirect effects on fatal crash rates. The direct effect is likely due to the higher traffic speeds in sprawling areas, and the indirect effect is due to greater vehicle miles driven in such areas. Conversely, sprawl has negative direct relationships with total crashes and non-fatal injury crashes, and these offset (and sometimes overwhelm) the positive indirect effects of sprawl on both types of crashes through the mediating effect of increased vehicle miles driven. The most likely explanation is the greater prevalence of fender benders and other minor accidents in the low speed, high conflict traffic environments of compact areas, negating the lower vehicle miles travelled per capita in such areas.
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A decade ago, compactness/sprawl indices were developed for metropolitan areas and counties which have been widely used in health and other research. In this study, we first update the original county index to 2010, then develop a refined index that accounts for more relevant factors, and finally seek to test the relationship between sprawl and traffic crash rates using structural equation modelling. Controlling for covariates, we find that sprawl is associated with significantly higher direct and indirect effects on fatal crash rates. The direct effect is likely due to the higher traffic speeds in sprawling areas, and the indirect effect is due to greater vehicle miles driven in such areas. Conversely, sprawl has negative direct relationships with total crashes and non-fatal injury crashes, and these offset (and sometimes overwhelm) the positive indirect effects of sprawl on both types of crashes through the mediating effect of increased vehicle miles driven. The most likely explanation is the greater prevalence of fender benders and other minor accidents in the low speed, high conflict traffic environments of compact areas, negating the lower vehicle miles travelled per capita in such areas.
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This article explores differences in the relationship between the built environment and households’ car use in Mexico City in 1994 and 2007. After controlling for income and other household attributes, population and job density, transit and highway proximity, destination diversity, intersection density, and accessibility are statistically correlated with households’ weekday car travel in Mexico City. These correlations are generally stronger than those found in studies from U.S. cities and fairly stable over time. Where correlations have changed, they have strengthened. Findings suggest that land use planning can play a modest and growing role in reducing car travel in Mexico City.
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Vehicle miles travelled (VMT) is a primary performance indicator for land use and transportation, bringing with it both positive and negative externalities. This study updates and refines previous work on VMT in urbanised areas, using recent data, additional metrics and structural equation modelling (SEM). In a cross-sectional model for 2010, population, income and freeway capacity are positively related to VMT, while gasoline prices, development density and transit service levels are negatively related. Findings of the cross-sectional model are generally confirmed in a more tightly controlled longitudinal study of changes in VMT between 2000 and 2010, the first model of its kind. The cross-sectional and longitudinal models together, plus the transportation literature generally, give us a basis for generalising across studies to arrive at elasticity values of VMT with respect to different urban variables.
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Problem, research strategy, and findings: We assess the direct and indirect effects on car use (as measured by household vehicle miles traveled [VMT]) of the Portland Westside Max light rail transit (LRT) extension. We use longitudinal data to estimate the effects of discrete changes in the built environment by comparing a treated transit corridor with a highway corridor that serves as a control. Before the LRT line, the transit and highway corridors were comparable in almost all respects, including household VMT. After the LRT line was completed, the transit corridor had higher density, generated significantly more household walk and transit trips, and experienced a slower rise in VMT per household. We estimate a transit multiplier of 3.04, meaning that transit reduces VMT by three vehicle miles in total for every vehicle mile reduced due to transit ridership. The direct effect occurs through increases in transit ridership and associated reductions in household VMT. The indirect effect is achieved primarily through increased walking around stations and secondarily through increased densities around stations. Fixed-guideway transit in tandem with comprehensive public policies that promote transit-oriented development (TOD) around transit stations on one hand, and highway corridors on the other, produce different transportation outcomes.
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Aims This study aims to model multiple health outcomes and behaviors in terms of the updated, refined, and validated county compactness/sprawl measures. Methods Multiple health outcomes and behaviors are modeled using multi-level analysis. Results After controlling for observed confounding influences, both original and new compactness measures are negatively related to BMI, obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Indices are not significantly related to physical activity, perhaps because physical activity is not defined broadly to include active travel to work, shopping, and other destinations. Conclusions Developing urban and suburban areas in a more compact manner may have some salutary effect on obesity and chronic disease trends.
