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International Journal of Environment Science and Technology
Center for Environment and Energy Research and Studies (CEERS)
ISSN: 1735-1472 EISSN: 1735-1472
Vol. 11, No. 8, 2014, pp. 2233-2244
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Bioline Code: st14215
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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International Journal of Environment Science and Technology, Vol. 11, No. 8, 2014, pp. 2233-2244
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Evaluating the dynamic impacts of urban form on transportation and environmental outcomes in US cities
Kashem, S.B.; Irawan, A. & Wilson, B.
Abstract
Previous urban sprawl studies have typically
taken a cross-sectional approach without examining how
sprawling urban areas are performing over time. Longitudinal
studies of individual or household travel behavior and
built-environment preference have made some progress in
this direction, but very few studies have explored the
longitudinal interaction of urban form with transportation
and environmental outcomes. This study begins to fill this
gap by evaluating the transportation and environmental
impact dynamics of several key dimensions of urban
sprawl: density, land use mix, centrality, and street connectivity.
The central hypothesis is that while the built
environment is durable and development patterns change
slowly, the impacts of urban sprawl are dynamic rather
than static and are accelerated in more sprawling cities
relative to less sprawling cities. To test this hypothesis, a
panel dataset of 7 years (2000–2007) was developed for 60
Metropolitan Statistical Areas of the US and a hybrid
modeling framework that incorporates fixed and random
effects is applied to evaluate different transportation and
environmental outcomes over time. We found that the
influence of urban centrality or the strength of urban subcenters
on the travel pattern of commuters and transit users
is dynamic. This suggests that people living in cities with
stronger centers drive less and use public transportation
more over time. For environmental outcomes, we found
that cities with higher density have experienced a significant
decrease in ambient ozone and PM2.5 concentrations
after controlling city-specific variables.
Keywords
Air quality; Congestion; Sprawl; Transit; Urban form
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