Robert Cervero’s research while affiliated with University of California, Berkeley and other places

What is this page?


This page lists works of an author who doesn't have a ResearchGate profile or hasn't added the works to their profile yet. It is automatically generated from public (personal) data to further our legitimate goal of comprehensive and accurate scientific recordkeeping. If you are this author and want this page removed, please let us know.

Publications (154)


From elevated freeways to surface boulevards: Neighborhood and housing price impacts in San Francisco
  • Article

March 2011

·

1,383 Reads

·

44 Citations

Journal of Urbanism International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability

Robert Cervero

·

Junhee Kang

·

Kevin Shively

Freeway “deconstruction” marks an abrupt shift in urban policy. Priorities are shifting away from designing cities to enhance mobility toward promoting livability. This paper investigates the neighborhood, traffic, and housing price impacts of replacing elevated freeways with surface boulevards in two corridors of San Francisco in California, USA: Embarcadero along the city's eastern waterfront and Central Freeway/Octavia Boulevard serving a predominantly residential neighborhood west of downtown. Using informant interviews, literature reviews, and statistical analyses, the research suggests that freeway conversions generally gentrifies neighborhoods, although policies like affordable housing mandates can temper displacement effects. Empirical evidence on residential sales transactions reveals that the disamenity effects of proximity to a freeway have for the most part given way to amenity benefits once roadways are converted to landscaped multiway boulevards. It is concluded that freeway‐to‐boulevard conversions have yielded net positive benefits without seriously sacrificing transportation performance.


More hot times on less hot air: CO2 reduction as a co-benefit of good development and transport

March 2011

·

25 Reads

Road and Transport Research

Could the 3Ds of sustainable urbanism (density, diversity and design) forwarded by Cervero, be combined with Schipper's ASIF identity (Emissions = Activity x Mode Shares x Energy Intensity of each Mdoe x CO2 Content of each Energy source) to estimate the components of travel that yield emissions and the more recent ASIF2 paradigm (avoid, shift, improve and finance) strategies to address changes in these components that reduce emissions? Could that, in turn, help in avoiding the worsening transport and CO2 problem in a sprawling city like Perth by redirecting the likely growth in residential and commercial development and transport into more planned, dense communities and corridors? A Master Class on 'Cities: Green or Red, Transport and Urban Design in the context of Climate Change', was held in Perth in August 2009. This class employed the combined D+D+D model and ASIF2 paradigm for the development scenarios of a sustainable green town, the Bentley Technology Precinct, located in the car-oriented city of Perth. The success of the outcomes measured by undertaking an audit for place-making, vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) and carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions, and findings from the Master Class are presented.


Bus rapid transit impacts on land uses and land values in Seoul, Korea

January 2011

·

834 Reads

·

414 Citations

Transport Policy

Bus rapid transit (BRT) has gained popularity as a cost-effective alternative to urban rail investments; however, relatively little is known about its impacts on land-use changes and land values. This paper examines the land-market effects of converting regular bus operations to median-lane bus services in Seoul, Korea, one of the densest, most congested cities in the world. Multilevel models reveal BRT improvements prompted property owners to convert single-family residences to higher density apartments and condominiums. Land price premiums of up to 10% were estimated for residences within 300 m of BRT stops and more than 25% for retail and other non-residential uses over a smaller impact zone of 150 m. The research findings underscore the importance of introducing zoning and other land regulatory changes prior to the initiation of BRT improvements as well as applying value-capture tools to help finance investments and redress inequities.


The Half-Mile Circle: Does It Represent Transit Station Catchments?

January 2011

·

299 Reads

·

301 Citations

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board

One-half mile has become the accepted distance for gauging a transit station’s catchment area in the U.S. It is the de facto standard for planning TODs (transit oriented developments) in America. Planners and researchers use transit catchment areas not only to make predictions about transit ridership and the land use and socioeconomic impacts of transit, but also to prescribe regulations, such as the relaxation of restrictive zoning, or carve out TOD financial plans. This radius is loosely based on the distance that people are willing to walk to transit, but this same reasoning has been used to justify other transit catchment areas. Using station-level variables from 1,449 high-capacity American transit stations in 21 cities, we aim to identify whether there is clear benchmark between distance and ridership that provides a norm for station-area planning and prediction. For the purposes of predicting station-level transit ridership, we find that different catchment areas have little influence on a model’s predictive power. This suggests that transit agencies should use the easiest and most readily available data when estimating direct demand models. For prescribing land-use policy, by contrast, the evidence is less clear. Nevertheless, we find some support for using a quarter-mile catchment area for jobs around transit and a half-mile catchment for population. While these distances will likely vary from place to place and depending on the study purpose, they are a good starting point for considering transit-oriented policy or collecting labor-intensive data, such as surveys, about transit-adjacent firms or households.


