The Burdens of Place: A Socio-economic and Ethnic/Racial Exploration into Urban Form, Accessibility and Travel Behaviour in the Lansing Capital Region, Michigan

Abstract

The paper examines the relationship between urban form, socio-economic status, ethnicity, accessibility and pedestrian activity in the Lansing Capital Region, Michigan. This research explores the burdens of urban environments through a study of accessibility and travel behaviour in an urban region characterized by rapid suburbanization and urban decline. Specifically, the study seeks to answer how socio-economic and ethnic status affect accessibility and travel behaviour in urban environments that have traditionally been viewed as promoting walking; built environments characterized by higher densities, mixed land uses and greater connectivity. The research shows that the traditional relationship between higher densities, mixed land uses, higher connectivity, greater accessibility and pedestrian activity is not as strong in declining inner cities.

Urban Built Environments, Accessibility, and Travel Behavior in a Declining Urban Core: The Extreme Conditions of Disinvestment and Suburbanization in the Detroit Region

“…Our findings correspond to existing U.S. research that shows the highest prevalence of obesity among the poor (Morland et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2007). In addition, the Detroit research is also consistent with health studies that have focused specifically on minority populations and the poor in high-density urban neighborhoods, where health outcomes (including higher BMI values) are closely linked to poverty and minority populations, regardless of built environment and design characteristics (Krieger, 2000;Scott et al, 2009;Williams, 2005;Vojnovic et al, 2013). The scale of study and distinguishing by population subgroups thus emerge as critical in linking BMI values with characteristics of the urban built environment.…”

“…However, one should not necessarily expect that this shopping behavior will be replicated in other U.S., or even Michigan cities. In a recent Lansing, Michigan study, Vojnovic and colleagues () showed that lower‐income Lansing respondents relied on convenience stores for over 35% of food shopping trips, over 3.5 times more on average than the Detroit respondents. This emphasizes, again, the need for more neighborhood‐scale access and travel behavior analyses in communities experiencing disinvestment and decline across the United States.…”

“…This combination of factors has followed clear lines of class and racial composition that have created poverty‐stricken enclaves that are ethnically and racially entrenched. Such conditions of decline within cities are seen as facilitating perpetual cycles of disadvantage in shaping the “local burdens of place” (Vojnovic et al., ). Many U.S. cities are characterized by the coupling of extreme urban decline and inefficient suburbanization, including Youngstown and Dayton (Ohio), Buffalo (New York), Flint (Michigan), and others.…”

A method for estimating neighborhood characterization in the association with availability of sit-down restaurants and supermarkets

“…That is, the desire for cultural amenities, entertainment and other facilities in central cities by an in ux of employees and tourists led to the increase in sit-down restaurants in the inner city, as seen in evidence from New York, NY [44], Houston, TX [45], Washington, DC [46], and metropolitan areas [47]. During our study period, U.S. inner cities transitioned from goods production sectors toward relatively place-bound service sector industries [27,33], which includes restaurants [34,35]. Lester et al [35] observed that, in twenty U.S. inner cities between 1990 and 2000, jobs in retail services replaced jobs lost in goods-producing industries.…”

“…Previous studies suggested that sit-down restaurants tend to be located in high density neighborhoods because of walkability and the cozy atmosphere offered by urban environments [29,30]. Owners of sitdown restaurants and supermarkets as basic amenities may be disinclined to locate in Black or poor neighborhoods [30][31][32][33][34] because of uncertainty in investing in such neighborhoods. In addition, highly restrictive land use such as single-family housing may attract tra c or generate noise and high crime rate [35].…”