The influence of urban form and socio-demographics on active transport: A 40-neighborhoods study in Chengdu, China

In China, a centralized planning culture has created similar neighborhoods across the country. Using a survey of 1,048 individuals conducted in 2016 in Chengdu—located in a carefully conceptualized typology of neighborhood forms—we analyzed the associations between individual and neighborhood characteristics and active or nonmotorized transport behavior. Using several multiple logistic and multilevel models, we show how neighborhoods were categorized and how the number of categories or neighborhood types affected the magnitude of the associations with active transport but not the direction. People taking non-work trips were more likely to use active compared with motorized modes in all neighborhood types. Neighborhood type was significant in models but so too were many other individual-level variables and infrastructural and locational features such as bike lanes and location near the river. Of the 3-D physical environment variables, floor area ratio (a proxy for density) was only significant in one model for nonwork trips. Intersection density and dissimilarity (land-use diversity) were only significant in a model for work trips. This study shows that to develop strong theories about the connections between active transport and environments, it is important to examine different physical and cultural contexts and perform sensitivity analyses. Research in different parts of China can help provide a more substantial base for evidence-informed policymaking. Planning and design recommendations were made related to active transport need to consider how neighborhoods, built environments, and personal characteristics interact in different kinds of urban environments.

Download Full-text

Off the Grid... and Back Again? The Recent Evolution of American Street Network Planning and Design

10.31235/osf.io/t9um6 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Geoff Boeing

Keyword(s):

Urban Form ◽

Design Patterns ◽

Open Data ◽

Urban Spatial Structure ◽

Street Network ◽

Street Networks ◽

Planning And Design ◽

Orientation Order ◽

Established Relationship ◽

Intersection Density

This morphological study identifies and measures recent nationwide trends in American street network design. Historically, orthogonal street grids provided the interconnectivity and density that researchers identify as important factors for reducing vehicular travel and emissions and increasing road safety and physical activity. During the 20th century, griddedness declined in planning practice alongside declines in urban form compactness, density, and connectivity as urbanization sprawled around automobile dependence. But less is known about comprehensive empirical trends across US neighborhoods, especially in recent years. This study uses public and open data to examine tract-level street networks across the entire US. It develops theoretical and measurement frameworks for a quality of street networks defined here as griddedness. It measures how griddedness, orientation order, straightness, 4-way intersections, and intersection density declined from 1940 through the 1990s while dead-ends and block lengths increased. However, since 2000, these trends have rebounded, shifting back toward historical design patterns. Yet, despite this rebound, when controlling for topography and built environment factors all decades post-1939 are associated with lower griddedness than pre-1940. Higher griddedness is associated with less car ownership—which itself has a well-established relationship with vehicle kilometers traveled and greenhouse gas emissions—while controlling for density, home and household size, income, jobs proximity, street network grain, and local topography. Interconnected grid-like street networks offer practitioners an important tool for curbing car dependence and emissions. Once established, street patterns determine urban spatial structure for centuries, so proactive planning is essential.

Download Full-text

A Spatial Analysis of Male and Female Unemployment in the USA

Public Affairs and Administration ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8358-7.ch092 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 1797-1809

Author(s):

Edmund J. Zolnik

Keyword(s):

Multilevel Models ◽

Personal Characteristics ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Men And Women ◽

Male And Female ◽

Individual Level ◽

Right To Work ◽

The Usa ◽

The Individual ◽

The U.S

An analysis of male and female unemployment in the U.S. explores how gender affects spatial variation in unemployment. The effects of spatially-unlagged and spatially-lagged unemployment rates on the likelihood that individual men and women are unemployed are also explored. Using a recent tabulation of microdata from the American Community Survey, multilevel models of male and female unemployment are fit. Results indicate that age and occupation at the individual-level and a right-to-work dummy at the PUMA-level are the variables that best distinguish unemployed men and women. Results also indicate that unemployment for men is more clustered in space than unemployment for women. Finally, results indicate that the vast majority of the variation in unemployment for individuals in the U.S. is attributable to the personal characteristics of unemployed men and women, not the locational characteristics of high-unemployment places. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the latter result.