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The objective was to investigate associations between features of the physical environment and neighborliness. Measures of the physical environment, including sidewalks, front porches, traffic-calming devices, bars on windows, and the presence of litter or graffiti, were collected using a systematic audit instrument in 10 neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon. Generalized linear regression models were created to model the odds of increasing neighborliness given access to the physical-environment factors of interest. The authors observed a greater probability of higher levels of neighborliness as the total number of positive physical-environment characteristics increased (cumulative odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 1.69 [1.16, 2.45]) and the results were unchanged after controlling for race, self-reported health, perception of safety, years of neighborhood residence, age of house, market value of house, and proportion of homeowners in neighborhood. Modifiable features of the physical environment may be one mechanism through which people can enhance neighborliness.
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Problem, research strategy, and findings: It is commonly asserted that so-called compact development is the urban form most able to sustainably accommodate growth by reducing travel distances and conserving land, but credible supportive evidence remains limited. This study rigorously and realistically tested the relative performance of spatial options over the next 30 years for three distinct kinds of English city regions. Statistical models first forecast the behavior of people within interacting markets for land and transport. These outputs were then fed to established simulation models to generate 26 indicators measuring the economic efficiency, resource use, social impact, and environmental impact of the spatial options. This permitted an explicit comparison of the costs and benefits of compact against sprawling urban forms for these regions. While the prototypes (i.e., compaction, sprawl, edge expansion, and new towns) were indeed found to differ in their sustainability, no one form was clearly superior. Rather, the change to “white collar” lifestyles and associated population growth dominates the impacts on the natural environment and resources, far overwhelming those attributable to spatial urban form.Takeaway for practice: Urban form policies can have important impacts on local environmental quality, economy, crowding, and social equity, but their influence on energy consumption and land use is very modest; compact development should not automatically be associated with the preferred spatial growth strategy.Research support: The research was funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council.
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Problem: Many voices within the planning community have called for replacement of the dominant model of suburban development with a more traditional style of development. Traditionally designed communities, featuring a mix of residential and commercial land uses and pedestrian connections between these uses, offer many potential environmental, social, and health benefits. Adoption of policies that encourage traditionally designed communities depends in part on public support, but evidence on the extent and nature of such support is largely anecdotal.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess trends in public support for traditionally designed communities and to provide insights into factors associated with that support.Methods: The study uses data from comparable surveys of nationally representative samples of American households in 2003 and 2005. The surveys described a traditionally designed community and asked respondents, “How much would you support the development of communities like this in your area?” The survey also included questions on respondents' sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes on a variety of issues, expectations about the likelihood traditionally designed communities would have certain characteristics, and how important these characteristics were to them.Results and conclusions: In 2003, 44% of respondents expressed support for developing traditionally designed communities in the areas where they lived. This support increased significantly to 59% in 2005. Support was strong among all groups except rural residents, and increased among all groups between 2003 and 2005. This support was positively related to expectations that such communities would be child-friendly and negatively related to expectations that they would have space limitations. Respondents perceived such communities as likely to allow older people to live independently, and they also rated this characteristic as highly important.Takeaway for practice: Public support for developing traditionally designed communities is strong, widespread, and growing. Although such communities find less support in rural areas and raise concerns over limited space, they have appeal as child- and elderly-friendly places. Though there is evidence that supply of traditionally designed communities does not meet demand, this evidence of growing support may foster policy changes that will help to close the gap.Research support: This research was funded by the Active Living Research Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) has gained increasing support in South Africa. Closer scrutiny reveals two competing theories of urban form - a segregated approach and an integrated approach -to hamper crime prevention in the built environment. The purpose of the paper is to show that there are different approaches to addressing safety in the built environment, and that these have different implications for urban form, for peoples ' daily lives, and for the planning and management of cities. This is done through a discussion of various examples of these approaches in South Africa, highlighting emerging contradictions, controversies, and tensions in practice.
