Editorial Preface. Transit-Oriented Development in Iran: Challenges and Solutions

Editorial

A Longitudinal Analysis of Densities within the Pedestrian Sheds around Metro Stations. The Case of Tehran

Evaluation of spatial accessibility to public transportation has a weak background in many emerging countries, including Iran. Transit-Oriented Development is of great interest among Iranian planners and academics, but little is known about transit orientation provided by major public transport systems exemplified by the Tehran Metro. Statistical difference tests and polynomial regression done in this study show how residential densities within walking distances of metro stations established at different times after 1998 are significantly different. Both population and employment densities have decreased in more recent stations compared to those opened between 2005 and 2010. Moreover, one-way T-Tests comparing the population and densities of older lines with those of newer lines reveal that, in most cases, densities within walking distances of stations of older lines are higher. The paper concludes that lack of proper site selection and failing to locate new stations near job centers and highly populated areas threatens the transit-friendliness that emerged in the early years after establishing the first metro station in 1998

Earthquake risk in urban street network : an example from region 6 of Tehran, Iran

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Purpose – Zone 6 of Tehran, with a populations of 220,000 people (3.6 per cent of the city population) and 20 km2 area (3 per cent of the city area), is one of the main municipal zones of Tehran. Major land-uses, like ministries, embassies, universities, general hospitals and medical centers, big financial firms, and so on, manifest the high importance of this region on a local and national scale. Thus, it is necessary to pay close attention to issues concerning crisis management in this area. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, by using indexes such as access to medical centers, street inclusion, building and population density, land-use, peak ground acceleration and building quality, vulnerability degree of street networks in zone 6 against the earthquake is calculated through overlaying maps and data in combination with inversion hierarchical weight process method and geographic information systems. Findings – This article concludes that buildings alongside the streets with high population and building density, low building quality, far to rescue centers and high level of inclusion represent high rate of vulnerability, compared with other buildings. Also, by moving from north to south of the zone, the vulnerability increases. Likewise, highways and streets with substantial width and low building and population density hold little values of vulnerability. Thus, streets with high level of inclusion, building and population density present further vulnerability. Originality/value – It is expected that the results of this paper be used by the urban decision-makers. Due to high vulnerability of most parts of the urban textures of Tehran, similar researches will have importance for preparation for the future possible earthquakes

Multimodal accessibility to primary health services for the elderly : a case study of Naples, Italy

Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract

Cyclability in Lahore, Pakistan. Looking into Potential for Greener Urban Traveling

Measuring perceived or objective cyclability or bikeability has drawn less attention compared to walkability, particularly in developing countries like those in South Asia and the Middle East. This paper presents the results of a survey about cyclability in Lahore, Pakistan, focusing on human perceptions rather than the built environment. The overall sample included a total of 379 respondents from three socio-economic classes: those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds accessing traditional/older bazaars, respondents from the middle socio-economic class accessing uptown bazaars, and respondents of higher socio-economic status accessing pedestrian shopping malls. The exploratory data collection was conducted in spring 2018 in Lahore by means of a short standard questionnaire with 19 questions, resulting in 17 categorical/dummy variables, two openended variables, and two continuous variables targeting socio-economics, bike trip characteristics, biking barriers, and preferred travel specifications. The results showed that the middle socio-economic group was more inclined, flexible, and willing to bike compared to the lower and higher socioeconomic- groups. The lower socio-economic group used the bicycle more frequently than the middle socio-economic group. Around half of the middle socio-economic group commutes via bike compared to the lower socio-economic group. There was little to no representation of 55-64 and 65+ age groups in the data. The descriptive findings of this survey indicate some preliminary signs of differences of decisions and perceptions about biking compared to high-income and European countries. These differences need to be tested in future statistical analyses

Modeling Travel Behavior Impacts of Micro-Scale Land Use and Socio-Economic Factor

