Meta-Analyses of Built Environment Effects on Travel: No New Platinum Standard

Abstract

This commentary presents a critique of a particular, strictly quantitative way of reviewing research findings within the field of land use and transportation studies, so-called meta-analyses. Beyond criticism raised earlier, the article draws attention to serious bias resulting when meta-analysis include studies encumbered with model specification error due to poor understanding of causal mechanisms. The article also discusses underestimated limitations due to neglect of differences between geographical contexts and inconsistent measurement of variables across studies. An example of an alternative approach is offered at the end of the article.

COVID-19 and urban planning: Built environment, health, and well-being in Greek cities before and during the pandemic

“…These characteristics were selected for their potential contribution to health and well-being during COVID-19, as explained in Section 1 . Distance to city center and neighborhood density are measures relevant to urban density; with distance to city center capturing residential locations in relation to the city center and thus being relevant to overall urban density, while neighborhood density is a measure of local-level density ( Næss, 2019 ). Access to public transport and to local facilities were measured to analyze the role of public transport and local facilities respectively.…”

“…Independent analyses for these two main metropolitan areas of Greece were conducted for comparative purposes since preliminary analyses showed that results differed for the two regions. Built environment variables were included in the models in two steps based on relevant theoretical considerations ( Mouratidis & Poortinga, 2020 ; Næss, 2019 ). The first step includes the variables “distance to city center” and “neighborhood density”, while the second step additionally includes the variables “public transport”, “local facilities”, “park area”, “tree cover”, “apartment”, and “dwelling size” all of which might be influenced by distance to city center and neighborhood density.…”

“…For example, denser urban areas can enable better, more frequent public transport services, easier access to facilities, while they are typically characterized by limited green space (especially in the form of private gardens) and by apartment blocks (and not e.g. detached housing) ( Mouratidis & Poortinga, 2020 ; Næss, 2019 ). Public transport, access to facilities, green space, and housing may contribute to health and well-being via different pathways ( Kent & Thompson, 2014 ; Mouratidis, 2021 ; Pfeiffer & Cloutier, 2016 ) but these pathways or their importance seem to have changed during COVID-19.…”

When local access matters: A detailed analysis of place, neighbourhood amenities and travel choice

“…Obviously, in areas with many local amenities, the variation is greater and a certain category of amenity is more likely to be represented. (2) Previous research shows that the effect of the built environment is often non-linear (Ellde´r, 2018;Ding et al, 2018;Tao et al, 2020;van Wee and Handy, 2016) and varies between contexts (Naess, 2019;Salon, 2015;Voulgaris et al, 2016). Acknowledging this means that the effect of establishing or closing amenities will depend on the other types of amenities present.…”

Vehicle miles traveled and the built environment: New evidence from panel data

“…4 There is also the question of whether this unmet need is furthered by the use of meta-analysis. This method of literature review has important limitations as outlined by Naess (2019). Criticisms specific to Stevens' meta-analysis and his defense are found in Stevens (2017b).…”