Jung, Meen Chel; Kang, Mingyu; Kim, Sunghwan. (2022). Does Polycentric Development Produce Less Transportation Carbon Emissions? Evidence from Urban Form Identified by Night-Time Lights Across US Metropolitan Areas. Urban Climate, 44.
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Abstract
Identifying the comprehensive metropolitan urban form is important to propose effective policies to mitigate transportation carbon emissions. A publicly accessible night-time light dataset was used to identify urban centers and develop two polycentric indices to compute the composition and configuration of urban form, respectively. We used the most populous 103 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), with their corresponding transportation carbon emissions, polycentric indices, population sizes, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, and road network densities. We first explored the typology of urban form and classified MSAs into six types based on two polycentric indices. We then introduced correlation analysis and statistical models to test the relationships between polycentric urban form and transportation carbon emissions. We found: (1) more urban centers lead to more emissions (compositional dimension), (2) more spatially distributed urban centers result in less emissions (configurational dimension), and (3) population and GDP per capita are positively related to carbon emissions. These findings suggest the importance of measuring two polycentric dimensions separately but using them together. Urban planners should consider mixed strategies that combine the traditional intra-center-based smart growth principles and the metropolitan-level inter-centers spatial plan to effectively counteract climate change.
Keywords
Polycentric Urban Form; Urban Centers; Carbon Emissions; Night-time Lights; Smart Growth; Climate Change; Co2 Emissions; Spatial Structure; Satellite Imagery; Cities; Patterns; Trends; Growth; Determinants; China
Moudon, Anne Vernez; Cook, Andrea J.; Ulmer, Jared; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Drewnowski, Adam. (2011). A Neighborhood Wealth Metric for Use in Health Studies. American Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 41(1), 88 – 97.
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Abstract
Background: Measures of neighborhood deprivation used in health research are typically based on conventional area-based SES. Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine new data and measures of SES for use in health research. Specifically, assessed property values are introduced as a new individual-level metric of wealth and tested for their ability to substitute for conventional area-based SES as measures of neighborhood deprivation. Methods: The analysis was conducted in 2010 using data from 1922 participants in the 2008-2009 survey of the Seattle Obesity Study (SOS). It compared the relative strength of the association between the individual-level neighborhood wealth metric (assessed property values) and area-level SES measures (including education, income, and percentage above poverty as single variables, and as the composite Singh index) on the binary outcome fair/poor general health status. Analyses were adjusted for gender, categoric age, race, employment status, home ownership, and household income. Results: The neighborhood wealth measure was more predictive of fair/poor health status than area-level SES measures, calculated either as single variables or as indices (lower DIC measures for all models). The odds of having a fair/poor health status decreased by 0.85 (95% CI=0.77, 0.93) per $50,000 increase in neighborhood property values after adjusting for individual-level SES measures. Conclusions: The proposed individual-level metric of neighborhood wealth, if replicated in other areas, could replace area-based SES measures, thus simplifying analyses of contextual effects on health. (Am J Prev Med 2011; 41(1): 88-97) (C) 2011 American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Keywords
Health -- Social Aspects; Social Status; Public Health Research; Home Ownership; Income; Real Property; Deprivation (psychology); Health Education; Disparities Geocoding Project; Body-mass Index; Socioeconomic-status; Ecological Fallacy; Built Environment; Deprivation Indexes; Multilevel Analysis; Individual-level; Social-class; Inequalities
Way, Thaisa. (2013). Landscapes of Industrial Excess: A Thick Sections Approach to Gas Works Park. Journal Of Landscape Architecture, 8(1), 28 – 39.
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Abstract
Gas Works Park in Seattle, WA, designed by Richard Haag Associates and recently listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, serves as one of the earliest post-industrial sites to be transformed into a public park through remediation and reclamation. The radical nature of the park lies in its adaptive reuse of waste landscapes, not merely ameliorating contaminated land but transforming it to serve the public. Although officials and residents called for the remains of the industrial plant to be removed, Haag convinced the public to retain elements of the industrial apparatus and, more importantly, to retain and treat the polluted soils. Previous scholarship focuses primarily on the architectural elements, leaving the landscape as mere setting. This article proposes a site narrative as read through the landform. It suggests an alternative reading that gives voice to the site's toxic history.
Keywords
Gas Works Park; Polluted Landscapes; Post-industrial Landscape; Richard Haag; Thick Sections
Drewnowski, Adam; Aggarwal, Anju; Tang, Wesley; Moudon, Anne Vernez. (2015). Residential Property Values Predict Prevalent Obesity but Do Not Predict 1-year Weight Change. Obesity, 23(3), 671 – 676.