Fig. 1. The distribution of benefits to users, by income class, from different policy approaches to the regulation of the transit sector.
Table 1 Classes of paratransit vehicles and services that operate informally
Table 2 Percentage of public transport trips
Informal public transport: A global perspective
  • Article
  • Full-text available

January 2011

·

14,772 Reads

·

65 Citations

Download

Cost of a Ride: The Effects of Densities on Fixed-Guideway Transit Ridership and Capital Costs

January 2011

·

112 Reads

·

66 Citations

The cost of building rail transit facilities in the United States has skyrocketed in recent decades. Sections of Los Angeles’s Red Line subway cost more than 750millionpermiletobuildandevenlesspriceylightrailsystemscancostmorethan750 million per mile to build and even less pricey light-rail systems can cost more than 200 million per mile. Soaring capital investment costs are today’s biggest deterrent, both political and financial, to constructing new transit infrastructure. It stands to reason that high-cost transit projects need high ridership levels. Without sufficient numbers of riders and the fares they generate, new rail investments will inevitably incur huge deficits. Nor will environmental benefits accrue. Transit only reduces traffic congestion and tailpipe emissions when it draws former motorists – and particularly single-occupant drivers – to trains and buses. A system with few riders and a high price tag is a poor investment compared to a system with many riders and a low price tag. Through the investigation of more than 50 transit investment projects built in the U.S. since 1970, we find a strong correspondence between costs and ridership. As one would expect, capital costs and ridership are positively correlated. Moreover, both ridership and capital costs typically rise with job and population densities. By clustering trip ends near stops, concentrated development tends to average far more transit trips per square mile than less concentrated development. But density often increases construction costs as well – via increased costs for right-of-way acquisitions and building demolitions, more complicated route alignments, utility relocation expenses, and higher labor costs. This symbiotic relationship between density and both ridership and costs begs the question: are there densities that offer the most “bang for the buck†in terms of the number of riders for the investment costs? If so, what minimum densities should municipalities zone for around existing or planned stations in different settings or for different types of investments? These are among the most frequently asked questions in the urban planning field today – questions for which there are surprisingly few good answers or widely accepted benchmarks. This paper aims to help fill this knowledge gap.


State Roles in Providing Affordable Mass Transport Services for Low-Income Residents

January 2011

·

33 Reads

·

36 Citations

Governments support urban mass transport services worldwide under the guise of helping the poor and improving the environment. With more and more governments cash-strapped and facing budgetary shortfalls in other vital areas, the fiscal burdens of underwriting public transport have prompted some observers to question such rationales. This paper reviews the role of states in ensuring affordable mass transport services are available to low-income residents. The heavy financial burdens that the poor sometime face in moving about the city and possible ways of reducing these impacts are discussed. Examples of keeping transit fares affordable while also ensuring reasonably cost-effective mass transport services are cited. Because public policy choices that shape mass transport services are informed by technical evaluations, this paper also examines conventional practices regarding how transport proposals are reviewed and assessed. It argues that moving toward a framework that focuses on enhancing accessibility rather than principally mobility would better represent the long-term impacts of capital investments while also promoting the interests of mobility-disadvantaged populations.


