Integrating land use and transport practice through spatial metrics

Abstract

Despite the growing development of tools that can integrate land use and transport, the desired integration is still illusive in daily practice. To address this gap, the current study uses spatial metrics, a set of methods traditionally used for studying changes in the spatial structure of landscapes, which are translated into the domain of transport planning. It examines how spatial metrics can be integrated into "Land Use Transport" strategy-making, and how useful they are according to the practitioners' perceptions. A Light Rail Transit corridor in Granada (Spain) provides the empirical focus of this research. Land use characteristics such as: land use mixing, land use diversity and green areas connectivity were successfully studied using spatial metrics, and they were used to map three "Land Use Transport" strategies: (i) proximity dynamics and non-motorised modes; (ii) modal shift from cars to Light Rail Transit system; (iii) shared spaces between motorised and nonmotorised modes. Practitioners perceived that spatial metrics could improve the "Land Use Transport" strategy-making process in comparison with traditional methods used in practice. However, certain shortcomings related to the usability of spatial metrics are also highlighted and discussed. This study concludes with a reflection on research challenges for adapting spatial metrics to transport practice.

A Model for Assessing Pedestrian Corridors. Application to Vitoria-Gasteiz City (Spain)

“…Similar average distances accompanied by different average travel times in the scenarios indicate that the existence of barriers (such as crossings and traffic lights) have important implications in pedestrian mobility. However, pedestrian transit accessibility has also been commonly measured by maximum walkable catchments based on distances [36,[70][71][72][73][74].…”

“…In the literature, there are urban studies that incorporate spatial indicators commonly used in this discipline, for example [33][34][35]. Rotem-Mindali [19] applied least-cost modelling to study retail fragmentation and urban liveability through accessibility measurements, while other authors use spatial metrics to assess the integration of land use and transport or spatial disparities [33,36]. Ortega et al [20] studied the effects of urban fragmentation in pedestrian connectivity using least-cost modelling in a city neighbourhood.…”

Context-Adapted Urban Planning for Rapid Transitioning of Personal Mobility towards Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review

“…This network of authors is coming from five different countries (with the majority from the United Kingdom) and have diverse expertise: planning, geography, environmental science, social science, and transport science. All together, they create a multidiscipline thought collective that focused on topics discussed above: accessibility [188] and "mobility environments"-another way of combining land-use and mobility planning [97], planning for sustainable mobility [111], challenges of interpretation of goals into indicators [189], dialogue processes among stakeholders [190] and, related to that, integration and creation of knowledge [191]. In several articles, the researchers mention the need for behavioural change and policy implementation in order to create a modal shift away from the current dominance of private cars [192].…”

Efficiency Evaluation of Urban Road Transport and Land Use in Hunan Province of China Based on Hybrid Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Models

“…Yang et al [37] employed DEA to obtain land use efficiency from an economic perspective in China. In addition, there are also many qualitative studies on the interaction between land use and road transport [38][39][40]. Zondag [41] even proposed an analytical instrument for the integrated modeling of land use, transport, and economy.…”