Download or read book Understanding the Accessibility Economic and Social Equity Impacts of Urban Greenway Infrastructure written by Jenny H. Liu and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “City Greenways” is a concept proposed as a part of Portland’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan, which calls for a citywide network of park-like pedestrian and bicycle friendly streets crisscrossing the city at roughly three-mile intervals. This research establishes several approaches to measure the transportation network impact of the “City Greenways” and relate bicycle network measures to economic and social equity outcomes. Expanding upon existing literature, we derived three sets of bicycle accessibility measures (BAMs). They are distance-based BAM, destination-based BAM, and low-stress network-based BAM, which incorporate different components of a comprehensive bicycle network. The distance-based BAM measures accessibility of the active transportation infrastructure via a proximity measurement; the destination-based BAM measures the ease of access to the closest five important employment, retail, service and parks/recreation destinations; and the low-stress network-based BAM measures the comfort levels and willingness to use active transportation modes as a travel option, incorporating bicycle level of stress factors to determine the overall accessibility of the urban greenway network. The three sets of defined BAMs were applied to Portland’s current (2016) and proposed 2035 scenarios. We found that after the implementation of Portland’s “City Greenway” network, all three sets of BAMs showed improvements in accessibility compared to the existing network, although at varying degrees. The improved urban greenway network not only decreased the travel costs of active transportation due to well-connected network and higher comfort and safety levels of cycling, it would also provide increased accessibility to important destinations at lower stress levels within the same distances. Next, we explored the relationship between the bicycle accessibility levels of the urban greenway network and economic indicators. We found positive correlations between two BAMs (distance-based BAM and low-stress network-based BAM) with the number of jobs that are located in each census block. The low-stress network based proximity BAM appears to be the more preferred measure, due to the statistically significant correlations that we found. In addition, the hedonic price model indicated that higher BAM scores were associated with higher property values, particularly for multi-family homes. In general, better BAMs were associated with higher levels of economic activities. The spatial equity analysis examined the how bicycle accessibility is distributed across the metropolitan area and amongst identified historically marginalized communities (including communities with higher populations of people of color, low-income, limited English proficiency, older adults and younger persons), and how the proposed 2035 City Greenways plan might impact these communities differently. We found that the 2035 City Greenways plan, as measured through BAM slightly favor the disadvantaged population. While the distance-based BAM showed significant improvements in accessibility for many of the transportation-disadvantaged communities, the low-stress network-based BAMs showed tempered improvement in these communities. These results indicated that while residents might be better able to access the urban greenway network as more bicycle infrastructure was built, it did not necessarily translate into better access to important destinations without complementary economic development and land use policies expansion along the transportation infrastructure. It also underscores the importance of complementary economic development and land use policies that expand the spatial distribution of important destinations while investing in urban greenway infrastructure or other transportation network improvements.
Download or read book Accessibility Equity and Efficiency written by Karst T. Geurs and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2016-02-26 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading researchers from around the world show, in this volume, the importance of accessibility in contemporary issues such as rural depopulation, investments in public services and public transport, and transport infrastructure investments in Europe. The trade-offs between accessibility, economic development and equity are comprehensively examined, and a variety of approaches to measuring accessibility and equality presented. The book’s interdisciplinary contributions also provide different geographical contexts, from the US to various European and developing countries, and cover ex ante and ex post evaluation of transport investment. Improving transport accessibility is a main objective in transport policy and planning in developed and developing countries all over the world. Investment is motivated by the need to develop and/or reduce spatial or social inequalities. However, the economic and equity implications of investments in transport are not straightforward. The concepts of accessibility and equity can be defined and operationalized in many different ways, influencing outcomes and conclusions. Moreover, equity and efficiency goals are often conflicting. Accessibility models not only help to explain spatial and transport patterns in developed and developing countries but are also powerful tools to explain the equity and efficiency impacts of urban and transport policies and projects. This state-of-the-art overview of the accessibility–economic efficiency–equity relationship will appeal to researchers as well as transport and urban planners interested in accessibility issues and transport/regional developments.