Effects of Residential Relocation on Household and Commuting Expenditures in Shanghai, China

December 2010

·

376 Reads

·

68 Citations

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research

Over the past three decades, China's cities have undergone massive spatial restructuring in the wake of market reforms and economic growth. One consequence has been a rapid migration of urban residents to the periphery. Some movers have been forced out either by rising urban rents or government reclamation of their residences. Others have relocated willingly to modernized housing or for other lifestyle reasons. This article examines the effects of relocation to the urban edge on household well‐being. It explores the factors underlying changes in housing and transportation costs as households move to the periphery. The research also examines whether those who moved involuntarily are affected differently from those who moved by choice. Results show that, relative to those who moved by choice, involuntary movers are disproportionately and adversely affected in terms of job accessibility, commute time, housing consumption and disposable income. The findings also show that, compared with higher‐income households, lower‐income groups are disproportionately affected in relation to housing costs, accessibility losses, disposable income and household worker composition. These results indicate that relocation compensation for involuntarily relocated households should be expanded to include more than just housing value: it should encompass urban location changes, household needs and relocation costs. Résumé Au cours des trois dernières décennies, les grandes villes chinoises ont connu une vaste restructuration spatiale à la suite des réformes du marché et de l’essor économique. Il en a résulté notamment une rapide migration des habitants des villes vers la périphérie. Certains y ont été forcés à cause de l’augmentation des loyers urbains ou de la récupération de leur logement par le gouvernement. D’autres ont déménagé volontairement dans des logements modernisés ou pour d’autres motifs liés au mode de vie. L’article examine les incidences des relogements en limite urbaine sur le bien‐être du foyer. Il s’intéresse aux facteurs à la base des évolutions des frais de logement et de transport lors d’un déménagement à la périphérie. De plus, l’étude cherche si les conséquences sont différentes selon que les habitants ont déménagé par obligation ou par choix: par rapport à ceux qui en ont fait le choix, les habitants contraints de partir sont affectés de manière disproportionnée et défavorable en termes d’accessibilité au travail, de temps de trajet, de consommation propre au logement et de revenu disponible. Les résultats montrent aussi que, comparés aux ménages aux revenus supérieurs, les groupes à plus faible revenu subissent un impact non proportionnel pour ce qui est des frais de logement, des pertes d’accessibilité, du revenu disponible et du nombre d’actifs dans le ménage. L’indemnité de relogement attribuée aux ménages obligés de partir devrait donc être augmentée afin de dépasser la seule valeur du logement: elle devrait couvrir le changement d’implantation urbaine, les besoins du ménage et les coûts de relogement.


Effects of Light and Commuter Rail Transit on Land Prices: Experiences in San Diego County

October 2010

·

161 Reads

·

86 Citations

Journal of the Transportation Research Forum

Using hedonic price models, appreciable land-value premiums were found for multiple land uses in different rail corridors of San Diego County. The most appreciable benefits were for condominiums and single-family housing near commuter-rail stations in the north county, multifamily housing near light-rail stations, and commercial properties near downtown commuterrail stations and light-rail stops in the Mission Valley. Elsewhere, commercial properties accrued small or even negative capitalization benefits. Pro-development policies, worsening traffic congestion, and a generally healthy economy are thought to have generally boosted land values in San Diego County, though impacts are corridor- and land-use specific.


Characteristics of the Built Environment Associated With Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Adults in Bogotá, Colombia: A Multilevel Study

July 2010

·

464 Reads

·

114 Citations

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

·

·

Diana C Parra

·

[...]

·

Even though there is increasing evidence that the built environment (BE) has an influence on leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), little is known about this relationship in developing countries. The objective of this study was to assess the associations between objective built environment characteristics and LTPA. A cross-sectional multilevel study was conducted in 27 neighborhoods in which 1315 adults aged 18-65 years were surveyed. An adapted version of the IPAQ (long version) was used to assess LTPA. Objective BE characteristics were obtained using Geographic Information Systems. Associations were assessed using multilevel polytomous logistic regression. Compared with inactive people, those who resided in neighborhoods with the highest tertile dedicated to parks (7.4% to 25.2%) were more likely to be regularly active (POR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.13-3.72; P = 0.021). Those who resided in neighborhoods with presence of TransMilenio stations (mass public transportation system) were more likely to be irregularly active (POR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.07-1.50, P = 0.009) as compared with inactive people. These findings showed that park density and availability of TransMilenio stations at neighborhood level are positively associated with LTPA. Public health efforts to address physical inactivity should consider the potential influences of urban planning and mass public transportation systems on health.


