Abstract
Accessibility is an important concept in urban studies and planning, especially on issues related to sustainable transportation planning and urban spatial structure. This paper develops an optimization model to examine the accessibility from single family homes to major urban facilities for services or amenities using geographical information systems. The home-based accessibility to facilities is based upon the point to point direct distance from sampled homes to sampled facilities. Descriptive statistics about the accessibility, such as min/max, mean/median, and standard deviation/variance were computed. Variations of accessibility for a range of categories by home price and year built were also examined. Multivariate linear regression models examining the housing value with respect to home-facility accessibility by facility types were implemented. The results show that desirable urban facilities, which are also more frequently used for livability, enjoy better accessibility than undesirable urban facilities. The home-based accessibility’s positive or negative associations with home price along with year built and/or residential lot size exist for most facilities in general, and by confirming to the literature, the home-facility accessibility in particular does strongly impact home values as evidenced by fair to excellent R2 values. Accordingly, this research provides evidence-based recommendations for sustainable urban mobility and urban planning.
Highlights
Today, more than 50% of the world population live in cities
This research takes on Wake County, North Carolina of the United States, as a test bed to study the home-based accessibility to major urban facilities and amenities as a way to comprehend the urban spatial form for home-based travel
The descriptive statistics of overall locational accessibility for Wake County are summarized in Table 1, which is organized by the numbers and types of facilities, which are generally classified into four groups—(1) Environmental, Health, and Rescue; (2) Cultural, Recreational, and Educational; (3) Auto, Food, Shopping, and Other Business; and (4) Manufacturing, Waste Management, and Transportation services
Summary
More than 50% of the world population live in cities In developed countries, such as the United States, Germany, Japan, and Singapore, more than 85% of the population live in urbanized areas and work in diverse non-farming businesses [1]. Most working residents commute to workplaces, get services from urban facilities, and enjoy social/cultural well-being at urban amenities. All these urban living functions make home-based trips inevitable [3,4]. This research takes on Wake County, North Carolina of the United States, as a test bed to study the home-based accessibility to major urban facilities and amenities as a way to comprehend the urban spatial form for home-based travel.
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