The effects of neighbourhood-level land use characteristics on urban travel behaviour of Iranian cities are under-researched. The present paper examines such influences in a microscopic scale. In this study the role of socio-economic factors is also studies and compared to that of urban form. Two case-study neighbourhoods in west of Tehran are selected and considered, first of which is a centralized and compact neighbourhood and the other is a sprawled and centreless one. A Multinomial Logit Regression model is developed to consider the effects of socio-economic and land use factors on urban travel pattern. In addition, to consider the effective factors, cross-sectional comparison between the influences of local accessibility and attractiveness of the neighbourhoodcentres of the two case-study areas are undertaken. Also the causality relationships are considered according to the findings of the survey. The findings indicate significant effects of age and household income as socio-economic factors on transportation mode choice in neighbourhoods with central structure. One the other hand, no meaningful association between socio-economic or land use variables are resulted by the model for the sprawled case. The most effective land use concept in micro-scale is considered to be satisfaction of entertainment facilities of the neighbourhood. Also the descriptive findings show that the centralized neighbourhood that gives more local accessibility to shops and retail generates less shopping trips. In considering the causal relations, the study shows that providing neighbourhood infrastructures that increase or ease the accessibility to neighbourhood amenities can lead to higher shares of sustainable transportation modes like walking, biking, or public transportation use

The Determinants of Transportation Mode Choice in the Middle Eastern Cities: the Kerman Case, Iran

Having a precise understanding of the determinants of transportation mode choices and decisions can be under the influence of regional and cultural aspects. This paper outlines such determinants in the Iranian city of Kerman as a representative of the similar Middle Eastern cities located in hot-arid climates and Moslem cultures. The descriptive analysis of the results derived from a short survey that was a part of a larger study conducted in the second half of 2013 indicated that adding to accessibility to public transportation and the convenience of using it can persuade people to shift from car driving to public transit use. The main barriers to bicycling are socio-cultural aspects, while for walking the obstacles are physical and environmental. Increasing the quality of pedestrian infrastructure and spaces is a stronger deterrent than personal attitudes against walking. Such findings show slight dissimilarities from the results of some of the western studies that find the built environment more effective. Chi-square tests indicates that the four variables of gender, household size, age, and household car ownership significantly affect modal choice decisions. These findings can be a general guide for the Middle Eastern planners to promote walking, biking, and public transport use

A discrete choice analysis of transport mode choice causality and perceived barriers of sustainable mobility in the MENA region

Although there is considerable number of studies on urban travel mode choice, there are still two gaps: we have limited understanding of perceived and attitudinal barriers of sustainable modes and motives of personal car use, and the causes (not correlations) of mode choice decisions are almost unknown for certain geographical contexts such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This study seeks to answer three questions: (1) what are the main barriers to choosing sustainable transport modes like active mobility and public transportation in the Middle East and North Africa? (2) which attitudinal or physical determinants define the transportation mode choice intentions and decisions in Tehran, Istanbul, and Cairo? and (3) what are the differences between the determinants of mode choice decisions in the case cities compared with those of Western societies? In this study, the data collected from 8284 interviewees in Tehran, Istanbul, and Cairo in 2017 were applied in a discrete choice model. The dependent variables of the modeling were the perceived main reasons against walking, biking, and public transit ridership, and the main factor encouraging car-driving. According to the findings, long walking distances, absences or lack of biking infrastructures, social and cultural problems and pressures against biking, and personal preference for cars compared to public transport prevent passengers from walking, biking, and using public transport. Comfort and convenience are the factors that make people avoid public transit in favor of cars. These determinants are fairly different from the main determinants of mode choice decisions in the Western societies. By applying a multinomial logistic regression model, 11 variables related to travel characteristics, perceptions, land-use and neighborhood, socio-economics, and self-selection were found significant or marginally significant in explaining all four models: the barriers to walking, biking, and public transit-use, and the motives for car-use. These findings support the hypothesis of this study that there are differences between the perceived and physical barriers to sustainable mobility as well as the motives of car-use in MENA megacities compared to Western societies. In short, mode-choice decisions and perceived determinants are context-sensitive. The conclusions of this study could be applied in urban and transportation planning in the MENA region to promote more sustainable mobility modes

Editorial Preface: Urban Travel Behavior in the Middle East and North Africa

This Special Issue the TeMA. Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment focuses on an already researched subject of urban travel behavior and decisions in the less-studied geographical context of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)