research report

Do Compact, Accessible, and Walkable Communities Promote Gender Equality?

Publication Date

March 1, 2018

Associated Project

Do Compact, Accessible, and Walkable Communities Promote Gender Equality?

Author(s)

Doug Houston, Wan-Tzu (Ashley) Lo

Areas of Expertise

Safety, Public Health, & Mobility Justice Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

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Abstract

Directing growth towards denser communities with mixed-use, accessible, and walkable neighborhood design has become an important strategy for promoting sustainability, but few studies have examined whether compact development strategies could help reduce within-household gender disparities in spatial behavior by increasing accessibility. We analyze spatial behavior of heterosexual married couples in Southern California based on the 2012 California Household Travel Survey and find that households living in areas with greater regional accessibility and neighborhood walkability have smaller, more centered, and more compact activity spaces overall compared to households in less compact areas, and that married pairs living in more accessible areas have greater equality in the size and centeredness of their activity spaces. Results support our hypothesis that compact development provides married couples greater flexibility in how they divide household out-of-home activities by making destinations more convenient. Future research and planning efforts should carefully consider which aspects of compact, accessible development are most effective for a given local context.

Suggested Citation

Douglas Houston and Ashley (Wan-Tzu) Lo (2018) Do Compact, Accessible, and Walkable Communities Promote Gender Equality?. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0qk38919 (Accessed: October 11, 2023).

Related Publications

policy brief | Jun 2019

Compact, Accessible, and Walkable Communities Help Support Gender Equality

published journal article

Probabilistic models of freeway safety performance using traffic flow data as predictors

Safety Science

Publication Date

November 1, 2008

Author(s)

Thomas Golob, Will Recker, Yannis Pavlis

View published journal article

Abstract

In this paper the authors lay the groundwork for gauging the level of safety of any type of traffic flow on a freeway, based on data from single loop detectors; the procedure can be implemented wherever such data are monitored or simulated. The analyses are based on loop detector data for each of the freeway lanes for a short period of time preceding teach of over 1,700 accidents in the author’s case study. This case study covers the six major freeways in Orange County, California, for a six-month period in 2001. Recognizing that loop detector data at a specific time and place cannot be converted to speed, because it is not possible to know effective vehicle length at such a detailed level (that is, the mix of long and short vehicles is unknown at a specific place for a short period of time), the authors avoid using any direct speed or density measures among the parameters. Rather, the authors employ explanatory parameters that include not only central tendencies (means and medians), but variations, and measures of systematic and synchronized traits that capture patterns in short period of loop detector data. Such patterns include breakdown from free flow to congested operations or recovery back to free flow, and differences in traffic conditions across lanes. In the analysis, the authors uncover an extensive set of statistical parameters that capture those aspects of traffic flow that are strongly related to accident potential. The authors demonstrate that the parameters can account for speed and density, even though these are not used directly. Moreover, the parameters account for important differences among the types of accidents that occur under different types of traffic flow.

Suggested Citation

Thomas F. Golob, Will Recker and Yannis Pavlis (2008) “Probabilistic models of freeway safety performance using traffic flow data as predictors”, Safety Science, 46(9), pp. 1306–1333. Available at: 10.1016/j.ssci.2007.08.007.

published journal article

Particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in transportation microenvironments

Atmospheric Environment

Publication Date

June 1, 2013

Author(s)

Doug Houston, Jun Wu, Dongwoo Yang, Guillermo Jaimes

View published journal article

Suggested Citation

Douglas Houston, Jun Wu, Dongwoo Yang and Guillermo Jaimes (2013) “Particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in transportation microenvironments”, Atmospheric Environment, 71, pp. 148–157. Available at: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2013.02.002.

published journal article

Overseeing Infill: How State Agencies Can More Effectively Monitor Local Land Use Administration

Journal of the American Planning Association

Publication Date

July 2, 2024

Author(s)

Nicholas Marantz, Christopher S. Elmendorf, Youjin Kim

View published journal article

Abstract

Several U.S. states with high housing costs have recently adopted laws intended to promote infill development. These new laws expand state agencies’ supervisory responsibilities to ensure that local governments comply with state mandates. Effective administration of these laws will require state agencies to accurately estimate the amount of new housing that might be created and to target review to the jurisdictions that are failing to meet the relevant requirements. Here we present quantitative tools both for prioritizing review of local plans and zoning ordinances and for estimating future housing development. We applied the tools to the implementation of California laws requiring local governments to amend their zoning ordinances to allow accessory dwelling units on parcels zoned for detached single-family housing development. We provide computer code, written in the open-source statistical computing language R, that implements these tools. Although we present off-the-shelf tools, our proposed tools should supplement other regulatory techniques rather than serving as a substitute. Requirements for local governments to allow infill development should be accompanied by mandates for data collection. With good data, state agencies can use open-source statistical software to create quantitative measures that can help estimate future housing production and set priorities for reviewing local plans and zoning ordinances.