Download or read book A Companion to Transport Space and Equity written by Robin Hickman and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With social inequity in urban spaces becoming an increasing concern in our modern world, A Companion to Transport, Space and Equity explores the relationships between transport and social equity. Transport systems and infrastructure investment can lead to inequitable travel behaviours, with certain socio-demographic groups using particular parts of the transport system and accessing particular activities and opportunities. Employing international case studies to scrutinise the spatial and social equity impacts of transport systems and infrastructure, the contributors bring together wide-ranging empirical research to fill in the lacunae on social equity. This nuanced and comprehensive Companion examines transport investments, and related changes in accessibility, urban form and development, house prices and gentrification to better understand the complex relationships between transport and social equity. Drawing together competing perspectives, this book highlights the range and dimensions of the debate, the complexity and tensions, and the progression of the argument over time. Provocative and comprehensive, this book will serve as an impressive guide for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as offering a detailed reference point for researchers and academics working on urban social equity. Consultants and policy makers overseeing transport infrastructure, city planning and wider public policy will also benefit from this book's rigorous empirical approach to transport impacts.
Download or read book Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change written by Melissa R. Marselle and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book identifies and discusses biodiversity’s contribution to physical, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the book identifies the implications of this relationship for nature conservation, public health, landscape architecture and urban planning – and considers the opportunities of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. This transdisciplinary book will attract a wide audience interested in biodiversity, ecology, resource management, public health, psychology, urban planning, and landscape architecture. The emphasis is on multiple human health benefits from biodiversity - in particular with respect to the increasing challenge of climate change. This makes the book unique to other books that focus either on biodiversity and physical health or natural environments and mental wellbeing. The book is written as a definitive ‘go-to’ book for those who are new to the field of biodiversity and health.
Download or read book Incorporating Issues of Social Justice and Equity Into Transportation Planning and Policy written by Kevin Manaugh and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "For most of the 20th century transportation planning goals were almost entirely mobility-based; transportation systems were primarily seen as a means to efficiently, safely, and quickly connect people and freight to desired destinations. However, as the century progressed, cultural, societal and ecological movements had major impacts on how planners perceive transportation networks and public transit more specifically. Several overlapping concerns have altered the role that planners and policy-makers see for transportation and land use planning. Environmental degradation, air pollution, traffic congestion, an unsure energy future, and global climate change, for example, have drastically redefined priorities for planners and policy-makers. These concerns have led to an increasing interest in public transit and active transportation -- walking and cycling -- as potential solutions to many environmental problems. Concurrent to these shifts, concerns of social equity and environmental justice have also entered the transportation planning framework. However, while transportation planning goals have shifted in recent decades to encompass social justice and environmental goals, many of these aims do not have clear indicators or accepted ways of measuring progress. In addition, while these diverse values and ideals do often underlie policy, they can have contradictory influence on transportation planning decisions. Transportation benefits include, what might be termed "tangible" or easily measured outcomes, however, many goals that address issues of social equity have "intangible" outcomes. Not only are the former easier to measure and to present to the public, but they often have more political capital than more socially progressive goals. While a rich body of research has explored these issues, most current planning documents do not make explicit that these conflicts of value exist. The concern from an equity planning standpoint is that very real and important environmental concerns will lead away from the other important roles that transportation systems can play in providing equitable outcomes. In light of these concerns, this dissertation sets out to address four research questions: How do municipalities and transit agencies balance economic, social, and environmental goals and objectives in transportation plans? How do these decisions affect outcomes, particularly with regards to social equity? How can current methods of measuring and understanding active transportation and neighbourhood walkability be improved to better capture these wide ranging objectives? How can these findings be used to improve decision-making in the future? This dissertation highlights the importance of adopting a multi-dimensional and mixed methods approach to examining complex urban issues and processes, and contributes to knowledge in three ways: Identifies a set of indicators that capture elements of social equity in transportation planning and decision-making; Develops methodologies to measure outcomes of transportation infrastructure using accessibility measures that focus on the desired destinations of residents; and Deepens the understanding of how people and households of different socio-economic status "respond" to measures of local and regional accessibility. While most -- if not all -- studies do "control for" socio-economic factors, my work makes these factors the primary focus.In doing so, this research brings awareness of important transportation-related social equity goals and increases the role that these goals may play in decision-making processes." --
Download or read book Global Age friendly Cities written by World Health Organization and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2007 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The guide is aimed primarily at urban planners, but older citizens can use it to monitor progress towards more age-friendly cities. At its heart is a checklist of age-friendly features. For example, an age-friendly city has sufficient public benches that are well-situated, well-maintained and safe, as well as sufficient public toilets that are clean, secure, accessible by people with disabilities and well-indicated. Other key features of an age-friendly city include: well-maintained and well-lit sidewalks; public buildings that are fully accessible to people with disabilities; city bus drivers who wait until older people are seated before starting off and priority seating on buses; enough reserved parking spots for people with disabilities; housing integrated in the community that accommodates changing needs and abilities as people grow older; friendly, personalized service and information instead of automated answering services; easy-to-read written information in plain language; public and commercial services and stores in neighbourhoods close to where people live, rather than concentrated outside the city; and a civic culture that respects and includes older persons.