Citations (81)


... Following Cervero and Golub (2011), informal public transport is that which arises from a transport need not covered by the authorities. According to Mittal, Timme and Schröder (2024), the emergence of informal modes is given by the movement needs of people, the spontaneous emergence causes them not to be covered with the safety and comfort conditions that formal and well-established systems have. ...

Reference:

The 'Vochotaxis' of Cuautepec in Mexico City, Mexico: Informal Last-Mile Transportation in Peripheral Areas
Information public transport: a global perspective
  • Citing Chapter
  • March 2011

... Generally, land use models attempt to project future land use patterns based on historical trends, however, could potentially lead to biases or inaccuracies in the resulting land use and travel demand forecasts (Lemp et al., 2008). Because of this deficiency, scenario-based planning is increasingly applied since the late 1980s (Hickman et al., 2012;Jantz et al., 2004;Layman and Horner, 2010;Outwater et al., 2014;Shiftan et al., 2003;Waddell, 2011;Waddell, 2002;Wei et al., 2017). In a land use-transportation scenario planning, a set of land use scenarios that have certain probabilities of developing in the future or that are desired by planners is constructed first. ...

Effect of Smart Growth Policies on Travel Demand
  • Citing Book
  • October 2013

... Regarding the built environment's influence on transfer, researchers typically adopt the "5D principle", which includes density, diversity, design, distance to transit, and destination accessibility [20,21]. For example, existing studies [22] have found that high population and employment densities significantly promote cycling, while other research [23] has noted that different land use densities have varying effects on bike-metro transfer trips. ...

Network design, built and natural environments, and bicycle commuting: Evidence from British cities and towns
  • Citing Article
  • September 2018

Transport Policy

... The expected impact is a sustainable improvement in the quality of urban space in the aspects of economy, society, and the environment. Ibraeva et al. show that TOD-based transportation is the core concept of sustainability and unites integrated and walk-able communities with high-quality rail systems (Cervero et al., 2017;Ibraeva et al., 2022). This concept creates a low-carbon lifestyle by enabling people to live, work, and play without relying on cars for mobility (Ibraeva et al., 2020). ...

Transit-Oriented Development
  • Citing Chapter
  • January 2017

... Urban transportation, i.e., the act of moving something (goods) or someone (people), and urban mobility, i.e., the ability of a person to freely move or be moved, constitute integral elements of the functional dimension of cities nowadays. Alongside other significant factors such as land use and urban planning, urban mobility plays a crucial role in shaping how citizens carry out their daily activities [1]. ...

Beyond Mobility
  • Citing Book
  • January 2017

... Demand management promot tainable travel through policies like parking management. By integrating these d sions, TOD offers a holistic approach to sustainable urban development, add sprawl, congestion, and environmental degradation [47]. ...

Transforming Cities with Transit

... 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. ...

“Does Compact Development Make People Drive Less?” The Answer Is Yes
  • Citing Article
  • January 2017

... Az olyan radikális intézkedések, mint például az autópályák eltávolítása és az autópályák által elfoglalt belvárosi területek átalakítása zöldúttá, gazdasági előnyt jelentenek Szöul és más nagyvárosok számára is, amit legszemléletesebben a telekárak emelkedése és a cégösszetétel változása mutat. A 2000-es évek elején Szöul városrehabilitációs programot indított el, amely magában foglalta az utak és autópályák által elfoglalt városi tér visszahódítását, különös tekintettel az újonnan épített városrészek lakói számára épült bekötőutak felszámolására és helyettesítő infrastruktúra építésére (Cervero 2010). ...

Urban Reclamation and Regeneration in Seoul, South Korea
  • Citing Chapter
  • January 2010

... More broadly, TOD has helped to enhance urban sustainability agendas through city boosterism and place-making, helping to improve the reputation and aesthetic values of cities (Ferbrache and Knowles, 2017). It has also been linked to social goals including increased ridership levels, formation of civic and public spaces, and in itself is a hub for community development (Bernick and Cervero, 1997;Cervero, 2010). However, there is some evidence of TOD unintentionally increasing levels of economic segregation and leading to gentrification, as it usually increases land and property values which can displace poorer residents and lower-income economic activities (Rayle, 2015). ...

Transit Transformations: Private Financing and Sustainable Urbanism in Hong Kong and Tokyo
  • Citing Chapter
  • January 2010