•The idea that accessibility is the true goal for transportation planning goes back many decades.•Progress toward an accessibility-oriented approach in planning practice has been slow.•Recent ...developments suggest that an accessibility-approach may soon become more widespread.•The concept of accessibility is a powerful framework for thinking about the urban environment.
The idea that accessibility is the true goal for transportation planning goes back many decades, starting with notable writings in the 1950s, followed by a flurry of writings in the 1970s. Since then considerable academic work has gone into the development of accessibility measures, but their use in transportation planning is not yet pervasive. In this essay, I reflect on why progress toward the wholesale adoption of an accessibility-oriented approach in planning practice has been slow, review some of the promising efforts in recent years that suggest that transportation planning may be on the cusp of an accessibility era, and offer thoughts about the power of the accessibility concept as a framework for thinking about the urban environment.
Abstract Objectives To assess existing research on the effects of various interventions on levels of bicycling. Interventions include infrastructure (e.g., bike lanes and parking), integration with ...public transport, education and marketing programs, bicycle access programs, and legal issues. Methods A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed and non-reviewed research identified 139 studies. Study methodologies varied considerably in type and quality, with few meeting rigorous standards. Secondary data were gathered for 14 case study cities that adopted multiple interventions. Results Many studies show positive associations between specific interventions and levels of bicycling. The 14 case studies show that almost all cities adopting comprehensive packages of interventions experienced large increases in the number of bicycle trips and share of people bicycling. Conclusions Most of the evidence examined in this review supports the crucial role of public policy in encouraging bicycling. Substantial increases in bicycling require an integrated package of many different, complementary interventions, including infrastructure provision and pro-bicycle programs, supportive land use planning, and restrictions on car use.
The connection between transportation and land use lies at the center of efforts in the United States to combat sprawl through smart growth strategies. Proponents of smart growth commonly make ...several specific propositions about the relationships between transportation and land use: (1) building more highways will contribute to more sprawl, (2) building more highways will lead to more driving, (3) investing in light rail transit systems will increase densities, and (4) adopting new urbanism design strategies will reduce automobile use. This article explores how well the available evidence supports these four propositions and provides an overview of the theory, research efforts, and current debates associated with each of these propositions. This overview shows that the four propositions have not yet been fully resolved: researchers have made more progress on some of these propositions than others, but even in the best cases, our ability to predict the impact of smart growth policies remains limited.
The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in empirical investigation into the relations between built environment and physical activity. To create places that facilitate and encourage walking, ...practitioners need an understanding of the specific characteristics of the built environment that correlate most strongly with walking. This article reviews evidence on the built environment correlates with walking.
Included in this review were 13 reviews published between 2002 and 2006 and 29 original studies published in 2005 and up through May 2006. Results were summarized based on specific characteristics of the built environment and transportation walking versus recreational walking.
Previous reviews and newer studies document consistent positive relations between walking for transportation and density, distance to nonresidential destinations, and land use mix; findings for route/network connectivity, parks and open space, and personal safety are more equivocal. Results regarding recreational walking were less clear.
More recent evidence supports the conclusions of prior reviews, and new studies address some of the limitations of earlier studies. Although prospective studies are needed, evidence on correlates appears sufficient to support policy changes.
Suburban sprawl has been widely criticized for its contribution to auto dependence. Numerous studies have found that residents in suburban neighborhoods drive more and walk less than their ...counterparts in traditional environments. However, most studies confirm only an association between the built environment and travel behavior, and have yet to establish the predominant underlying causal link: whether neighborhood design independently influences travel behavior or whether preferences for travel options affect residential choice. That is, residential self-selection may be at work. A few studies have recently addressed the influence of self-selection. However, our understanding of the causality issue is still immature. To address this issue, this study took into account individuals' self-selection by employing a quasi-longitudinal design and by controlling for residential preferences and travel attitudes. In particular, using data collected from 547 movers currently living in four traditional neighborhoods and four suburban neighborhoods in Northern California, we developed a structural equations model to investigate the relationships among changes in the built environment, changes in auto ownership, and changes in travel behavior. The results provide some encouragement that land-use policies designed to put residents closer to destinations and provide them with alternative transportation options will actually lead to less driving and more walking. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
This study attempts to comprehensively and objectively measure subjective qualities of the urban street environment. Using ratings from an expert panel, it was possible to measure five urban design ...qualities in terms of physical characteristics of streets and their edges: imageability, enclosure, human scale, transparency and complexity. The operational definitions do not always comport with the qualitative definitions, and provide new insights into the nature of these urban design qualities. The immediate purpose of this study is to arm researchers with operational definitions they can use to measure the street environment and test for significant associations with walking behaviour. A validation study is currently underway in New York City. Depending on the outcome of this and other follow-up research, the ultimate purpose would be to inform urban design practice.