Download or read book Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences written by Michele Ver Ploeg and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-02 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 directed the U.S. Dept. of Agr. to conduct a 1-year study to assess the extent of areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, identify characteristics and causes of such areas, consider how limited access affects local populations, and outline recommend. to address the problem. This report presents the findings of the study, which include results from two conferences of national and internat. authorities on food deserts and a set of research studies. It also includes reviews of existing literature, a national-level assessment of access to large grocery stores and supermarkets, analysis of the economic and public health effects of limited access, and a discussion of existing policy interventions. Illus.
Download or read book Just Green Enough written by Winifred Curran and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-12 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While global urban development increasingly takes on the mantle of sustainability and "green urbanism," both the ecological and equity impacts of these developments are often overlooked. One result is what has been called environmental gentrification, a process in which environmental improvements lead to increased property values and the displacement of long-term residents. The specter of environmental gentrification is now at the forefront of urban debates about how to accomplish environmental improvements without massive displacement. In this context, the editors of this volume identified a strategy called "just green enough" based on field work in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, that uncouples environmental cleanup from high-end residential and commercial development. A "just green enough" strategy focuses explicitly on social justice and environmental goals as defined by local communities, those people who have been most negatively affected by environmental disamenities, with the goal of keeping them in place to enjoy any environmental improvements. It is not about short-changing communities, but about challenging the veneer of green that accompanies many projects with questionable ecological and social justice impacts, and looking for alternative, sometimes surprising, forms of greening such as creating green spaces and ecological regeneration within protected industrial zones. Just Green Enough is a theoretically rigorous, practical, global, and accessible volume exploring, through varied case studies, the complexities of environmental improvement in an era of gentrification as global urban policy. It is ideal for use as a textbook at both undergraduate and graduate levels in urban planning, urban studies, urban geography, and sustainability programs.
Download or read book Climate Change and Cities written by Cynthia Rosenzweig and published by . This book was released on 2018-03-29 with total page 855 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate Change and Cities bridges science-to-action for climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts in cities around the world.
Download or read book Road Infrastructure Inclusive Development and Traffic Safety in Korea written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2016-04-22 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report combines empirical research on the relationship between road infrastructure, inclusive economic development and traffic safety with an assessment of policies and governance structures to help governments find ways to create effective, safe and inclusive transport infrastructures.
Download or read book Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018 2030 written by World Health Organization and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2019-01-21 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regular physical activity is proven to help prevent and treat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease stroke diabetes and breast and colon cancer. It also helps to prevent hypertension overweight and obesity and can improve mental health quality of life and well-being. In addition to the multiple health benefits of physical activity societies that are more active can generate additional returns on investment including a reduced use of fossil fuels cleaner air and less congested safer roads. These outcomes are interconnected with achieving the shared goals political priorities and ambition of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. The new WHO global action plan to promote physical activity responds to the requests by countries for updated guidance and a framework of effective and feasible policy actions to increase physical activity at all levels. It also responds to requests for global leadership and stronger regional and national coordination and the need for a whole-of-society response to achieve a paradigm shift in both supporting and valuing all people being regularly active according to ability and across the life course. The action plan was developed through a worldwide consultation process involving governments and key stakeholders across multiple sectors including health sports transport urban design civil society academia and the private sector.