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Abstract
ObjectiveLower socio economic status (SES) has been linked with higher obesity rates but not with weight gain. This study examined whether SES can predict short-term weight change. MethodsThe Seattle Obesity Study II was based on an observational cohort of 440 adults. Weights and heights were measured at baseline and at 1 year. Self-reported education and incomes were obtained by questionnaire. Home addresses were linked to tax parcel property values from the King County, Washington, tax assessor. Associations among SES variables, prevalent obesity, and 1-year weight change were examined using multivariable linear regressions. ResultsLow residential property values at the tax parcel level predicted prevalent obesity at baseline and at 1 year. Living in the top quartile of house prices reduced obesity risk by 80% at both time points. At 1 year, about 38% of the sample lost >1 kg body weight; 32% maintained ( 1 kg); and 30% gained >1 kg. In adjusted models, none of the baseline SES measures had any impact on 1-year weight change. ConclusionsSES variables, including tax parcel property values, predicted prevalent obesity but did not predict short-term weight change. These findings, based on longitudinal cohort data, suggest other mechanisms are involved in short-term weight change.
Keywords
Body-mass-index; Socioeconomic-status; United-states; Physical-activity; King County; Association; Health; Trends; Gain; Income
Schmiedeskamp, Peter; Zhao, Weiran. (2016). Estimating Daily Bicycle Counts in Seattle, Washington, from Seasonal and Weather Factors. Transportation Research Record, 2593, 94 – 102.
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Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between several seasonal and weather factors and bicycle ridership from 2 years of automated bicycle counts at a location in Seattle, Washington. The authors fitted a negative binomial model and then estimated quantities of interest using counterfactual simulation. The findings confirm the significance of season (+), temperature (+), precipitation (), as well as holidays (-), day of the week (+ for Monday through Saturday, relative to Sunday), and an overall trend (+). This paper improves on prior work by demonstrating the use of the negative binomial instead of a Poisson model, which is appropriate given the potential for overdispersion, as observed in these data. In addition to validating the significance of factors identified from the literature, this paper contributes methodologically through its intuitive visualization of effect sizes to nonstatistical audiences. The authors believe that the combination of model type and counterfactual simulation and visualization reflects a reasonable compromise between model complexity and interpretability. Results such as these can aid policy makers and planners in understanding bicycle travel demand elasticities and in guiding interventions aimed at increasing rates of bicycling. The methods presented are fully reproducible and invite adaptation to other locations.
Hu, Hong; Xu, Jiangang; Shen, Qing; Shi, Fei; Chen, Yangjin. (2018). Travel Mode Choices in Small Cities of China: A Case Study of Changting. Transportation Research: Part D, 59, 361 – 374.
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Abstract
The existing literature on urban transportation planning in China focuses primarily on large cities and neglects small cities. This paper aims to fill part of the knowledge gap by examining travel mode choice in Changting, a small city that has been experiencing fast spatial expansion and growing transportation problems. Using survey data collected from 1470 respondents on weekdays and weekends, the study investigates the relationship between mode choice and individuals' socio-economic characteristics, trip characteristics, attitudes, and home and workplace built environments. While more than 35 percent of survey respondents are car owners, walk, bicycle, e-bike, and motorcycle still account for over 85 percent of trips made during peak hours. E-bike and motorcycle are the dominant means of travel on weekdays, but many people shift to walking and cycling on weekends, making non-motorized and semi-motorized travel especially important for non-commuting trips. Results of multinomial logistic regression show that: (1) job-housing balance might exert different effects on mode choice in different types of urban areas; (2) negative attitude towards e-bike and motorcycle is associated with more walking and cycling; and (3) land use diversity of workplace is related to commuting mode choice on weekdays, while land use diversities of both residential and activity places do not significantly affect mode choice on weekends. Our findings imply that planning and design for small cities needs to differentiate land use and transportation strategies in various types of areas, and to launch outreach programs to shift people's mode choice from motorized travel to walking and cycling.
Keywords
Urban Transportation; Transportation Planning; Outreach Programs; Choice Of Transportation; Commuting; China; Attitude; Built Environment; Mode Choice; Small Cities; Neighborhood Type; Self-selection; Urban Form; Land-use; Behavior; Impact; Attitudes; Ownership; Workers
Bautista-Hernández, Dorian. (2020). Urban Structure and its Influence on Trip Chaining Complexity in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. Urban, Planning And Transport Research, 8(1), 71 – 97.
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Abstract
This project studies the relationship between the urban structure of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) and two aspects of commuter travel patterns: (1) number of stops in a tour and (2) complexity of trip chaining. Two regression models were explored, one for each dependent variable of interest. The analysis was applied for car drivers, transit users and travelers with mixed transportation separately. Covariates include individual, household, travel and urban form variables, which showed differential effects according to the transportation mode. According to the number of significant covariates, it can be said that there is less impact of urban form on trip generation and complexity of travel for car drivers (only mixed land use at destination being significant for complexity of travel) and mixed transportation (being only significant job access for complexity of travel) than for transit users (being significant job access, population density, mixed land use at origin for extra trip, number of trips and complexity of travel). The directions of these effects vary according to the transportation mode and are discussed in terms of reported literature.
