Commercial Land Use Research Articles

Land Use and Ambient Air Quality in Bahir Dar and Hawassa, Ethiopia

Land use, air pollution, and climate change are closely related. This article analysed the contributions of urban land use to ambient air quality in Bahir Dar and Hawassa cities. A total of 32 geo-referenced locations, 16 each in Bahir Dar and Hawassa, representing different land uses, were assessed for carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and volatile organic compound (VOC). CO2 concentration (ppm) for Bahir Dar and Hawassa ranged from 385.10 ± 15.34 ppm (recreational land use) to 555.50 ± 80.79 ppm (commercial land use) and 388.07 ± 19.79 ppm (recreational land use) to 444.50 ± 54.05 ppm (industrial land use), respectively, whereas mean concentration of CO was 0.01 ± 0.01 ppm (recreational land use) to 2.59 ± 0.69 ppm (circulation land use) and 0.12 ± 0.11 ppm (recreational land use) to 4.66 ± 1.41 ppm (circulation land use), respectively. The VOC values were 882.10 ± 147.05 ppm (residential land use) to 1436.00 ± 932.06 ppm (institutional land use) and 1377.30 ± 233.23 ppm (institutional land use) to 2132.33 ± 739.71 ppm (circulation land use). Inadequate monitoring, occasioned by dearth of equipment, poor urban management strategy, fossil fuel combustion, and aged vehicles were some of the factors responsible for the observed concentrations. Elevated levels of CO, CO2, and VOC in the atmosphere have a significant impact on global warming, with adverse effects on human health. Capacity for monitoring, analysis, reporting, and validation of air quality data in the cities should be strengthened.

The association between spatial attributes and e-shopping in the shopping process for search goods and experience goods: Evidence from Nanjing

The proliferation of e-shopping has implications for shopping travel and commercial land use. Using data collected from adult internet users in Nanjing, China in 2015, this study develops trivariate probit models to explore the influence of spatial attributes on shopping channel choices at the pre-purchase and purchase stages in the shopping process for both search goods (books) and experience goods (clothing). We find that those who live and work in suburban areas are more likely than others to shop at traditional stores to conduct pre-purchase and purchase activities for books and clothing, likely because of the slow diffusion of e-shopping in these areas. On the other hand, travel time to stores is positively associated with online shopping for books but not for clothing, and onerous travel modes are associated with pre-purchase activities on the internet. Thus, shopping accessibility negatively affects e-shopping. However, its effects vary by shopping stage and product type.

Fieldwork Methodology on Commercial Area and Database Building of Commercial Landuse in a Local City in South Korea

Fieldwork Methodology on Commercial Area and Database Building of Commercial Landuse in a Local City in South Korea

Local environmental factors in walking distance at metro stations

Walking distances to metro stations vary substantially across systems, lines and stations, but few studies have attempted to explain such variable performance. The present study examines commercial land use, intersection density, total road length, distance to the nearest metro station, theoretical catchment area and built form density (FAR) as factors to explain walking distance in a study of 14 metro stations with 43 exits in three cities. These factors explain 7.5% of the variance in walking distance, amounting to a 16% difference in territorial coverage of the station, based on Euclidean extrapolation. In addition, stations with higher levels of patronage tend to have longer walks. Walking distance can be partially explained by the presence of commerce, while intersection density is negatively related to walking distance, in contrast to some indications in the literature. Commercial land use and certain employment areas have a much higher rate of destinations than do residential areas overall. The planning standard for pedestrian catchment zones and FAR are not significant in walking distance, although both are heavily relied upon for planning metros. This study reveals that land use and urban design can be controlled to promote the local use of metro.

