Chen, Peng; Shen, Qing. (2016). Built Environment Effects on Cyclist Injury Severity in Automobile-Involved Bicycle Crashes. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 86, 239 – 246.
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Abstract
This analysis uses a generalized ordered logit model and a generalized additive model to estimate the effects of built environment factors on cyclist injury severity in automobile-involved bicycle crashes, as well as to accommodate possible spatial dependence among crash locations. The sample is drawn from the Seattle Department of Transportation bicycle collision profiles. This study classifies the cyclist injury types as property damage only, possible injury, evident injury, and severe injury or fatality. Our modeling outcomes show that: (1) injury severity is negatively associated with employment density; (2) severe injury or fatality is negatively associated with land use mixture; (3) lower likelihood of injuries is observed for bicyclists wearing reflective clothing; (4) improving street lighting can decrease the likelihood of cyclist injuries; (5) posted speed limit is positively associated with the probability of evident injury and severe injury or fatality; (6) older cyclists appear to be more vulnerable to severe injury or fatality; and (7) cyclists are more likely to be severely injured when large vehicles are involved in crashes. One implication drawn from this study is that cities should increase land use mixture and development density, optimally lower posted speed limits on streets with both bikes and motor vehicles, and improve street lighting to promote bicycle safety. In addition, cyclists should be encouraged to wear reflective clothing. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Cycling Injuries; Traffic Accidents; Transportation Planning; Data Analysis; Employment; Built Environment; Cyclist Injury Severity; Generalized Additive Model; Generalized Ordered Logit Model; Ordered Response Model; United-states; Helmet; Frameworks; Driver; Risk
Pan, Haixiao; Li, Jing; Chen, Peng. (2016). Study on the Ownership of Motorized and Non-Motorized Vehicles in Suburban Metro Station Areas: A Structural Equation Approach. Urban Rail Transit, 2(2), 47 – 58.
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Abstract
As Chinese megacities are experiencing a large-scale motorization and suburbanization, an ever greater number of households are relocated to suburban towns. The increasing average travel distance surely encourages car growth. China is now the world's largest car consumer, resulting in a series of unforeseen environmental and public health issues. On the other hand, scooters, electric bikes, and motorcycles become attractive options to substitute non-motorized bicycles. The ongoing demographic changes should also be taken in account. China has a rapidly aging population and a higher birth rate following reforms to the one-child policy allowing couples to have a second child. These changes will lead to a dramatic alteration of the household composition in the near future. Under above emerging contexts, this study aims to understand what implies the ownership of motorized and non-motorized vehicles in suburban metro station areas by means of a structural equation model. The data employed in this study are based on a household survey collected from three neighborhoods in Shanghai suburban metro station areas in 2010. The major findings include: (1) Income is a decisive element in car ownership. Specifically, high-income households have higher propensity to own a car, while middle and poor income families tend to own scooters, electric bikes, motorcycles, or bicycles. (2) Workplace built environment features or mode preferences are not essential to understanding vehicle ownership in Chinese context. (3) Stem families are more likely to own cars; the presence of a child or a senior family member increases the probability of owning a car by enlarging the household. (4) The results estimated for core family and DINK (couple with no child) family are highly consistent, and these families are less likely to own cars. Therefore, transport policies may focus more on households. Providing safe, pleasant, and efficient pedestrian and bicycle paths for children and seniors may decrease the attractiveness of owning cars.
Keywords
Suburban Metro Station Areas; Ownership Of Motorized And Non-motorized Vehicles; Built Environment; Mode Preferences; Family Composition; Structural Equation Model
Cowling, Krycia; Lindberg, Ruth; Dannenberg, Andrew L.; Neff, Roni A.; Pollack, Keshia M. (2017). Review of Health Impact Assessments Informing Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition Policies, Programs, and Projects in the United States. Journal Of Agriculture Food Systems And Community Development, 7(3), 139 – 157.
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Abstract
Policies, programs, and projects related to agriculture, food, and nutrition can significantly affect public health. Health impact assessment (HIA) is one tool that can be used to improve awareness of the health effects of decisions outside the health sector, and increasing the use of HIA for agriculture, food, and nutrition decisions presents an opportunity to improve public health. This study identifies and reviews all HIAs completed in the United States on agriculture, food, and nutrition topics. Studies were identified from HIA databases, an Internet search, and expert consultation. Key characteristics were extracted from each study: type of decision assessed, location, level of jurisdiction, lead organization, methods of analysis, and recommendations. Twenty-five eligible HIAs that were conducted between 2007 and 2016 address topics such as regulations on land use for agriculture; food and beverage taxes; and developing grocery stores in food deserts. These HIAs have predominantly supported policy, as opposed to program or project, decisions. Four case studies are presented to illustrate in detail the HIA process and the mechanisms through which HIA findings affected policy decisions. Among other influences, these four HIAs affected the language of legislation and provided guidance for federal regulations. These examples demonstrate several findings: appropriate timing is critical for findings to have an influence; diverse stakeholder involvement generates support for recommendations; and the clear communication of feasible recommendations is highly important. There is substantial scope to increase the use of HIA in the agriculture, food, and nutrition sectors. Challenges include the paucity of monitoring and evaluation of HIAs' effects on health outcomes, and the limited funding available to conduct HIAs. Opportunities include integrating HIAs and community food assessments, and more widely sharing HIA findings to inform related decisions in different jurisdictions and to increase support for additional HIAs that address the food system.
