Urban Vitality, Urban Form, and Land Use: Their Relations within a Geographical Boundary for Walkers

Suji Kim

doi:10.3390/su122410633

Abstract

The aim of this study was to exmine the influence of combined urban form and land use on the vibrancy in urban areas within a geographical boundary for walkers. A geographical boundary is defined as a block group surrounded by expressways and arterials, based on findings in previous studies. Spatial regression was performed with mobile signal data representing the degree of vitality within the defined areal unit as a dependent variable, and explanatory variables measured by urban form hierarchy were used to consider both natural and built environments. The outcome helps comprehend the physical and functional forms of vibrant neighborhood environments. The result implies the importance of highly desirable features for walking- or transit-friendly neighborhoods. It also indicates the right combination of land uses needed to support the daily lives of local residents: little lost space, short blocks, well-connected streets, short distances to transit stations, and proximity to essential facilities. This study suggests a new way of defining a spatial unit for vitality analysis and shows the critical roles of both natural and built environments in activating local vitality. These findings establish the groundwork for designing better neighborhoods, especially for an area composed of local streets and collector roads.

Highlights

Urban vitality is an ideal concept suggested by Jane Jacobs, a prominent urbanist
This study was intended to examine the influence of combined urban form and land use on the vibrancy in urban areas
Variables able to explain urban environments were measured using a variety of spatial data and categorized into four groups based on the concept of urban morphology: natural context, network form, plot form, and building form and land use

Summary

Introduction

Urban vitality is an ideal concept suggested by Jane Jacobs, a prominent urbanist. The aim of using this concept is to improve the quality of citizen life, creating livable and active local environments. Jane Jacobs specified how to design urban environments to create a vibrant city [1] She emphasized several requirements for revitalizing urban areas, which included a mixed pattern of land use with two or more uses, small blocks, high enough density that it sufficiently attracts people, buildings of diverse ages, ease of accessibility to public facilities, and control of border vacuums such as large roadways [1]. These requirements are closely connected to walking-friendly environments because the vitality theory is focused on fostering human-scaled environments. Their arguments for urban vitality have served as theoretical guidelines and inspired the realm of urban planning and design to this day

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