Download or read book Beyond Mobility written by Robert Cervero and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2017-12-05 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Beyond Mobility" also seeks to rethink how projects are planned and designed in cities and suburbs at multiple geographic scales, from micro-designs such as parklets to corridors and city-regions. The book closes with a reflection on the opportunities and challenges in moving beyond mobility, with attention to emerging technologies such as self-driving cars and ride-hailing services and social equity topics such as accessibility, livability, and affordability.
Download or read book Towards Green Cities written by Karsten Grunewald and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-08-05 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book aims to capture, describe and convey the current significance, the values and potentials of urban biodiversity and ecosystem services to scientists and professionals in the context of sustainable urban development and ongoing urbanization processes. Current developments, different approaches and future challenges in the competition of green spaces and urban land consumption in China and Germany are elaborated, discussed and illustrated within case studies and good practice examples. The strategic goal is a long-term appreciation of the potentials and increased consideration of urban green spaces in city planning and development. This book provides tangible recommendations for urban planners, politicians and stakeholders in the fields of green infrastructure at the interface of environment and urban landscape.
Download or read book Pathways to Urban Sustainability written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-11-11 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cities have experienced an unprecedented rate of growth in the last decade. More than half the world's population lives in urban areas, with the U.S. percentage at 80 percent. Cities have captured more than 80 percent of the globe's economic activity and offered social mobility and economic prosperity to millions by clustering creative, innovative, and educated individuals and organizations. Clustering populations, however, can compound both positive and negative conditions, with many modern urban areas experiencing growing inequality, debility, and environmental degradation. The spread and continued growth of urban areas presents a number of concerns for a sustainable future, particularly if cities cannot adequately address the rise of poverty, hunger, resource consumption, and biodiversity loss in their borders. Intended as a comparative illustration of the types of urban sustainability pathways and subsequent lessons learned existing in urban areas, this study examines specific examples that cut across geographies and scales and that feature a range of urban sustainability challenges and opportunities for collaborative learning across metropolitan regions. It focuses on nine cities across the United States and Canada (Los Angeles, CA, New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Grand Rapids, MI, Flint, MI, Cedar Rapids, IA, Chattanooga, TN, and Vancouver, Canada), chosen to represent a variety of metropolitan regions, with consideration given to city size, proximity to coastal and other waterways, susceptibility to hazards, primary industry, and several other factors.
Download or read book The Green City and Social Injustice written by Isabelle Anguelovski and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-11-29 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Green City and Social Injustice examines the recent urban environmental trajectory of 21 cities in Europe and North America over a 20-year period. It analyses the circumstances under which greening interventions can create a new set of inequalities for socially vulnerable residents while also failing to eliminate other environmental risks and impacts. Based on fieldwork in ten countries and on the analysis of core planning, policy and activist documents and data, the book offers a critical view of the growing green planning orthodoxy in the Global North. It highlights the entanglements of this tenet with neoliberal municipal policies including budget cuts for community initiatives, long-term green spaces and housing for the most fragile residents; and the focus on large-scale urban redevelopment and high-end real estate investment. It also discusses hopeful experiences from cities where urban greening has long been accompanied by social equity policies or managed by community groups organizing around environmental justice goals and strategies. The book examines how displacement and gentrification in the context of greening are not only physical but also socio-cultural, creating new forms of social erasure and trauma for vulnerable residents. Its breadth and diversity allow students, scholars and researchers to debunk the often-depoliticized branding and selling of green cities and reinsert core equity and justice issues into green city planning—a much-needed perspective. Building from this critical view, the book also shows how cities that prioritize equity in green access, in secure housing and in bold social policies can achieve both environmental and social gains for all.
Download or read book Sustainable Urban Transport written by Maria Attard and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2015-05-14 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication brings together an international group of researchers and presents work from different countries dealing with issues related to transport policy, attitudes and mode choice, car sharing and alternative modes of transport, and discusses the future of non-motorized modes of transport.
Download or read book Intersections written by Kathleen McCormick and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on worldwide public health data, this report lays out the premise for building healthy places and illuminates the role of the real estate and development community in addressing public health issues. This is an essential resource for public officials, real estate developers, engineers, consultants, and students of urban planning.