Suggested Citation

Nicholas J. Marantz, Christopher S. Elmendorf and Youjin B. Kim (2024) “Overseeing Infill: How State Agencies Can More Effectively Monitor Local Land Use Administration”, Journal of the American Planning Association, 90(3), pp. 421–433. Available at: 10.1080/01944363.2023.2255580.

Phd Dissertation

Transportation experiences of suburban older adults: Implications of the loss of driver's license for psychological well-being, health, and mobility

Publication Date

June 30, 1997

Associated Project

UCTC Fellowships (ISTEA)

Author(s)

Beverly Sandeen

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

View Phd Dissertation

Abstract

The number of elderly adults in the United States is growing, and, by the year 2030, it is estimated that 21 percent of the population will be aged 65 and over. Along with the transformation in age structure, the United States has also become suburbanized. Suburbs generally offer few transportation alternatives to the private automobile, and, if older adults age in place, they may face difficulty accessing resources when they stop driving. This study utilized three theoretical perspectives–transitional processes, person-environment fit, and stress and coping–to guide the development of a model for examining how loss of the driver’s license negatively affects psychological well-being, health, and mobility. Sixty-four drivers and sixteen former drivers were interviewed by telephone or in person. Interviews assessed transportation history, well-being, coping strategies, health background, and demographic information. Participants also were asked to draw cognitive maps of their weekly travels, and they completed two questionnaires concerning life stress and driving self-efficacy. Drivers were placed into two groups based on driving patterns and behaviors: modified drivers, who had made substantial changes in their driving patterns (e.g., not driving at night), and regular drivers, who had not made changes in their driving patterns. Results indicate that former drivers have significantly lower levels of well-being than do regular drivers, controlling for age, education level, and number of ailments. Supportive housing was associated with higher levels of life satisfaction for modified and regular drivers but lower life satisfaction for former drivers. Former drivers who had no prior transit experience had much lower life satisfaction than did any other group. While these findings are correlational in nature, they suggest that loss of the license may affect well-being and that some environmental and personal resources may moderate this relationship. Additional research should be conducted to inform policymakers and planners about how older adults living in suburbs may be constrained and adversely affected by the loss of access to the private automobile. Meeting the needs of older adults through transportation and telecommunication technology should also be examined.

Suggested Citation

Beverly Ann Sandeen (1997) Transportation experiences of suburban older adults: Implications of the loss of driver's license for psychological well-being, health, and mobility. PhD Dissertation. UC Irvine. Available at: https://uci.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CDL_IRV_INST/u4evf/cdi_bjzhongke_primary_AAI9727181.

Related Publications

Phd Dissertation | Jun 1993

Commuting behavior of two-worker households in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

Phd Dissertation | Jun 1995

Citizens near the path of least resistance: Travel behavior of Century Freeway corridor residents

Phd Dissertation | Jun 1995

A microsimulation model for evaluating the environmental impact of alternative-fuel vehicles

Phd Dissertation | Jun 1993

An interactive simulation approach to systematically evaluate the impacts of real-time traffic condition information on driver behavioral choice

Phd Dissertation | Jun 1996

An Activity-Based Approach to Accessibility

Phd Dissertation | Jan 1996

An Empirical Study of Alternative Fuel Vehicle Choice by Commercial Fleets: Lessons in Transportation Choices, and Public Agencies' Organization

published journal article

Introduction to the special issue on the airline industry

International Journal of Industrial Organization

Publication Date

January 1, 2019

Author(s)

Jan Brueckner, Anming Zhang

View published journal article

Suggested Citation

Jan K. Brueckner and Anming Zhang (2019) “Introduction to the special issue on the airline industry”, International Journal of Industrial Organization, 62, pp. 1–3. Available at: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2018.08.010.

conference paper

Multiple-classifier systems for truck body classification at WIM sites with inductive signature data

Proceedings of the 94th annual meeting of the transportation research board

Publication Date

January 1, 2015

Author(s)