Keywords
Environments; Obesity; Health Impact Assessment; Policy; Food; Nutrition; Agriculture
Seto, Karen C.; Golden, Jay S.; Alberti, Marina; Turner, B. L., Ii. (2017). Sustainability in an Urbanizing Planet. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, 114(34), 8935 – 8938.
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Keywords
Sustainability; Urbanization; Nature; Environment
Stewart, Orion T.; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Littman, Alyson J.; Seto, Edmund; Saelens, Brian E. (2018). Why Neighborhood Park Proximity Is Not Associated with Total Physical Activity. Health & Place, 52, 163 – 169.
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Abstract
This study explored how parks within the home neighborhood contribute to total physical activity (PA) by isolating park-related PA. Seattle-area adults (n = 634) were observed using time-matched accelerometer, Global Positioning System (GPS), and travel diary instruments. Of the average 42.3 min of daily total PA, only 11% was related to parks. Both home neighborhood park count and area were associated with park-based PA, but not with PA that occurred elsewhere, which comprised 89% of total PA. This study demonstrates clear benefits of neighborhood parks for contributing to park-based PA while helping explain why proximity to parks is rarely associated with overall PA.
Keywords
Physical Activity; Parks; Urban Planning; Environmental Health; Global Positioning System; Built Environment; Green Space; Recreation; Social Determinants Of Health; Health Research; Accelerometer Data; Self-selection; United-states; Public Parks; Older Women; Walking; Adults; Facilities
Lin, Xiongbin; Maclachlan, Ian; Ren, Ting; Sun, Feiyang. (2019). Quantifying Economic Effects of Transportation Investment Considering Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity in China: A Spatial Panel Data Model Perspective. The Annals Of Regional Science, 63(3), 437 – 459.
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Abstract
Transportation investment plays a significant role in promoting economic development. However, in what scenario and to what extent transportation investment can stimulate economic growth still remains debatable. For developing countries undergoing rapid urbanization, answering these questions is necessary for evaluating proposals and determining investment plans, especially considering the heterogeneity of spatiotemporal conditions. Current literature lacks systematical research to consider the impacts of panel data and spatial correlation issue in examining the economic effects of transportation investment. To fill this gap, this study collects provincial panel data in China from 1997 to 2015 to evaluate multi-level temporal and spatial effects of transportation investment on economic growth by using spatial panel data analysis. Results show that transportation investment leads to significant and positive effects on growth and spatial concentration of economic activities, but these results vary significantly depending on the temporal and spatial characteristics of each province. The economic impacts of transportation investment are quite positive even considering the time lag effects. This study suggests that both central and local governments should carefully evaluate the multifaceted economic effects of transportation investment, such as a balanced transportation investment and economic development between growing and lagging regions, and considering the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the economic environment.
Keywords
High-speed Rail; Infrastructure Investment; Causal Relationship; Empirical-analysis; Growth; Impact; Productivity; Efficiency; Spillover; Agglomeration; C33; R40; R58; Spatial Analysis; Time Lag; Urbanization; Transportation; Heterogeneity; Economic Growth; Economic Models; Economic Impact; Data Analysis; Spatial Data; Panel Data; Economic Development; Developing Countries--ldcs; Investments; Economic Analysis; Investment; Local Government; China
Yuan, Hong; He, Yuan; Wu, Yuanyuan. (2019). A Comparative Study on Urban Underground Space Planning System between China and Japan. Sustainable Cities And Society, 48.
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Abstract
In China, urban underground space (UUS) planning is still in the exploration stage, and its development is hindered by problems related to local autonomy, systemic deficiency and poor management. This paper compared and analyzed the development status of UUS planning in China and Japan to study the differences in terms of planning objectives, planning structure, and planning content of UUS, and made suggestions for the future development of China's UUS planning system. Since there are many difficulties in underground master planning in China to predict the planning scale of UUS, planning can only serve to provide planning principles and site selections. Instead, the regulatory detailed planning has legal effect in the planning system and becomes the most direct and powerful tool for the government to control and guide the urban land use. Meanwhile, Japan's underground utilization system is guided by urban agglomeration and can provide an important reference for Chinese development in terms of refined design, human concern, regulation, legislation, and coordination. Urgently, China needs to establish a system for UUS planning and management to promote three-dimensional urban development, establish coordination mechanisms for the detailed planning of UUS, and strengthen the planning of underground transportation networks, complexes, and streets.
Keywords
Development Trends; Resources; Comparison Of Underground Space Planningsystem Between China And Japan; Land System; Uus Master Planning; Uus Regulatory Detailed Planning; Three-dimensional Intensification; Legalization; Environmental And Safety
Lindell, Michael K.; Sorensen, John H.; Baker, Earl J.; Lehman, William P. (2020). Community Response to Hurricane Threat: Estimates of Household Evacuation Preparation Time Distributions. Transportation Research Part D-transport And Environment, 85.
