Researchers use measures of street connectivity to assess neighborhood walkability, and many studies show a relationship between neighborhood design and walking activity. Yet, the core connectivity measures are based on constructs... more
Researchers use measures of street connectivity to assess neighborhood walkability, and many studies show a relationship between neighborhood design and walking activity. Yet, the core connectivity measures are based on constructs designed for analyzing automobile mobility – the street network – not pedestrian movement. This article examines the effect of a finer-grained characterization of street connectivity and illustrates the idea using parent ratings of street and intersection walkability for children throughout a suburban school district in Oregon. Several policy and practice recommendations are presented, including a discussion that extends Michael Southworth’s foundational representation of streets and the walkable city using a refined, more pedestrian-centered approach to visualizing connectivity and walkable urban form.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The relationship between urban form and pedestrian mobility is an area of increasing policy interest within the planning, transportation, environmental, and public health fields. Many municipalities are seeking to adopt variations of... more
The relationship between urban form and pedestrian mobility is an area of increasing policy interest within the planning, transportation, environmental, and public health fields. Many municipalities are seeking to adopt variations of smart growth principles that seek, in part, to increase pedestrian choice in an urban environment. This paper explores how the path network around key urban destinations can be visually and quantitatively analyzed to provide useful planning and evaluation tools for these pedestrian-oriented environments. Neighborhood environments surrounding transit stops and schools are used as examples of how to visualize and quantify local walkable environments. Three key techniques based on geographic information system (GIS) are presented: street network classification, pedestrian catchment areas, and intersection intensities. Although such measures have been used elsewhere to some extent, this paper includes the idea of impedance, a method to help distinguish between automobile-oriented and pedestrian-oriented areas. A series of GIS-based qualitative visualization and quantitative analyses are presented, as are some basic steps on conducting the analyses within a GIS environment. A discussion of key data sources, including TIGER (topologically integrated geographic encoding and referencing) street data and new pedestrian audit instruments, are also presented as different ways to assess local walkability.
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School siting and student transportation decisions have received increased attention over the last few years due to the rise in childhood obesity and the search for ways to stem this epidemic. This article analyzes the influ-ence of the... more
School siting and student transportation decisions have received increased attention over the last few years due to the rise in childhood obesity and the search for ways to stem this epidemic. This article analyzes the influ-ence of the built environment on middle school ...
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1. Planners should conduct a simple block-by-block survey of parked cars and parking spaces on local suburban streets. 2. Older neighborhoods often need on-streetparking, but local streets in neighborhoods built after 1950 are likely to... more
1. Planners should conduct a simple block-by-block survey of parked cars and parking spaces on local suburban streets.
2. Older neighborhoods often need on-streetparking, but local streets in neighborhoods built after 1950 are likely to have an excess of on-street parking spaces.
3. Unused parking is wasted space. Narrow streets can save money on construction and maintenance for housing developers and city public works departments. In addition, the land that would have otherwise gone to parking can be sold by developers to generate municipal tax income.
4. Much like cities have begun to rethink parking in dense urban areas via parklets, there may be creative reuse opportunities for underutilized suburban residential parking strips. Neighborhoods should be given permission to be creative and to repurpose some of the public space on their streets for gardens, games, murals,
or storm water catchment.
5. Local street standards should be revised to reduce required right-of-way and curb-to-curb width standards for local streets, such that unnecessary parking lanes can be eliminated before they are built.
2. Older neighborhoods often need on-streetparking, but local streets in neighborhoods built after 1950 are likely to have an excess of on-street parking spaces.
3. Unused parking is wasted space. Narrow streets can save money on construction and maintenance for housing developers and city public works departments. In addition, the land that would have otherwise gone to parking can be sold by developers to generate municipal tax income.
4. Much like cities have begun to rethink parking in dense urban areas via parklets, there may be creative reuse opportunities for underutilized suburban residential parking strips. Neighborhoods should be given permission to be creative and to repurpose some of the public space on their streets for gardens, games, murals,
or storm water catchment.
5. Local street standards should be revised to reduce required right-of-way and curb-to-curb width standards for local streets, such that unnecessary parking lanes can be eliminated before they are built.
Research Interests:
PPGIS is often presented and promoted as a more people-centered GIS compared to a traditional technocratic, expert- driven tool or methodology. Yet, the umbrella of PPGIS is quite broad. Within such a wide context, it may be helpful for... more
PPGIS is often presented and promoted as a more people-centered GIS compared to a traditional technocratic, expert-
driven tool or methodology. Yet, the umbrella of PPGIS is quite broad. Within such a wide context, it may be helpful for
practitioners and scholars of PPGIS to better understand exactly what PPGIS is. Or, in other words, having a clearer conception
of what “public” and “participation” are, and how they relate to expected outcomes and outputs within a GIS context, is
very important as the ideas and ideals of PPGIS continue to gain momentum. Understanding the variations in the types of
“public,” cross-referencing them against the distinctions in “participation” and linking the intersection of types of “public” and
“participation” to expected GIS outcomes and outputs would greatly enrich the fi eld. Moreover, such delineation would allow
PPGIS practitioners and those considering PPGIS approaches to appreciate the linkages of certain types of participation processes,
specifi c elements of the public, and particular types of expected project results. This paper offers a review of key literature relevant
to public participation and presents potential integrated matrices to guide future PPGIS thought.
driven tool or methodology. Yet, the umbrella of PPGIS is quite broad. Within such a wide context, it may be helpful for
practitioners and scholars of PPGIS to better understand exactly what PPGIS is. Or, in other words, having a clearer conception
of what “public” and “participation” are, and how they relate to expected outcomes and outputs within a GIS context, is
very important as the ideas and ideals of PPGIS continue to gain momentum. Understanding the variations in the types of
“public,” cross-referencing them against the distinctions in “participation” and linking the intersection of types of “public” and
“participation” to expected GIS outcomes and outputs would greatly enrich the fi eld. Moreover, such delineation would allow
PPGIS practitioners and those considering PPGIS approaches to appreciate the linkages of certain types of participation processes,
specifi c elements of the public, and particular types of expected project results. This paper offers a review of key literature relevant
to public participation and presents potential integrated matrices to guide future PPGIS thought.