How streetscape affects car use: Examining unexamined features of urban environment with fine-grained data

Abstract

The urban built environment has been extensively studied as a means to reduce car use, but most of the built environment features that have been examined mostly include so-called ‘D-variables’, namely, density, (functional) diversity, (road network) design, etc. The influence of the three-dimensional street space, which cannot be directly understood from maps, is much less studied. However, characteristics of the street space are considered to influence people's travel behavior according to urban design and walkability theories. A major reason for this gap is the lack of data providing relevant information. This paper aims to fill the gap by harnessing new urban data to measure these characteristics of the urban environment and analyze their impact on travel behavior, as indicated by the amount of car use. Among the many characteristics of street space, we chose the quality of street buildings, continuity of street walls, and height-width ratio of the street valley as three key characteristics to study. Using Beijing as a case study, we found that the three street space characteristics had a statistically significant relationship with residents' car use, mainly by influencing travel mode choice. The continuity of street walls is the most influential factor in reducing car use. • We expanded existing research by examining the influence of the street space on urban car use. • The streetscape is measured using street view images, deep learning models and building footprint data. • The continuity of street walls is the most influential streetscape feature in reducing car use.