Sarah Hernandez, Andre (Yeow Chern) Tok, Stephen Ritchie

Abstract

Transportation agencies tasked with forecasting freight movements, creating and evaluating policy to mitigate transportation impacts on infrastructure and air quality, and furnishing the data necessary for performance driven investment depend on quality, detailed, and ubiquitous vehicle data. Unfortunately, commercial vehicle data is either missing or expensive to obtain from current data resources. Leveraging existing infrastructure, Hernandez et al. (8) developed a novel, readily implementable approach of integrating two exceptionally complementary data collection devices, Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) systems and advanced inductive loop detectors (ILD), to produce high resolution truck data. For each vehicle traversing a WIM site, an inductive signature was collected along with WIM measurements such as axle spacing and weight. As a case study, the researchers derived truck body configuration from this combined data source. Since body configuration can be linked to commodity carried, drive and duty cycle, and other distinct operating characteristics, body class data is undeniably useful for freight planning and air quality monitoring. Several significant improvements to the body classification model are made in this paper. First, a multiple classifier systems (MCS) method was adopted to increase the classification accuracy for minority body classes. Second, the model was expanded to all truck classes in the axle-based FHWA classification scheme. In all, eight separate body classifications models were developed from an extensive data set of 18,967 truck records distinguishing an unprecedented total of 23 single unit truck and 31 single and semi-trailer body configurations, each with over 80% correct classification rates (CCR). Remarkably, the body class model for five axle semi-tractor trailers â?? the most diverse truck category â??achieves CCRs above 85% for several industry specific classes including refrigerated and non-refrigerated intermodal containers, livestock, and logging trailers.

Suggested Citation

Sarah Hernandez, Andre Tok and Stephen G. Ritchie (2015) “Multiple-classifier systems for truck body classification at WIM sites with inductive signature data”, in Proceedings of the 94th annual meeting of the transportation research board, p. 21p.

published journal article

Network-based real option models

Transportation Research Part B: Methodological

Publication Date

May 1, 2011

Associated Project

Large Scale Real Options Models for Network Investment Planning & Operational Risk Hedging

Author(s)

Joseph Chow, Amelia Regan

Areas of Expertise

Freight, Logistics, & Supply Chain

View published journal article

Abstract

Building on earlier work to incorporate real option methodologies into network modeling, two models are proposed. The first is the network option design problem, which maximizes the expanded net present value of a network investment as a function of network design variables with the option to defer the committed design investment. The problem is shown to be a generalized version of the network design problem and the multi-period network design problem. A heuristic based on radial basis functions is used to solve the problem for continuous link expansion with congestion effects. The second model is a link investment deferral option set, which decomposes the network investment deferral option into individual, interacting link or project investments. This model is a project selection problem under uncertainty, where each link or project can be deferred such that the expanded net present value is maximized. The option is defined in such a way that a lower bound can be solved using an exact method based on multi-option least squares Monte Carlo simulation. Numerical tests are conducted with the classical Sioux Falls network and compared to earlier published results.

Suggested Citation

Joseph Y.J. Chow and Amelia C. Regan (2011) “Network-based real option models”, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 45(4), pp. 682–695. Available at: 10.1016/j.trb.2010.11.005.

Related Publications

Phd Dissertation | Jan 2010

Flexible management of transportation networks under uncertainty

working paper

New Highways, Urban Development, and Induced Travel

Publication Date

September 1, 2000

Author(s)

Marlon Boarnet, Saksith (Tan) Chalermpong

Working Paper

UCI-ITS-WP-00-4

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

View working paper

Abstract

We examine the link between highways and urban development by employing both hedonic analysis and multiple sales techniques to study the impact of the construction of toll roads in Orange County, California, on house prices. Urban economic theory predicts that if highways improve accessibility, that accessibility premium will be reflected in higher land princes.Our empirical analyses of house sales prices provide strong evidence that the toll roads, the Foothill Transportation Corridor Backbone in particular, created an accessibility premium; home buyers are willing to pay for the increased access that the new roads provide. Such willingness to pay influences both development patterns and, potentially, induced travel (the association between increases in highway capacity and increases in vehicle miles of travel). The results are consistent with the idea that induced travel is caused, in part, by changes in urban development patterns that are linked to increases in highway capacity.

Suggested Citation

Marlon G. Boarnet and Saksith Chalermpong (2000) New Highways, Urban Development, and Induced Travel. Working Paper UCI-ITS-WP-00-4. Institute of Transportation Studies, Irvine. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3t18n41x.

published journal article

Multinomial Logit Specification Tests

International Economic Review

Publication Date

October 1, 1985

Author(s)

Kenneth Small, Cheng Hsiao

View published journal article

Suggested Citation

Kenneth A. Small and Cheng Hsiao (1985) “Multinomial Logit Specification Tests”, International Economic Review, 26(3), p. 619. Available at: 10.2307/2526707.