Since accessibility is an essential factor in land-use and transport planning, several methods have been developed to evaluate it. Nevertheless, it has seldom been an essential part of performance measures for policy evaluation from the viewpoint of individuals' quality of life (QoL). The objective of this study is to develop an integrated evaluation method of accessibility, QoL, and social interaction which contributes to the evaluation of land-use and transport policies for livable and sustainable urban development. In this paper, based on quantification of the weights of multielements of QoL, we develop a QoL-based accessibility measure and a QoL performance measure to address appropriate policies of land-use transport coordination and integration by disentangling the mismatch between real urban structures and people's demand for QoL. Furthermore, we explore embryonic ideas for the development of a generalised framework of QoL evaluation, incorporating social interactions and institutional design which link the QoL concept with quality of space and quality of procedure.
An implicit assumption underlying government strategies to achieve a more sustainable urban transportation system is that all automobile users will be encouraged or persuaded to use more "green" transportation: public transportation, walking and cycling. Little consideration has been given as to how sustainable transportation policies and programmes might impact on different age groups in society, including those retired or semi-retired, despite the fact that an unprecedented number of older drivers will be on the highways in the next few decades. There is limited literature on the contextual factors behind their continued reliance on automobiles, their actual driving behavior (e.g., route choice and time of day to drive) framed within the context of social sustainability. This paper introduces the elements of transportation and social sustainability then conducts a comprehensive international literature review focusing on older drivers, their travel choices and associated social sustainability issues. It describes a case study, low-density city and presents empirical evidence, from two surveys conducted in Canberra, Australia. The paper concludes with future research directions that address these issues associated with sustainable transportation.
OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 7290
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