INTEGRATED REMOTE SENSING AND GIS FOR MODELING ECONOMIC REHABILITATION DEVELOPMENT OF EX-MINE SITES

The potential environmental impacts of mining, increasing environmental legislation and public awareness have received increased attention world-wide in the last two decades. The focus of concern by the industry, environmental regulatory agencies and members of the public is the systematic rehabilitation of ex-mine sites to improve the quality at site for potential future commercial land use. The minerals extracted from these mine/quarry sites are essential in the construction, semiconductor, high-technology, ceramic and other manufacturing sectors for further industrial development. However, efficient engineering design and systematic economic evaluation of mine sites for site rehabilitation are required in maintaining the expected standards of environmental compliance. With escalating production costs and the keen competitiveness of the mining industry world-wide, the necessity to increase the efficiency in site rehabilitation is getting more prominence. A coordinated environmental protection and rehabilitation programme is essential if the environmental awareness of the community and the demands of the respective planning authorities are to be accommodated. There is thus a need to increase the base of knowledge for efficient planning in the systematic and progressive rehabilitation of current and future ex-mine sites. An efficient modeling tool is required for the systematic planning and design of potential economic land development of ex-mine sites. The applicability of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is a useful tool to acquire spatial information for the systematic design and planning of potential development of ex-mine sites. This research was conducted to detect the trends in the suitability of land cover changes via land cover change detection of ex-mine sites and validated with reality. The findings are useful to assist in the development of a tool for efficient modeling and design of potential economic development of ex-mine sites. The aim of this research is to quantify, model and map the economic potential of the ex-mine sites for built up areas such as housing and other urban infrastructures. Land cover classes were interpreted into maps and the accuracy of the maps were validated to reference data and actual ground scenarios. The study for validation of the proposed modeling tool was carried out using the large prominent mining area in Malaysia namely the Kinta District. Results from the validation study carried out indicate that the correlation of the results obtained from this Integrated Remote Sensing and GIS tool for modeling to field data is in the range of 0.87-0.92 which is acceptable and close to reality.

Exploring Environmental Inequity in South Korea: An Analysis of the Distribution of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Facilities and Toxic Releases

Recently, location data regarding the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) in South Korea was released to the public. This study investigated the spatial patterns of TRIs and releases of toxic substances in all 230 local governments in South Korea to determine whether spatial clusters relevant to the siting of noxious facilities occur. In addition, we employed spatial regression modeling to determine whether the number of TRI facilities and the volume of toxic releases in a given community were correlated with the community’s socioeconomic, racial, political, and land use characteristics. We found that the TRI facilities and their toxic releases were disproportionately distributed with clustered spatial patterning. Spatial regression modeling indicated that jurisdictions with smaller percentages of minorities, stronger political activity, less industrial land use, and more commercial land use had smaller numbers of toxic releases, as well as smaller numbers of TRI facilities. However, the economic status of the community did not affect the siting of hazardous facilities. These results indicate that the siting of TRI facilities in Korea is more affected by sociopolitical factors than by economic status. Racial issues are thus crucial for consideration in environmental justice as the population of Korea becomes more racially and ethnically diverse.

Spatial and temporal determinants of A-weighted and frequency specific sound levels—An elastic net approach

BackgroundUrban sound levels are a ubiquitous environmental stressor and have been shown to be associated with a wide variety of health outcomes. While much is known about the predictors of A-weighted sound pressure levels in the urban environment, far less is known about other frequencies. ObjectiveTo develop a series of spatial-temporal sound models to predict A-weighted sound pressure levels, low, mid, and high frequency sound for Boston, Massachusetts. MethodsShort-term sound levels were gathered at n = 400 sites from February 2015 – February 2016. Spatial and meteorological attributes at or near the sound monitoring site were obtained using publicly available data and a portable weather station. An elastic net variable selection technique was used to select predictors of A-weighted, low, mid, and high frequency sound. ResultsThe final models for low, mid, high, and A-weighted sound levels explained 59 – 69% of the variability in each measure. Similar to other A-weighted models, our sound models included transportation related variables such as length of roads and bus lines in the surrounding area; distance to road and rail lines; traffic volume, vehicle mix, residential and commercial land use. However, frequency specific models highlighted additional predictors not included in the A-weighted model including temperature, vegetation, impervious surfaces, vehicle mix, and density of entertainment establishments and restaurants. ConclusionsBuilding spatial temporal models to characterize sound levels across the frequency spectrum using an elastic net approach can be a promising tool for noise exposure assessments within the urban soundscape. Models of sound's character may give us additional important sound exposure metrics to be utilized in epidemiological studies.

PENGARUH PERUBAHAN PELAYANAN KESEHATAN RUMAH SAKIT UMUM DAERAH DR. MOEWARDI TERHADAP PEMANFAATAN LAHAN KOMERSIAL DI SEKITARNYA DI SURAKARTA

<p><strong><em>Abstract</em></strong><strong><em>: </em></strong><em>Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Dr. Moewardi is a national scale-hospital provided by Central Java provincial government in the city of Surakarta. Assigned as a class hospital in 2007, Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Dr. Moewardi led the citizen to have health service. The main activity of the district will be followed by the other development of the second activity. Hospital is one kind of main activities that can give impact to surrounding environment. Commercial activity area which is grow up around the hospital, such as boarding house, food court, convenience store and the other commercial services, gives impact to the sector’s revolution around the hospital. The issues in the research is the other utilization of the commercial area around the hospital which is effected by the change of health service of Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Dr. Moewardi. This research aimed to find out the effect of Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Dr. Moewardi’s health service change to the utilization commercial area around the hospital. The method used is deductive-explanative descriptive analysis technique. The data collected is a real observation, respondent interview and document–based data. The result of the research shows that the service of Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Dr. Moewardi is increasingly change by the years. It equals with the utilization of the commercial area around Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Dr. Moewardi which is also increasing the commercial area so it can be concluded that the health service in Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Dr. Moewardi gives impact to the utilization of commercial area around</em><em> because both changes that increased.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><strong><em>Keywords: </em></strong><em>development of health services, commercial land use change</em></p>