Download Full-text

A Spatial Analysis of Male and Female Unemployment in the USA

International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research ◽

10.4018/jagr.2013100105 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 76-87

Author(s):

Edmund J. Zolnik

Keyword(s):

Multilevel Models ◽

Personal Characteristics ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Men And Women ◽

Male And Female ◽

Unemployment Rates ◽

Individual Level ◽

The Usa ◽

The Individual ◽

The U.S

Download Full-text

Urban Design and Walkability: Lessons Learnt from Iranian Traditional Cities

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13105731 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 5731

Author(s):

Elmira Jamei ◽

Khatereh Ahmadi ◽

Hing Wah Chau ◽

Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian ◽

Ben Horan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Design ◽

Urban Form ◽

Design Parameters ◽

Design Elements ◽

Study Approach ◽

Planning And Design ◽

Planning Models ◽

Mixed Use ◽

Residential Quarters ◽

Objectively Measured

Physical activity is connected to public health in many ways, and walking is its most popular form. Modern planning models have been applied to cities to manage rapid urban expansions. However, this practice has led to low level of walkability and strong car-dependency in today’s cities. Hence, this study aims to provide a review of the most promising urban design parameters affecting walkability, using Frank Lawrence’s theory of “Objectively Measured Urban Form” (density, connectivity and accessibility, and mixed-use development) as the basis of discussion. The second part of this paper takes a case study approach, through discussing the main design elements of traditional Iranian cities (mosques, bazaars, residential quarters, and alleyways) and analyses their impacts on promoting walkability. This study concludes that incorporating inherent values of traditional urban design elements will complement modern planning and design practices.

Download Full-text

High-risk environments for eating foods surplus to requirements: a multilevel analysis of adolescents’ non-core food intake in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS)

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980018002860 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 74-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Zoi Toumpakari ◽

Kate Tilling ◽

Anne M Haase ◽

Laura Johnson

Keyword(s):

Food Intake ◽

Energy Intake ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Time Of Day ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Nutrition Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Individual Level ◽

Risk Environments ◽

Core Energy

AbstractObjectiveInterventions to reduce adolescents’ non-core food intake (i.e. foods high in fat and sugar) could target specific people or specific environments, but the relative importance of environmental contexts v. individual characteristics is unknown.DesignCross-sectional.SettingData from 4d food diaries in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) 2008–2012 were analysed. NDNS food items were classified as ‘non-core’ based on fat and sugar cut-off points per 100g of food. Linear multilevel models investigated associations between ‘where’ (home, school, etc.) and ‘with whom’ (parents, friends, etc.) eating contexts and non-core food energy (kcal) per eating occasion (EO), adjusting for variables at the EO (e.g. time of day) and adolescent level (e.g. gender).ParticipantsAdolescents (n 884) aged 11–18 years.ResultsOnly 11 % of variation in non-core energy intake was attributed to differences between adolescents. In adjusted models, non-core food intake was 151 % higher (ratio; 95 % CI) in EO at ‘Eateries’ (2·51; 2·14, 2·95) and 88 % higher at ‘School’ (1·88; 1·65, 2·13) compared with ‘Home’. EO with ‘Friends’ (1·16; CI 1·03, 1·31) and ‘Family & friends’ (1·21; 1·07, 1·37) contained 16–21 % more non-core food compared with eating ‘Alone’. At the individual level, total energy intake and BMI, but not social class, gender or age, were weakly associated with more non-core energy intake.ConclusionsRegardless of individual characteristics, adolescents’ non-core food consumption was higher outside the home, especially at eateries. Targeting specific eating contexts, not individuals, may contribute to more effective public health interventions.