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In 1997, the Journal of the American Planning Association published a pair of point–counterpoint articles now listed by the American Planning Association as “classics” in the urban planning literature. In the first article, “Are Compact Cities Desirable?” Gordon and Richardson argued in favor of urban sprawl as a benign response to consumer preferences. In the counterpoint article, “Is Los Angeles-Style Sprawl Desirable?” Ewing argued for compact cities as an alternative to sprawl. It is time to reprise the debate. This article summarizes the literature on urban sprawl characteristics and measurements, causes, impacts, and remedies since the original debate.
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This paper addresses issues relative to evaluating the effectiveness of a community-security approach to reducing crime, with a critical analysis of after-dark design, night animation, and interpersonal interaction as key components. The construct linking these factors is an attitude that assumes responsibility for places and emerges as congruent spatial behavior. The community-security paradigm proposed here as a strategy in the generation of habitable (thus safe) and socially sustainable urban environments has as its antithesis the realm of the dormant domain - isolating and ambiguous public open spaces, alienating parks, blind carparks, silent suburbs and shopping malls, and railway stations and city centers deserted at night. The approach involves a range of spatial design and place management issues, all of which are mutually interdependent. Copyright © 2005, Locke Science Publishing Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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This study pools household travel and built environment data from 15 diverse US regions to produce travel models with more external validity than any to date. It uses a large number of consistently defined built environmental variables to predict five household travel outcomes - car trips, walk trips, bike trips, transit trips and vehicle miles travelled (VMT). It employs multilevel modelling to account for the dependence of households in the same region on shared regional characteristics and estimates ‘hurdle’ models to account for the excess number of zero values in the distributions of dependent variables such as household transit trips. It tests built environment variables for three different buffer widths around household locations to see which scale best explains travel behaviour. The resulting models are appropriate for post-processing outputs of conventional travel demand models, and for sketch planning applications in traffic impact analysis, climate action planning and health impact assessment.
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Problem: Localities and states are turning to land planning and urban design for help in reducing automobile use and related social and environmental costs. The effects of such strategies on travel demand have not been generalized in recent years from the multitude of available studies.Purpose: We conducted a meta-analysis of the built environment-travel literature existing at the end of 2009 in order to draw generalizable conclusions for practice. We aimed to quantify effect sizes, update earlier work, include additional outcome measures, and address the methodological issue of self-selection.Methods: We computed elasticities for individual studies and pooled them to produce weighted averages.Results and conclusions: Travel variables are generally inelastic with respect to change in measures of the built environment. Of the environmental variables considered here, none has a weighted average travel elasticity of absolute magnitude greater than 0.39, and most are much less. Still, the combined effect of several such variables on travel could be quite large. Consistent with prior work, we find that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is most strongly related to measures of accessibility to destinations and secondarily to street network design variables. Walking is most strongly related to measures of land use diversity, intersection density, and the number of destinations within walking distance. Bus and train use are equally related to proximity to transit and street network design variables, with land use diversity a secondary factor. Surprisingly, we find population and job densities to be only weakly associated with travel behavior once these other variables are controlled.Takeaway for practice: The elasticities we derived in this meta-analysis may be used to adjust outputs of travel or activity models that are otherwise insensitive to variation in the built environment, or be used in sketch planning applications ranging from climate action plans to health impact assessments. However, because sample sizes are small, and very few studies control for residential preferences and attitudes, we cannot say that planners should generalize broadly from our results. While these elasticities are as accurate as currently possible, they should be understood to contain unknown error and have unknown confidence intervals. They provide a base, and as more built-environment/travel studies appear in the planning literature, these elasticities should be updated and refined.Research support: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Across the nation, the debate over metropolitan sprawl and its impacts continues decade after decade. To elevate the debate, a decade ago, researchers developed compactness/sprawl indices for metropolitan areas and counties that have been widely used in health and other research. In this study, we develop refined compactness/sprawl indices based on definitions and procedures in earlier studies by Ewing and colleagues and validate them against transportation outcomes. The indices are being made available to researchers who wish to study the causes, costs and benefits, and solutions to sprawl and to practitioners who wish to check their community’s success in containing sprawl.