Cycling as a mode of transportation has many advantages for both cyclists and society: it is a low-cost, low-polluting, health-improving way to travel. In light of these benefits, a growing number of ...cities throughout the world are implementing policies to promote cycling, though they continue to struggle to identify the most effective ways to spend their limited resources. In response, transport researchers are also increasingly focusing their efforts on cycling, addressing a broader range of questions than in the past, including: how much cycling is there? What strategies will increase cycling? What are the benefits of increased cycling? This paper reviews the challenges that researchers face in providing answers to these questions by highlighting limitations of the existing research, identifying remaining research needs, and discussing methodological considerations for addressing those needs. Investments in cycling research can pay off by providing a basis for identifying the most effective strategies for increasing cycling and providing more accurate estimates of the benefits that would accrue.
•Comfort in different bicycling environments measured using a visual preference survey.•Bike infrastructure and low traffic speeds generate higher comfort ratings.•People without a predisposition to ...bicycle are unlikely to feel comfortable with even the best-designed on-road facilities.•Planning for a “design person” and setting a minimum infrastructure standard could increase comfort for all.
Understanding what environments are comfortable (and perceived as safe) for bicyclists is essential for increasing bicycling, particularly for non-experienced riders. Surveys probing people’s qualitative perceptions about bicycling environments can inform bicycle planning in important ways. In this study we use survey data from an on-line video experiment to analyze bicycling comfort and its relationship with person-level and road-level variables. We use an existing survey of students, faculty, and staff at UC Davis (n = 3089) who rated video clips of bicycling facilities in different environments based on their perceived comfort as a part of the annual UC Davis Campus Travel Survey (CTS). The video clips come from a variety of urban and semi-rural roads around the San Francisco Bay Area where bicycling rates vary. Our results indicate considerable effects of socio-demographics and attitudes on absolute video ratings, but we find relative agreement about which videos are most comfortable and uncomfortable across our sample population segments. Presence of bike infrastructure and low speed roads are especially important in generating higher comfort ratings. However, our results suggest that even the best designed on-road bike facilities (according to attributes in our data) are unlikely to provide a comfortable bicycling environment for those without a predisposition to bicycle. Nonetheless, our results provide guidance for improving roads with on-street bike facilities where protected or separated facilities may not be suitable. We discuss these results in the context of design standards for bicycling and methods for prioritizing bike infrastructure investments.
As a means of transportation and as a form of physical activity, bicycling generates benefits to the bicyclist as well as to the community as a whole. Bicycling now accounts for less than 1 percent ...of all trips for all purposes in the U.S., but evidence from other western countries suggests that under the right conditions, bicycling levels can be significantly higher. Indeed, the experiences of some U.S. cities suggest that it is possible to create conditions conducive to higher levels of bicycling even in the U.S. However, the extent to which bicycle investments have contributed to bicycling levels in these communities has not been rigorously assessed. The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of the determinants of bicycle ownership and use as a basis for identifying ways to promote bicycling. A cross-sectional study of six cities was designed to test the importance of bicycle infrastructure and other physical environment factors relative to individual factors and social environment factors, using a nested logit model to examine ownership and use decisions jointly. The results show strong effects of individual attitudes and physical and social environment factors on bicycle ownership and use.
We examine characteristics associated with higher levels of neighborhood satisfaction among residents of traditional versus suburban neighborhoods, using an ordered logit model. We find that ...neighborhood satisfaction is higher among the traditional neighborhood residents, even after controlling for sociodemographics and other characteristics. Differences in the characteristics associated with satisfaction in each group include the perception of liveliness and diversity, contributing significantly only among the segment of the sample living in traditional neighborhoods, and the perception of economic homogeneity, contributing significantly only among the suburban segment. Features such as parking, yards, and school quality do not emerge as important predictors of satisfaction for either group. The most important features for neighborhood satisfaction among both groups are the attractive appearance and perceived safety of neighborhoods, suggesting that any innovative neighborhood designs are most likely to succeed in attracting residents if able to foster these qualities.
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