Download Full-text

School Readiness Assessments for Class Placements and Academic Sorting in Kindergarten

Educational Policy ◽

10.1177/0895904818802109 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 518-547 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

F. Chris Curran ◽

Michael H. Little ◽

Lora Cohen-Vogel ◽

Thurston Domina

Keyword(s):

Language Arts ◽

School Readiness ◽

English Language ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Kindergarten Readiness ◽

Academic Ability ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Placement Decisions ◽

Class Placement

Kindergarten readiness assessments are commonly used in schools nationwide. Prior work shows that the use of such assessments for class placement decisions has increased in recent years. This article uses the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 2011 to explore whether the use of readiness assessments for such purpose predicts differential sorting of students across classrooms by prior academic ability. Results from multilevel models as well as other sensitivity analyses suggest that the use of readiness assessments for classroom placements is predictive of slightly higher cross-class ability sorting, particularly in English/language arts. The implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Download Full-text

Why Politicians Are More Tolerant: Selective Recruitment and Socialization Among Political Elites in Britain, Israel, New Zealand and the United States

British Journal of Political Science ◽

10.1017/s0007123400006566 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 51-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

John L. Sullivan ◽

Pat Walsh ◽

Michal Shamir ◽

David G. Barnum ◽

James L. Gibson

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

New Zealand ◽

Personal Characteristics ◽

The United States ◽

Personality Characteristics ◽

Political Elites ◽

Political Tolerance ◽

Individual Level ◽

The Public ◽

Members Of Parliament

In this article, we present data showing that national legislators are more tolerant than the public in Britain, Israel, New Zealand and the United States. Two explanations for this phenomenon are presented and assessed. The first is the selective recruitment of Members of Parliament, Knesset and Congress from among those in the electorate whose demographic, ideological and personality characteristics predispose them to be tolerant. Although this process does operate in all four countries, it is insufficient to explain all of the differences in tolerance between elites and the public in at least three countries. The second explanation relies on a process of explicitly political socialization, leading to differences in tolerance between elites and their public that transcend individual-level, personal characteristics. Relying on our analysis of political tolerance among legislators in the four countries, we suggest how this process of political socialization may be operating.

Download Full-text

Sustainable marketing in the function of sustainable urban mobility

Oditor - casopis za Menadzment finansije i pravo ◽

10.5937/oditor2103167v ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 167-200

Author(s):

Sonja Vujović ◽

Tanja Vujović

Keyword(s):

Urban Form ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Urban Mobility ◽

Professional Literature ◽

Environmentally Conscious ◽

Low Emission ◽

Analysis And Synthesis ◽

Sustainable Marketing ◽

Sustainable Urban Mobility

As the survival and destiny of mankind are originally and inextricably conditioned by the state of the natural environment, it has become clear over time that man's relationship to the environment and economic growth and development at all costs were no longer possible or acceptable, and that man is, in fact, part of the ecosystem beyond whose legality will not be able to go unpunished. Faced with problems that, as a by-product of modernization, have for decades devastated and violated the quality of life in urban environments, the environmentally conscious global community has been pushing for the creation of sustainable cities and greener urban mobility. Hence the author's intention to emphasize the importance of accepting the concept of sustainable marketing in order to, by raising the collective awareness of the importance of transition to a low-emission society, encourage the substitution of urban mobility habits and behaviour that are in contrast the idea of sustainable urban form and the vision of a green city. The research is based on the use of secondary data, analysis of the content of available professional literature and relevant reports of the United Nations and national institutions, as well as on the application of descriptive methods and methods of analysis and synthesis. The article concludes by offering a framework for the implementation of sustainable marketing and measures that can be taken in the field of creating sustainable urban mobility.

Download Full-text

Exploring negative affect dynamics in high resolution: within-person relationship of inertia and instability with depression is mediated by affect intensity

10.31234/osf.io/he53c ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Levente Rónai ◽

