Coupling Research on Land Use and Travel Behaviors Along the Tram Based on Accessibility Measurement—Taking Nanjing Chilin Tram Line 1 as an Example

Yang Zhou,Jiachen Xin,Han Xiao,Qing Feng,Caiyun Qian,Zixiong Wei

doi:10.3390/su11072034

Abstract

The expansion of urban space makes citizens more dependent on cars, resulting in various urban environmental and traffic problems. Advocating low-carbon travel and building a sustainable low-carbon city are the major trends of urban development. Many scholars have pointed out that the urban spatial environment will lead residents to change their travel modes, but the residents’ travel patterns will also have an impact on the urban spatial layout. Based on the interaction between the two, most of the studies have been evaluated and studied from the level of rail transit and normal bus transit. The traffic volume level of trams lies between the rail transit and the normal public transit. However, the research and discussion on the relationship between the surrounding land use and residents’ travel behaviors are not yet perfect domestically. This paper takes Nanjing Chilin Tram Line 1 in China as the research object, combines the research of the the social attributes of the passengers who live along the tram line and the psychological accessing threshold of different travel purposes, provides analysis and evaluations of the coupling degree between the present situation of land use around its various stations and the residents’ actual travel demand with the measure of accessibility. The traffic volume level of trams lies between the rail transit and the normal public transit. However, the research and discussion on the relationship between the surrounding land use and residents’ travel behaviors are not yet perfect domestically. Taking Nanjing Chilin Tram Line 1 in China as the research object, this paper combines the research of the the social attributes of the passengers who live along the tram line and the psychological accessing threshold of different travel purposes. Furthermore, based on the measure of accessibility, it provides the analysis and evaluations of the coupling degree between the present situation of land use around its various stations and the residents’ actual travel demand. The research method of this paper is divided into three parts. Firstly, based on the questionnaire and OD survey, the coupling degree between the type of the station along the tram line and the distribution of passenger flow and the purpose of passenger travel is analyzed. Secondly, the KLP model is used to calculate and determine the effective influence range of the tram through the critical accessing distance for pedestrians psychologically. Based on different psychological thresholds for different purposes, the land use index within the influence range of the station is evaluated and analyzed, and the controlled circle of land use around each type of station is defined. Finally, the coupling degree between the actual land use status in each circle and residents’ psychological threshold with different purposes is analyzed, and the optimization strategy is proposed from the coupling degree between the overall station type & passenger flow along the line and the land use layout around the station & the residents’ psychological threshold.

Highlights

“The New Town” usually refers to a group of tectonic plates that can realize urban function and spatial expansion in a certain distance from the central city during the process of continuous spatial expansion of space in a large city, relying on certain resource conditions [1]
Condon P believed that the urban public transit system such as trams should be regarded as a kind of developing mode of urban space and the overall planning of transportation, and the principles of interconnecting transportation network and diversified land use should be combined with this mode to promote the sustainable development of the city [4]
In this research, Nanjing Chilin Tram Line 1 and the areas along the line are taken as research samples, and its surrounding built-up environment and the passengers are studied through field observation, questionnaires and interviews to obtain the data of the residents’ travel behaviors and social attributes, and the present situation of built-up environment along the tram

Summary

Introduction

“The New Town” usually refers to a group of tectonic plates that can realize urban function and spatial expansion in a certain distance from the central city during the process of continuous spatial expansion of space in a large city, relying on certain resource conditions [1]. Suzhou Tram Line 1 serves as an extended tram, which effectively strengthens the traffic connection between the high-tech zone and the old town These cases all show that trams play an important role in the public transportation system of the new town. In order to explore which kind of built environment factors plays a decisive role in travel behaviors, Cervero R and Ewing R H summarize the relevant research in the 20th century and draw a conclusion: Trip lengths mostly depend on the built environment, and trip mode choices depend on both the built environment and socioeconomics [23] They found that walking is most strongly related to measures of land use diversity, intersection density, and the number of destinations within walking distance. Bus and train use are related to proximity to transit and street network design variables, with land use diversity a secondary factor [24]

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