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Data from the US Department of Energy show that single-family detached homes consume about 17% more energy per year than attached homes and roughly double that of units in large multi-family structures. While greater use of these compact housing types could reduce a community's energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, most local climate action plans (CAPs) do not quantify those potential savings. This article describes how the climate action planning process in the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia has addressed residential sector GHG emissions and demonstrates a methodology applied in that community for estimating potential GHG reductions from compact housing. It finds that in an aggressive compact housing scenario GHG emissions from new housing could be decreased by as much as 36%, without factoring in additional energy conservation or efficiency measures. The article concludes with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges related to implementing compact housing in future residential development.
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The debate over metropolitan sprawl and its costs has been ongoing since the early 1970s in the U.S. To inform the debate, this study uses principal component analysis (PCA) and 2010 cross sectional data for large U.S. urbanized areas (UZAs) to operationalize compactness/sprawl in each of four dimensions—development density, land use mix, activity centering, and street accessibility. Higher values represent greater compactness, lower values greater sprawl. The four factors are then combined into an overall compactness/sprawl index. The study then applies factor score coefficient values for 2010 to the same variables for 2000 to create comparable metrics for 2000. Compactness scores for 2000 are compared to the same scores for 2010 to see which UZAs sprawled the most between censuses, and which sprawled the least or actually became more compact. Finally, the study validates the compactness index and its component factors against transportation outcomes for 2010, specifically walk mode share, transit mode share, and average drive time on the journey to work. If sprawl has any widely accepted outcome, it is automobile dependence and heavy automobile use. Consistent with this characterization of sprawl, this study finds that the overall compactness index bears a strong relationship to transportation outcomes. Generalizing across the entire universe of large urbanized areas in the U.S., compactness decreased and sprawl increased between the two census years; but only slightly. Several urbanized areas, however, have significantly different rankings in 2000 than 2010.
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We assessed environmental and perceptual correlates of walking and walkability for fifth graders from three communities attending two schools: A new urban/LEED-ND pilot community, mixed, and standard suburban community. Irvine-Minnesota Inventory (IMI) walkability audits showed that new urban blocks provided more traffic safety, pleasurability, crime safety, density, and diversity. New urban routes offered greater traffic safety, accessibility, pleasurability, crime safety, and diversity, but suburban routes had greater housing density, net of controls (parental education, rooms in the home, home ownership, parent preference for child to walk to school). Parents and children perceived new urban routes to be more walkable and children walked more when they lived on more walkable routes. The suburban hierarchical street design exposed children to varied traffic safety conditions by funneling their walks from cul-de-sacs to arterials. The new urban routes to a centrally located school passed by pleasant open spaces, suggesting how community organization can create better walking conditions.
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A common claim made by New Urbanists is that a high-quality pedestrian environment will enhance sense of community by increasing opportunities for interaction among neighbors. This link between neighborhood design and community sentiment, however, has not been adequately researched. This study explores how objective and subjective qualities of the pedestrian environment influence residents’ sense of community, both directly and indirectly through their effects on pedestrian travel. Surveys conducted in one pedestrian-oriented neighborhood and one automobile-oriented neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, support the hypotheses that (1) sense of community will be greater in the traditional neighborhood and (2) pedestrian environment factors will significantly influence sense of community, controlling for various demographic influences.
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Residents living in a New Urbanist subdivision (NUS) and a more standard suburban subdivision (SSS) near Salt Lake City, UT, were interviewed to test whether residents of a New Urbanist setting experience a stronger sense of community, greater sociability and outdoor use, and stronger preferences for New Urbanist site designs and housing diversity. Results validated several, but not all, New Urbanist claims. The NUS had gridded streets, smaller lots, homes with front porches, and back alleys with accessory apartments over detached garages; the SSS lacked these and had cul-de-sacs and 47% larger lots. After controlling for two sociodemographic variables, the two groups of residents reported similar levels of sense of community. NUS residents reported more neighboring behaviors, outdoor use, and more positive reactions to alleys and apartments; SSS residents were more satisfied with their larger front yard setbacks and front-loaded attached garages. Design and management improvements used elsewhere were suggested to alleviate complaints about the rental apartments and alleys, particularly of too many cars in the alleys.