Keywords
Trip Generation; Urban Structures; Chaining; Drivers; Population Density; Land Use; Regression Analysis; Regression Models; Transportation; Travel; Complexity; Automobile Drivers; Metropolitan Areas; Travel Patterns; Urban Areas; Dependent Variables; Mexico
Rhew, Isaac C.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Lyles-riebli, Rose; Lee, Christine M. (2022). Geographic Ecological Momentary Assessment Methods to Examine Spatio-temporal Exposures Associated with Marijuana Use Among Young Adults: A Pilot Study. Spatial And Spatio-temporal Epidemiology, 41.
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Abstract
Background: This study demonstrates the use of geographic ecological momentary assessment (GEMA) methods among young adult marijuana users. Method: Participants were 14 current marijuana users ages 21-27 living in Greater Seattle, Washington. They completed brief surveys four times per day for 14 consecutive days, including measures of marijuana use and desire to use. They also carried a GPS data logger that tracked their spatial movements over time. Results: Participants completed 80.1% of possible EMA surveys. Using the GPS data, we calculated daily number of exposures to (i.e., within 100-m of) marijuana retail outlets (mean = 3.9 times per day; SD = 4.4) and time spent per day in high poverty census tracts (mean = 7.3 h per day in high poverty census tracts; SD = 5.1). Conclusions: GEMA may be a promising approach for studying the role spatio-temporal factors play in marijuana use and related factors.
Keywords
Geographic Ecological Momentary Assessment; Spatio-temporal Factors; Marijuana; Young Adults; Geographic Information System; Poverty; Substance Use; Alcohol; Tracking
Moudon, Anne Vernez; Sohn, D. W.; Kavage, Sarah E.; Mabry, Jean E. (2011). Transportation-Efficient Land Use Mapping Index (TELUMI), a Tool to Assess Multimodal Transportation Options in Metropolitan Regions. International Journal Of Sustainable Transportation, 5(2), 111 – 133.
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Abstract
The Transportation-Efficient Land Use Mapping Index (TELUMI) is a tool to visualize and to quantify micro-level metropolitan land use and development patterns as they affect travel demand. It can assist transportation and urban planning authorities in identifying zones where land use supports multimodal travel and in determining a region's transportation system efficiency. An application of the TELUMI in the Seattle region showed that residential units and employment concentrated in transportation-efficient areas covering less than 20 percent of the region. An interactive, multi-scaled tool, the TELUMI can also support scenario building to simulate land use changes that improve transportation system performance.
Keywords
Urban; Geographic Information Systems; Land Use; Mapping Index; Metropolitan; Multimodal Travel; Transportation Efficiency
Aggarwal, Anju; Cook, Andrea J.; Jiao, Junfeng; Seguin, Rebecca A.; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Drewnowski, Adam. (2014). Access to Supermarkets and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. American Journal Of Public Health, 104(5), 917 – 923.
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Abstract
Objectives. We examined whether supermarket choice, conceptualized as a proxy for underlying personal factors, would better predict access to supermarkets and fruit and vegetable consumption than mere physical proximity. Methods. The Seattle Obesity Study geocoded respondents' home addresses and locations of their primary supermarkets. Primary supermarkets were stratified into low, medium, and high cost according to the market basket cost of 100 foods. Data on fruit and vegetable consumption were obtained during telephone surveys. Linear regressions examined associations between physical proximity to primary supermarkets, supermarket choice, and fruit and vegetable consumption. Descriptive analyses examined whether supermarket choice outweighed physical proximity among lower-income and vulnerable groups. Results. Only one third of the respondents shopped at their nearest supermarket for their primary food supply. Those who shopped at low-cost supermarkets were more likely to travel beyond their nearest supermarket. Fruit and vegetable consumption was not associated with physical distance but, with supermarket choice, after adjusting for covariates. Conclusions. Mere physical distance may not be the most salient variable to reflect access to supermarkets, particularly among those who shop by car. Studies on food environments need to focus beyond neighborhood geographic boundaries to capture actual food shopping behaviors.
Keywords
Confidence Intervals; Correlation (statistics); Fruit; Geographic Information Systems; Ingestion; Multivariate Analysis; Population Geography; Questionnaires; Regression Analysis; Research Funding; Sales Personnel; Shopping; Travel; Vegetables; Predictive Validity; Cross-sectional Method; Statistical Models; Descriptive Statistics; Null Hypothesis; Washington (state); Local Food Environment; Diet Quality; Socioeconomic Position; Atherosclerosis Risk; Stores; Associations; Obesity; Adults; Availability; Communities