The Relations between Street Network Configuration and Travel Behavior in Pakistan; the Optimal Level of Street Connectivity for a More Active Mobility

Urban sprawl is a particular pattern of the street network and land use. The relationship between street networks and sprawl has been discussed by urban scholars in developed and high-income countries. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on the relationships between street connectivity and urban travel behavior, particularly among emerging markets. This paper aims to study correlations between urban mobility and street-length density as an indicator for assessing the compactness of an area by developing two hierarchical regression models and controlling for socioeconomic variables in two large Pakistani cities: Lahore and Rawalpindi. Moreover, this paper defines optimal cutoff values for street-length density and active transport. Finally, three chi-square tests were conducted to assess the differences between using different mode choices by people living in sprawled neighborhoods versus compact neighborhoods. Our findings confirm the use of different transport modes depending on the purpose of the trip (commuting or non-commuting), length of trip (within or outside the neighborhood), and starting point (sprawled neighborhood or compact area). We also find a positive correlation between street-length density around homes and commuting distance, the frequency of public transport use, and the use of private motor vehicles in commuting trips in the two cities. Street-length density around workplaces is correlated with commuting distance, the frequency of public transport use, and the use of private motor vehicles when socioeconomic variables (including age, daily activity, and monthly income) are controlled for in the two models. The behavior of Pakistani residents changes with a street-length density of 137 and 144.7 m/m2 for homes and workplaces, respectively, in terms of using active mobility.

Research on the Difference Between Recreational Walking and Transport Walking Among the Elderly in Mega Cities With Different Density Zones: The Case of Guangzhou City

Walking is the easiest method of physical activity for older people, and current research has demonstrated that the built environment is differently associated with recreational and transport walking. This study modelled the environmental characteristics of three different building density zones in Guangzhou city at low, medium, and high densities, and examined the differences in walking among older people in the three zones. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to investigate the recreational and transport walking time of older people aged 65 years and above for the past week, for a total of three density zones (N = 597) and was analysed as a dependent variable. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to identify 300, 500, 800, and 1,000 m buffers and to assess differences between recreational and transport walking in terms of the built environment [e.g., land-use mix, street connectivity, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data]. The data were processed and validated using the SPSS software to calculate Pearson's correlation models and stepwise regression models between recreation and transit walking and the built environment. The results found that land use mix and NDVI were positively correlated with transport walking in low-density areas and that transport walking was negatively correlated with roadway mediated centrality (BtE) and Point-of-Interest (PoI) density. Moreover, recreational walking in medium density areas was negatively correlated with self-rated health, road intersection density, and PoI density while positively correlated with educational attainment, population density, land use mix, street connectivity, PoIs density, and NDVI. Transport walking was negatively correlated with land-use mix, number of road crossings while positively correlated with commercial PoI density. Street connectivity, road intersection density, DNVI, and recreational walking in high-density areas showed negative correlations. Moreover, the built environment of older people in Guangzhou differed between recreational and transport walking at different densities. The richness of PoIs has different effects on different types of walking.

Measuring the Built Environment in Studies of Child Health—A Meta-Narrative Review of Associations

Although the built environment (BE) is important for children’s health, there is little consensus about which features are most important due to differences in measurement and outcomes across disciplines. This meta-narrative review was undertaken by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers to summarise ways in which the BE is measured, and how this links to children’s health. A structured search of four databases across the relevant disciplines retrieved 108 relevant references. The most commonly addressed health-related outcomes were active travel, physical activity and play, and obesity. Many studies used objective (GIS and street audits) or standardised subjective (perceived) measurements of the BE. However, there was a wide variety, and sometimes inconsistency, in their definition and use. There were clear associations between the BE and children’s health. Objective physical activity and self-reported active travel, or obesity, were positively associated with higher street connectivity or walkability measures, while self-reported physical activity and play had the strongest association with reduced street connectivity, indicated by quieter, one-way streets. Despite the high heterogeneity found in BE measures and health outcomes, the meta-narrative approach enabled us to identify ten BE categories that are likely to support children’s health and be protective against some non-communicable disease risk factors. Future research should implement consistent BE measures to ensure key features are explored. A systems approach will be particularly relevant for addressing place-based health inequalities, given potential unintended health consequences of making changes to the BE.

REDESIGNING A NEGATIVE SPACE THROUGH CPTED IN SUSUKINO DISTRICT, SAPPORO, JAPAN

As an impact of prostitution site, criminality is basically triggered by a negative space; however, prostitution site in Japan is a part of the city. Susukino in Sapporo, for example, plays a role as a tourist attraction as well as a prostitution site. This research aims to figure out how the architectural design in Susukino influences criminality prevention as an effect of prostitution site. Survey and interview were conducted to observe zonation in Susukino and to define a negative space as a problem of the district. Later, seven aspects: 1)Defensible space, 2)Territoriality, 3)Surveillance, 4)Lighting, 5)Landscaping, and 6)Physical security; based on CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environment Design) theory were applied as a basis to propose a safe ambiance in the negative space by increasing street connectivity.

