The Neighborhood Effect on Keeping Non-Commuting Journeys within Compact and Sprawled Districts

The neighborhood effect on keeping non-commuting trips inside neighborhoods has not yet been investigated in developing countries. The modeling of non-commuting trips inside neighborhoods helps understand how to avoid unnecessary journeys by car into different parts of the city. This paper, therefore, attempts to clarify (1) the similarities and differences in the socioeconomic characteristics and the perceptions of people in sprawled and compact neighborhoods, (2) correlations between, on the one hand, the choice of destinations of non-commuting trips for shopping and entertainment activities and, on the other, the socioeconomic features, travel behavior, and perceptions of residents in the two large Pakistani cities of Lahore and Rawalpindi, (3) the similarities and differences in the determinants of non-commuting destinations inside neighborhoods in compact and sprawled districts. The paper develops four Binary Logistic (BL) regression models, with two models for each type of neighborhood. The findings show that trips to shopping areas inside compact districts are correlated with a sense of belonging to the neighborhood, frequency of public transport use, residential location, and mode choice of non-commuting trips to destinations both inside and outside the neighborhood. On the other hand, the number of non-commuting trips, mode choice for non-commuting trips outside the neighborhood, frequency of public transport use, the attractiveness of shops, and monthly income (please see the Note) are significant determinants for trips to the shopping area in sprawled districts. Age, gender, possession of a driver’s license, income, number of non-commuting trips, mode choice for non-commuting trips outside of the neighborhood, car ownership, and attractiveness of shops in a neighborhood are correlated with trips to entertainment locations inside the neighborhood in compact districts. Finally, the attractiveness of shops, quality of social and recreational facilities, a sense of belonging to a neighborhood, choice of residential location, gender, age, possession of a driver’s license, number of cars in the household, and income are determinants of trips to entertainment locations in sprawled districts. A chi-square test confirms the differences across gender, daily activity, monthly income, frequency of public transport use, residential location choice, and the quality of social and recreational facilities for sprawled and compact districts in Pakistan.DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2021 - 2022 / Technische Universität Berli

The Relations between Street Network Configuration and Travel Behavior in Pakistan; the Optimal Level of Street Connectivity for a More Active Mobility

Urban sprawl is a particular pattern of the street network and land use. The relationship between street networks and sprawl has been discussed by urban scholars in developed and high-income countries. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on the relationships between street connectivity and urban travel behavior, particularly among emerging markets. This paper aims to study correlations between urban mobility and street-length density as an indicator for assessing the compactness of an area by developing two hierarchical regression models and controlling for socioeconomic variables in two large Pakistani cities: Lahore and Rawalpindi. Moreover, this paper defines optimal cutoff values for street-length density and active transport. Finally, three chi-square tests were conducted to assess the differences between using different mode choices by people living in sprawled neighborhoods versus compact neighborhoods. Our findings confirm the use of different transport modes depending on the purpose of the trip (commuting or non-commuting), length of trip (within or outside the neighborhood), and starting point (sprawled neighborhood or compact area). We also find a positive correlation between street-length density around homes and commuting distance, the frequency of public transport use, and the use of private motor vehicles in commuting trips in the two cities. Street-length density around workplaces is correlated with commuting distance, the frequency of public transport use, and the use of private motor vehicles when socioeconomic variables (including age, daily activity, and monthly income) are controlled for in the two models. The behavior of Pakistani residents changes with a street-length density of 137 and 144.7 m/m2 for homes and workplaces, respectively, in terms of using active mobility.DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2021 - 2022 / Technische Universität Berli