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Abstract
Household evacuation preparation time distributions are essential when computing evacuation time estimates (ETEs) for hurricanes with late intensification or late changing tracks. Although evacuation preparation times have been assessed by expected task completion times, actual task completion times, and departure delays, it is unknown if these methods produce similar results. Consequently, this study compares data from one survey assessing expected task completion times, three surveys assessing actual task completion times, and three surveys assessing departure delays after receiving a warning. In addition, this study seeks to identify variables that predict household evacuation preparation times. These analyses show that the three methods of assessing evacuation preparation times produce results that are somewhat different, but the differences have plausible explanations. Household evacuation preparation times are poorly predicted by demographic variables, but are better predicted by variables that predict evacuation decisions-perceived storm characteristics, expected personal impacts, and evacuation facilitators.
Keywords
Travel Demand Model; Decision-making; Communication; Prediction; Simulation; Hurricane Evacuation Models; Preparation Time Distributions; Mobilization Time Distributions; Departure Delay Time Distributions; Social Milling
Des Roches, Simone; Brans, Kristien, I; Lambert, Max R.; Rivkin, L. Ruth; Savage, Amy Marie; Schell, Christopher J.; Correa, Cristian; De Meester, Luc; Diamond, Sarah E.; Grimm, Nancy B.; Harris, Nyeema C.; Govaert, Lynn; Hendry, Andrew P.; Johnson, Marc T. J.; Munshi-south, Jason; Palkovacs, Eric P.; Szulkin, Marta; Urban, Mark C.; Verrelli, Brian C.; Alberti, Marina. (2021). Socio-evolutionary Dynamics in Cities. Evolutionary Applications, 14(1), 248 – 267.
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Abstract
Cities are uniquely complex systems regulated by interactions and feedbacks between nature and human society. Characteristics of human society-including culture, economics, technology and politics-underlie social patterns and activity, creating a heterogeneous environment that can influence and be influenced by both ecological and evolutionary processes. Increasing research on urban ecology and evolutionary biology has coincided with growing interest in eco-evolutionary dynamics, which encompasses the interactions and reciprocal feedbacks between evolution and ecology. Research on both urban evolutionary biology and eco-evolutionary dynamics frequently focuses on contemporary evolution of species that have potentially substantial ecological-and even social-significance. Still, little work fully integrates urban evolutionary biology and eco-evolutionary dynamics, and rarely do researchers in either of these fields fully consider the role of human social patterns and processes. Because cities are fundamentally regulated by human activities, are inherently interconnected and are frequently undergoing social and economic transformation, they represent an opportunity for ecologists and evolutionary biologists to study urban socio-eco-evolutionary dynamics. Through this new framework, we encourage researchers of urban ecology and evolution to fully integrate human social drivers and feedbacks to increase understanding and conservation of ecosystems, their functions and their contributions to people within and outside cities.
Keywords
Urban Ecology (biology); Urban Research; Urban Ecology (sociology); Social Processes; Biologists; Adaptation; Anthropogenic; Coupled Human-natural Systems; Eco-evo; Socio-ecological Systems; Urbanization; Rapid Evolution; Ecosystem Services; Long-term; Ecological Consequences; Partitioning Metrics; Evosystem Services; Genetic Diversity; Rattus-norvegicus; Local Adaptation; Urban Landscapes; Coupled Human-natural Systems; Eco-evo; Socio-ecological Systems
Savitch, Ethan; Frank, Adam; Carroll-Nellenback, Jonathan; Haqq-Misra, Jacob; Kleidon, Axel; Alberti, Marina. (2021). Triggering a Climate Change Dominated Anthropocene: Is it Common Among Exocivilizations? Astronomical Journal, 162(5).
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Abstract
We seek to model the coupled evolution of a civilization and its host planet through the era when energy harvesting by the civilization drives the planet into new and adverse climate states. In this way, we ask if triggering Anthropocenes of the kind humanity is experiencing might be a generic feature of planet-civilization evolution. This question has direct consequences for both the study of astrobiology and the sustainability of human civilization. Furthermore, if Anthropocenes prove fatal for some civilizations then they can be considered as one form of a Great Filter and are therefore relevant to discussions of the Fermi Paradox. In this study, we focus on the effects of energy harvesting via combustion and vary the planet's initial chemistry and orbital radius. We find that in this context, the most influential parameter dictating a civilization's fate is their host planet's climate sensitivity, which quantifies how global temperatures change as CO2 is added to the atmosphere. Furthermore, this is in itself a function of the planet's atmospheric CO2 level, so planets with low levels of CO2 will have high climate sensitivities and high probabilities of triggering climate change. Using simulations of the coupled nonlinear model combined with semi-analytic treatments, we find that most planets in our initial parameter space experience diminished growth due to climate effects, an event we call a climate-dominated Anthropocene.
Keywords
Habitable Planets; Complex Life; Evolution; Earth