Bertalan Polner

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Negative Mood ◽

Population Sample ◽

Self Report ◽

Affective States ◽

Affect Intensity ◽

Individual Level ◽

Affective Functioning ◽

Affect Dynamics

Background: Temporal patterns of affective functioning such as emotional inertia and instability may indicate changes in emotion regulation that predict depression. However, affect dynamics’ incremental validity over affect intensity and exposure to stressors in predicting depression has been questioned.Methods: We collected longitudinal data regarding momentary affective states (measured multiple times a day), perceived stressors and depressive symptoms (measured every three days) from a general population sample during the COVID-19 pandemic’s first wave in Hungary. The final dataset included 7165 affective states surveys from 125 participants, which were aggregated in 464 three-day measurement windows. Using multilevel models, we explored the unique effects of within-person changes in mean level, inertia, and instability of negative affective states (NA), and stressor-exposure on two domains of depression (anhedonia and negative mood and thoughts) within the three-day windows.Results: Within-person increases in NA inertia and NA instability showed significant positive associations with negative mood and thoughts. These effects did not remain significant after adjusting for mean levels of NA. Multilevel mediation analysis revealed that within individuals, NA inertia and instability indirectly predicted negative mood and thoughts through elevated NA mean.Limitations: The application of self-report questionnaires might bias the results, and the overrepresentation of female participants could limit the generalizability of the findings.Conclusions: Specific patterns of temporal affective functioning are indirect predictors of depressive symptoms at the within-individual level. Our findings may facilitate automated depression risk assessment on the basis of simple affective time series.

Download Full-text

The Importance of Mesozooplankton Diel Vertical Migration for Sustaining a Mesopelagic Food Web

10.1101/642975 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas B. Kelly ◽

Peter C. Davison ◽

Ralf Goericke ◽

Michael R. Landry ◽

Mark D. Ohman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Active Transport ◽

Vertical Migration ◽

Diel Vertical Migration ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Total Carbon ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Mesopelagic Fish ◽

Ecosystem Research ◽

Carbon Demand ◽

Gross Growth Efficiency

AbstractWe used extensive ecological and biogeochemical measurements obtained from quasi-Lagrangian experiments during two California Current Ecosystem Long-Term Ecosystem Research cruises to analyze carbon fluxes between the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones using a linear inverse ecosystem model (LIEM). Measurement constraints on the model include 14C primary productivity, dilution-based microzooplankton grazing rates, gut pigment-based mesozooplankton grazing rates (on multiple zooplankton size classes), 234Th:238U disequilibrium and sediment trap measured carbon export, and metabolic requirements of micronekton, zooplankton, and bacteria. A likelihood approach (Markov Chain Monte Carlo) was used to estimate the resulting flow uncertainties from a sample of potential flux networks. Results highlight the importance of mesozooplankton active transport (i.e., diel vertical migration) for supplying the carbon demand of mesopelagic organisms and sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In nine water parcels ranging from a coastal bloom to offshore oligotrophic conditions, mesozooplankton active transport accounted for 18% - 84% (median: 42%) of the total carbon supply to the mesopelagic, with gravitational settling of POC (12% - 55%; median: 37%) and subduction (2% - 32%; median: 14%) providing the majority of the remainder. Vertically migrating zooplankton contributed to downward carbon flux through respiration and excretion at depth and via consumption loses to predatory zooplankton and mesopelagic fish (e.g. myctophids and gonostomatids). Sensitivity analyses showed that the results of the LIEM were robust to changes in nekton metabolic demands, rates of bacterial production, and mesozooplankton gross growth efficiency. This analysis suggests that prior estimates of zooplankton active transport based on conservative estimates of standard (rather than active) metabolism should be revisited.Contribution to the FieldUnderstanding the flows of carbon within the ocean is important for predicting how global climate will shift; yet even after decades of research, the magnitude with which the ocean sequesters carbon is highly uncertain. One reason behind this uncertainty is that a variety of mechanisms control the balance between carbon input and carbon output within the ocean. The topic of this work is to inspect the role of biological organisms in physically transferring organic carbon from the surface to the deep ocean. As opposed to other mechanisms—such as sinking particles, the biological transfer of carbon is difficult to measure directly and is often quite variable, leading to large uncertainties. Here we use an extensive set of in situ observations off the coast of southern California to model the flow of carbon through the ecosystem. The model determined that in our study area nearly half of the total transfer of carbon from the surface ocean to deep was carried out by zooplankton that swim up to the surface each night to feed. This finding has direct implications for global carbon budgets, which often underestimate this transfer of carbon.

Download Full-text