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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Urban form, individual spatial footprints, and travel: An examination of space-use behavior

by Yingling Fan & Asad J. Khattak

Land use and transportation planning can benefit from deeper insight into the space-use options that individuals have. This paper examines how individuals’ uses of space are related to urban form factors at their residences, after controlling for traffic congestion, weather, and individual/household characteristics. Behavioral data analyzed come from the 2006 Greater Triangle Region Travel Study in North Carolina. Individuals’ uses of space are measured by daily activity space—the minimum convex polygon that contains all the daily activity locations—and daily travel distance, and are estimated by spatial regression models. Results show that residents of densely developed neighborhoods with more retail stores and better connected streets generally have smaller area size of daily activity space and shorter daily travel distance. Additionally, urban form factors are compared in terms of their importance in explaining individuals’ space-use behavior. We find that retail mix and street connectivity are key factors relating to individuals’ uses of space while building density is less important. The findings shed light on possible land use solutions towards a better coordination of services in space.


photo by zen

more on urban travels:

How Urban Design Affect Personal Activity and Travel Choice - An Analysis of Travel Data from Sample Communities in Adelaide

Effects of Site Design on Pedestrian Travel in Mixed-Use, Medium-Density Environments

Modeling street connectivity, pedestrian movement and land-use according to standard GIS street network representations: A Comparative Study

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