Bicycle Use for Transport in an Australian and a Belgian City: Associations with Built-Environment Attributes

The walkability attributes of neighborhood environments (residential density, land use mixture, and connectedness of streets) have been found to be associated with higher rates of walking. However, relatively less is known about the associations of walkability attributes with bicycle use for transport. We examined the relationships between adults' bicycle use for transport and measures of neighborhood walkability in two settings: an Australian city (Adelaide) with low rates of bicycle use and a Belgian city (Ghent) with high rates of bicycle use. A total of 2,159 and 382 participants were recruited in Adelaide and Ghent, respectively. A walkability index was derived from objectively measured data in Adelaide, while a similar index was derived from perceived measures in Ghent. Logistic regression models were employed to examine associations of bicycle use with different levels of walkability. There were higher rates of bicycle ownership for Ghent compared to Adelaide participants (96% versus 61%), and there was a higher prevalence of bicycle use for transport for Ghent compared to Adelaide participants (50% vs. 14%). Despite the large differences in bicycle ownership and use, living in a high-walkable neighborhood was associated with significantly higher odds of bicycle use for transport in both cities, after adjusting for relevant confounding factors. Built-environment innovations that are increasingly being advocated by health authorities and transport planners, primarily to promote higher rates of walking for transport, should also impact positively on bicycle use

The theology of sustainability practice: How cities create hope

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018. All rights reserved. Reflecting on a lifetime of sustainability practice as an academic, politician, public servant, and community activist, I have drawn on how theology has provided the roots of engagement in tackling the issues of change. Understanding the role of cities in theological history enables us to see how the global and local, the personal and the political, are linked in the journey we need to take towards sustainability. Key themes will be how nature and cities are intertwined, the role of prophets, the competing visions of a future city that have guided urban planners for centuries, and the role of activism and good work as a source of hope in creating the city of the future

GUEST EDITORIAL Rapid motorization in Asian cities: urban transport infrastructure, spatial development and travel behavior

Transport infrastructure has played an indispensable role in the growth of urban socities. During the first half of the 20th century transport, particularly rail was seemed as asserting a powerful influence on economic growth and industrial location. The concentration of employment in, or close to, city centers produced radial commuting patterns with traffic flows concentrated along rail, tram bus routes. Changes in the nature of industrial activities or within urban communities are followed by changes in transport requirements. Hence, land use patterns are built environments in turn shape the demand for travel. Because of this inter-dependency, it is important to note that carefully-integrated and coordinated transportation and urban development is essential to ensuring a sustainable future, not only in an environmental sense, but socially and economically as well

Space for Adapting: Reconciling Adaptation and Mitigation in Local Climate Change Plans

Amid the complexity of actually planning for adaptation and mitigation in cities, spatial form matters. Denser urban environments generally have lower per capita emissions because they enable transit and more efficient heating. At the same time, a larger green infrastructure can be beneficial to adaptation, as it provides room for urban greening, storm and flood water management, and treatment of other ill-effects of climate change. City plans need to reconcile both goals to be fully climate resilient, but to date, there has not been an empirical evaluation on whether the adaptation policies cities are choosing create conflict with mitigative goals. To address this, we undertake a content analysis of policies in 11 major adaptation plans and explore the implications of these for mitigative potential in the urban form. Overall, we found that many of these policies do not require dedication of new space and likely have little effect on mitigation. For those that require more space, we suggest ways this can be managed to still facilitate mitigation. Examples include repurposing automobile roads into green infrastructure and using coastal retreat and habitat corridors to transfer development to more transit-friendly urban areas. We see a virtuous circle emerging where mitigation and adaptation work together at the city scale to create more desirable cities