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In addressing how effectively New Urbanist developments foster a sense of community among residents, this paper undertakes an in-depth study of Kentlands, Maryland, to examine holistically how residents perceive and value sense of community. Using surveys and interviews, housing types, residential districts and unique physical features at Kentlands are compared to gauge their integrated impact on residents' sense of community. The locational and physical characteristics of key New Urbanist features at Kentlands play an important role in promoting the various domains of sense of community, while demographics and a sense of ownership also affect the results.
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Using an ecological framework, this paper examines the body mass index (BMI), physical activity and travel behaviour of household heads in a US new urbanist neighbourhood relative to household heads of comparable conventional suburban US neighbourhoods. Using a quasi-experimental design, a new urbanist neighbourhood and five conventional suburban neighbourhoods were matched on age of development, assessed property values and regional accessibility. Self-reported height, weight, physical activity and travel behaviours were obtained from the household heads in each neighbourhood type. No direct association was detected between neighbourhood type and BMI. However, household heads of single-family dwellings in the new urbanist neighbourhood have lower BMI partly due to the number of utilitarian trips made by walking or bicycling. This relationship is independent of physical activity time. Although small in magnitude, this association may have appreciable morbidity effects at the population level.
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The literature suggests that individuals will be healthier if they live in Active Community Environments that promote exercise and activity. Two key elements of such environments are walkability and safety. Examining data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, 1988-1994 and using a multilevel analysis, we found that individuals who live in counties that are more walkable and have lower crime rates tended to walk more and to have lower body mass indices (BMIs) than people in less walkable and more crime-prone areas, even after controlling for a variety of individual variables related to health. Among lifelong residents of an area, lesser walkability and more crime were also associated with respondents reporting weight-related chronic illness and lower ratings of their own health. The effect of high crime rates was substantially stronger for women than for men, and taking this interaction into account eliminated gender differences in walking, BMI, weight-related chronic conditions, and self-reported poor health. The results suggest that to promote activity and health, planners should consider community walkability, crime prevention, and safety.
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While the impact of urban form on transportation energy use has been studied extensively, its impact on residential energy use has not. This article presents a conceptual framework linking urban form to residential energy use via three causal pathways: electric transmission and distribution losses, energy requirements of different housing stocks, and space heating and cooling requirements associated with urban heat islands. Two of the three can be analyzed with available national data.After we control for other influences, residents of sprawling counties are more likely to live in single‐family detached houses than otherwise comparable residents of compact counties and also more likely to live in big houses. Both lead to higher residential energy use. Because of the urban heat island effect, residents of sprawling counties across the nation on average pay a small residential energy penalty relative to residents of compact counties. Implications for urban planning are explored.
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Sense of community is often mentioned as an asset of new urbanism. The purpose of the study was to explore this claim by comparing Kentlands, a prototypic new urbanist community, with a traditional suburban development near it. Four domains of sense of community were examined, each in terms of 17 distinct aspects of the physical environment, through surveys as well as interviews with residents. The findings suggest thatKentlands residents perceive substantially greater sense of community; they express stronger attachment to their community and sense of identity with it. Natural features and open spaces play a particularly important role in sense of community and Kentlands provides a rich variety of these, fostering pedestrianism and increasing the likelihood of social interactions. The overall layout of the community and traditional architectural style, as well as many other physical features, play vital functions in achieving sense of community
Article
This study tests the New Urbanist claims that placing amenities such as parks and retail shops within walking distance of homes will increase pedestrian travel and thereby increase interaction among neighbors. It also examines the relative roles of physical design and personal attitudes and perceptions in predicting walking and neighboring behaviors. Surveys were conducted in eight neighborhoods (four inner-city, four suburban) with varying degrees of local access to parks and shops. Analyses were conducted at the neighborhood and individual levels and were supplemented with qualitative data. The findings provide some support for each of the tested relationships, but also underscore the significance of other variables, especially personal attitudes.