The Associations of Built Environment with Older People Recreational Walking and Physical Activity in a Chinese Small-Scale City of Yiwu

Physical activity would bring in plenty of health benefits, especially recreational physical activity (RPA). Previous studies have suggested that built environment would affect older people’s recreational walking (RW) and RPA, but how the effects exist in a small-scale Chinese city remains unclear. Two hundred and fifty-two older participants were recruited in the city of Yiwu using cross-sectional survey of random samples in 2019. RW and RPA level of participants and perceived scores of built environments were collected using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale, respectively. Linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate the association of built environment with older people’s RW and RPA. The results showed that two main factors affecting older people’s RW and RPA were residential density and aesthetics. Additionally, access to services was related to RW, and street connectivity was correlated with RPA. The associations of RW with built environment varied slightly with demographic variables included in the regression model. All the results suggested that lower residential density, better aesthetics environment, and higher street connectivity would motivate older people to engage more in RW and RPA. The better access to services encourages only RW, not RPA, in older people. These findings would be helpful for policy decision makers in the urban construction process in Yiwu. More studies are needed to enlarge the scientific evidence base about small-scale cities in China.

Decoding the Street-Based Spatiality of Urban Gyms: Implications for Healthy City Planning

Many cities face health issues that result from ineffective urban planning strategies. The chances of doing exercises in sportive venues implicate public health and citizen quality of life. With the advent of the geo-big data era, it is crucial to explore the spatial pattern of sports facilities to reflect urban health issues. This study aims to decode the street-based spatiality of gyms (one prevailing type of sportive venues) from a comprehensive perspective by both geometric methods (i.e., segment streets) and topological analytics in the context of complexity science (i.e., complex network derived from the topology of natural streets). We found that: (1) gyms are spatially clustered and distributed unevenly; (2) community-to-gym walkability fits the power-law with a heavy-tailed distribution at the 10-min and 20-min temporal scales; (3) the model for the street connectivity and the multi-distance reachability of gyms is with high polynomial fitting goodness. This article is conducive to strategies-making of healthy city planning and the further optimization of urban spatial structure.

Measuring Walkability with Street Connectivity and Physical Activity: A Case Study in Iran

The walkability of urban areas is an important criterion related to the level of physical activity and public health of citizens. This research aims to measure this parameter in Golsar town located in Rasht, Iran. Two methods were used in this research: Street connectivity and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The principal variables of street connectivity were measured in four districts of Golsar by Geographic Information System (GIS) to rank each one. Then, the acquired results were compared by the average walking time of the respondents of the questionnaire. The comparison explicitly indicated that there is a strong positive correlation between the measures of street connectivity and people’s tendency to walk. As well, District 1 had the highest value of connectivity and the highest average time for walking amongst the four districts. This supports the contention that walkability and the level of outdoor physical activities of people in each district are undoubtedly under the influence of the variables of street connectivity. Nevertheless, the evaluation of other indexes such as proximity, land use mix, safety, and density in Golsar, in future research. can expand our perception of the walkability of this region.

Discovering Spatio-Temporal Clusters of Road Collisions Using the Method of Fast Bayesian Model-Based Cluster Detection

Public availability of geo-coded or geo-referenced road collisions (crashes) makes it possible to perform geovisualisation and spatio-temporal analysis of road collisions across a city. This study aims to detect spatio-temporal clusters of road collisions across Greater London between 2010 and 2014. We implemented a fast Bayesian model-based cluster detection method with no covariates and after adjusting for potential covariates respectively. As empirical evidence on the association of street connectivity measures and the occurrence of road collisions had been found, we selected street connectivity measures as the potential covariates in our cluster detection. Results of the most significant cluster and the second most significant cluster during five consecutive years are located around the central areas. Moreover, after adjusting the covariates, the most significant cluster moves from the central areas of London to its peripheral areas, while the second most significant cluster remains unchanged. Additionally, one potential covariate used in this study, length-based road density, exhibits a positive association with the number of road collisions; meanwhile count-based intersection density displays a negative association. Although the covariates (i.e., road density and intersection density) exhibit potential impact on the clusters of road collisions, they are unlikely to contribute to the majority of clusters. Furthermore, the method of fast Bayesian model-based cluster detection is developed to discover spatio-temporal clusters of serious injury collisions. Most of the areas at risk of serious injury collisions overlay those at risk of road collisions. Although not being identified as areas at risk of road collisions, some districts, e.g., City of London, are regarded as areas at risk of serious injury collisions.

Critical Review of Street Connectivity Between Tejgaon Industrial Area and Adjacent Hatirjheel Development

Tejgaon’s development process was initiated in the 1950s by the Department of Public Works (PWD) as an industrial zone and it was also indicate in the first master plan of Dhaka (1959). In1968, Tejgaon was designed as light industrial area by the Dhaka Improvement Trust (DIT). After Liberation war in 1971 Tejgaon become the most sought after place for industrial activity for not only its being on the outskirts of the than city center but also for the rising demand for the growing population of Dhaka. Several residential areas were developed beyond Tejgaon industrial areas (TIA) resulting in the rapid transformation of land use at this point into a mixed use development changing the physical characteristics of TIA. Responding to this transformation, the Government of Bangladesh has decided to develop Tejgaon industrial area as commercial cum residential hub. At the same time low lying areas i.e. Hatirjheel area on the south of TIA was developed to connect the northern residential areas (beyond TIA) with the older urban core. TIA thus came in between Hatirjheel development and Northern residential areas as such requiring rethinking of the street connectivity in the area. Transformation of TIA and the development of Hatirjheel provides an opportunity to rethink about the connectivity of road network. This study critically reviews the street connectivity between TIA and the adjacent new Hatirjheel development. It is identified that the new Hatirjheel development did not take note of the older TIA road network thus creating problem of urban mobility and integration. This study aims at identifying the street connectivity by quantitative and qualitative method using tools like Depthmapx10 to understand the new dynamics and suggest measures for better urban mobility.