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While concerns about traffic safety were central to the development of conventional community design practice, there has been little empirical examination into the relationship between community design and the incidence of traffic-related crashes, injuries, and deaths. This study examines the relationship between community design and crash incidence. It presents a brief historical review of the safety considerations that helped shape conventional community design practice, followed by the results of negative binomial models developed from a GIS-based database of crash incidence and urban form. The authors find that many of the safety assumptions embedded in contemporary community design practice are not substantiated by the empirical evidence. While it may be true that disconnecting local street networks and relocating non-residential uses to arterial thoroughfares can reduce neighborhood traffic volumes, these community design configurations appear to substitute one set of safety problems for another. Surface arterial thoroughfares, arterial-oriented commercial uses, and big box stores were all found to be associated with an increased incidence of traffic-related crashes and injuries, while higher-density communities with more traditional, pedestrian-oriented retail configurations were found to be associated with fewer crashes. Intersections were found to have a mixed effect on crash incidence. We conclude by discussing the likely reasons for these findings - vehicle operating speeds and systematic design error - and outline three general design considerations that may help address them. © 2013 selection and editorial material, Michael Hibbard, Robert Freestone, and Tore Øivin Sager.
Article
This study examines the extent to which specific social and environmental objectives have been achieved in the New Urbanist community of Orenco Station (Portland, Oregon). House-level surveys were conducted in Orenco Station, as well as a traditional suburb and two long-established urban neighborhoods. Survey data reveal higher levels of social interaction in the New Urbanist community than the comparison neighborhoods. The analysis also reveals a higher level of walking, and an increase in the occasional use of mass transit, in the New Urbanist community. However, the majority of residents in all four neighborhoods (including the New Urbanist neighborhood) rely on single occupancy vehicles for their regular commute. In summary, this study shows that Orenco Station is very effective in achieving its social objectives, successful in encouraging walking and the occasional use of mass transit – but less effective in increasing primary reliance on mass transit for commuting.
Article
Changing patterns of urban growth in Latin America have drawn scholars' attention to new forms of socioeconomic segregation. In Mexico, changes in urban development are different from, and perhaps more significant than, elsewhere in the region as they stem principally from the reform and expansion of the country's provident‐fund‐dominated housing finance system. This article examines the impact of the expansion of housing finance on socioeconomic segregation with a series of econometric models, using a unique combination of data on over 100 Mexican cities. Findings show that growth in segregation during the 1990s is strongly associated with the share of new housing purchased under the financing system, as is the change in the share of socioeconomic segregation conditional on the distribution of housing stock. The results highlight a previously unrecognized secondary impact of the new policy, and illustrate the importance of the structure of the housing finance system in the way cities are built and where people live within them. Résumé Les modèles de croissance urbaine en Amérique latine ont évolué, attirant l'attention des chercheurs sur de nouvelles formes de ségrégation socio‐économique. Au Mexique, les changements que présente le développement urbain sont spécifiques, et peut‐être plus significatifs qu'ailleurs, car ils découlent principalement de la réforme et de l'essor du système national de financement des logements dominé par les fonds de prévoyance. Pour examiner comment la progression de ce financement affecte la ségrégation socio‐économique, l'étude utilise plusieurs modèles économétriques appliqués à une combinaison unique de données couvrant plus de cent villes mexicaines. La part des nouveaux logements achetés selon ce système de financement apparait comme un facteur déterminant dans l'accentuation de la ségrégation au cours des années 1990 et dans la proportion de la ségrégation socio‐économique générée par la répartition du parc de logements. Les résultats mettent en avant une conséquence secondaire (négligée jusqu'ici) de la nouvelle politique et illustre combien la structure de financement des logements pèse sur la façon dont les villes sont construites et sur le lieu d'habitation des populations dans ces villes.
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Publication selection bias is a serious challenge to the integrity of all empirical sciences. We derive meta-regression approximations to reduce this bias. Our approach employs Taylor polynomial approximations to the conditional mean of a truncated distribution. A quadratic approximation without a linear term, precision-effect estimate with standard error (PEESE), is shown to have the smallest bias and mean squared error in most cases and to outperform conventional meta-analysis estimators, often by a great deal. Monte Carlo simulations also demonstrate how a new hybrid estimator that conditionally combines PEESE and the Egger regression intercept can provide a practical solution to publication selection bias. PEESE is easily expanded to accommodate systematic heterogeneity along with complex and differential publication selection bias that is related to moderator variables. By providing an intuitive reason for these approximations, we can also explain why the Egger regression works so well and when it does not. These meta-regression methods are applied to several policy-relevant areas of research including antidepressant effectiveness, the value of a statistical life, the minimum wage, and nicotine replacement therapy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Article
Background: The presence and mix of destinations is an important aspect of the built environment that may encourage or discourage physical activity. This study examined the association between the proximity and mix of neighbourhood destinations and physical activity. Methods: Secondary analysis was undertaken on physical activity data from Western Australian adults (n=1394). These data were linked with geographical information systems (GIS) data including the presence and the mix of destinations located within 400 and 1500 m from respondents' homes. Associations with walking for transport and recreation and vigorous physical activity were examined. Results: Access to post boxes, bus stops, convenience stores, newsagencies, shopping malls, and transit stations within 400 m (OR 1.63-5.00) and schools, transit stations, newsagencies, convenience stores and shopping malls within 1500 m (OR 1.75-2.38) was associated with participation in regular transport-related walking. A dose-response relationship between the mix of destinations and walking for transport was also found. Each additional destination within 400 and 1500 m resulted in an additional 12 and 11 min/fortnight spent walking for transport, respectively. Conclusion: Proximity and mix of destinations appears strongly associated with walking for transport, but not walking for recreation or vigorous activity. Increasing the diversity of destinations may contribute to adults doing more transport-related walking and achieving recommended levels of physical activity.
Article
The built environment can constrain or facilitate physical activity. Most studies of the health consequences of the built environment face problems of selection bias associated with confounding effects of residential choice and transportation decisions. To examine the cross-sectional associations between objective and perceived measures of the built environment; BMI; obesity (BMI>30 kg/m(2)); and meeting weekly recommended physical activity (RPA) levels through walking and vigorous exercise. To assess the effect of using light rail transit (LRT) system on BMI, obesity, and weekly RPA levels. Data were collected on individuals before (July 2006-February 2007) and after (March 2008-July 2008) completion of an LRT system in Charlotte NC. BMI, obesity, and physical activity levels were calculated for a comparison of these factors pre- and post-LRT construction. A propensity score weighting approach adjusted for differences in baseline characteristics among LRT and non-LRT users. Data were analyzed in 2009. More-positive perceptions of one's neighborhood at baseline were associated with a -0.36 (p<0.05) lower BMI; 15% lower odds (95% CI=0.77, 0.94) of obesity; 9% higher odds (95% CI=0.99, 1.20) of meeting weekly RPA through walking; and 11% higher odds (95% CI=1.01, 1.22) of meeting RPA levels of vigorous exercise. The use of LRT to commute to work was associated with an average -1.18 reduction in BMI (p<0.05) and an 81% reduced odds (95% CI=0.04, 0.92) of becoming obese over time. The results of this study suggest that improving neighborhood environments and increasing the public's use of LRT systems could provide improvements in health outcomes for millions of individuals.
Article
The aim of this study is to examine the association between sense of community, walking, and neighborhood design characteristics. The current study is based on a sub-sample of participants (n=609) from the US Atlanta SMARTRAQ study who completed a telephone survey capturing physical activity patterns, neighborhood perceptions, and social interactions. Objective measures of neighborhood form were also computed. Univariate and multivariate models (General Linear Models (GLM)) were used to examine the association between sense of community (SofC) and aspects of the built environment, physical activity, and neighborhood perceptions. In multivariate models the impact on SofC was examined with progressive adjustment for demographics characteristics followed by walking behavior, neighborhood design features, neighborhood perceptions and time spent traveling in a car. After adjustment, SofC was positively associated with leisurely walking (days/week), home ownership, seeing neighbors when walking and the presence of interesting sites. SofC was also associated with higher commercial floor space to land area ratios (FAR) - a proxy for walkable site design that captures the degree to which retail destinations are set back from the street, the amount of surface parking, and urban design of an area. Conversely the presence of more mixed use and perceptions of steep hills were inversely assoc