Racial and Class Bias in Zoning: Rezonings Involving Heavy Commercial and Industrial Land Use in Durham (NC), 1945–2014

Problem, research strategy, and findings: In this study I investigate whether zoning has traditionally protected communities of color from the dangers of heavy commercial and industrial use to the extent that it has protected White communities. I evaluate whether upzonings—changes from less intensive uses to more intensive heavy commercial and industrial uses—disproportionately occurred in African-American and low-income neighborhoods in Durham (NC) from 1945 to 2014, and I evaluate the comparative impact of downzonings. I use the contemporary demographics of the census tracts where these rezonings occurred and qualitative evidence from public hearings, plans, and other relevant primary materials. I find that before 1985, the pattern of rezonings in Durham had negative implications for African-American areas in particular. Environmental justice efforts in the 1980s, followed by gentrification, caused the city’s planners and local elected officials to change course.Takeaway for practice: Planners have an ethical obligation to promote equity, and their ability to do so depends on understanding sources of social injustice. In Durham, race historically played a role in upzonings and downzonings involving heavy commercial and industrial uses. The city also demonstrates that planners and local elected officials can successfully intervene to end disparities in zoning practice across communities of different racial characteristics. Assessing past zoning practices in other cities may reveal similar records of bias and help planners to present cases for corrective action.

Does a new rail rapid transit line announcement affect various commercial property prices differently?

An announcement of new rail rapid transit access to urban commercial centers may lead to greater business activity and agglomeration economies, while causing anticipation of construction disruption and resource diversion away from other infrastructure. Using a rail rapid transit line announcement in Vancouver, BC, Canada, we estimate the net capitalization effect for each individual commercial property price resulting from expected improved urban center access. We focus on 1895 repeat sales straddling this announcement date and use a nonparametric estimation technique - Locally Weighted Regressions - to estimate how travel time changes to the Richmond, BC and Vancouver, BC central business districts, the Olympic Village, and Vancouver International Airport affect various commercial property prices differently. By differencing our estimation equation over the two periods of the repeat sales, the time-invariant variables drop out and we are left with the travel time savings and the difference in temporal fixed effects as regressors. We find travel time savings’ marginal effects on property values can be positive or negative, and patterns vary dramatically across commercial land use types and locations. Falsification and balancing tests validate our findings.

Analyzing spatiotemporal congestion pattern on urban roads based on taxi GPS data

With the development of in-vehicle data collection devices, GPS trajectory has become a priority source to identify traffic congestion and understand the operational states of road network in recent years. This study aims to investigate the relationship between traffic congestion and built environment, including traffic related factors and land use. Fuzzy C-means clustering was used to conduct an exhaustive study on 24-hour congestion pattern of road segments in urban area, so that the spatial autoregressive moving average model (SARMA) was introduced to analyze the output from the clustering analysis to establish the relationship between built environment and the 24-hour congestion pattern. The clustering result classified the road segments into four congestion levels, while the regression explained 12 traffic-related factors and land use factors’ impact on road congestion pattern. The continuous congestion was found to mainly occur in the city center, and the factors, such as road type, bus station in the vicinity, ramp nearby, commercial land use and so on have large impact on congestion formation. The Fuzzy C-means clustering was proposed to be combined with quantitative spatial regression, and the overall evaluation process will assist to assess the spatial-temporal levels of service of traffic from the congestion perspective.

Renewal strategies and neighborhood participation on urban blight

Abstract Urban blight had its own rational and hierarchical function in the past. Nowadays it is featured with structural and functional shortage. Therefore, it has lost the capacity to meet the residents’ needs. Along with intensification of urban blight problems in cities, and downtowns in particular, which affects different aspects of urban life, many urban planners have shown special attention to such districts. Laleh-Zar neighborhood is an example of these neighborhoods, which on the one hand due to lack of urban equipment and infrastructures gives rise to urban blight and penetration of commercial and trans-regional land use in residential area. On the other hand, much of its residential units are transformed into business units, warehouses, workhouse particularly on the edge of the neighborhood. Given the expansion and intensity of problems, apparently, the most effective strategy to deal with the shortcomings and the problems is participation strategy. Besides, this study has used a strategic approach, which is one of the public plannings for both internal and external analyses. Therefore, it is a systematic approach, which can be helpful in decision making. The results showed that the capacity for participation of the study population was below proper level concerning the four aspects of financial, intellectual, instrumental, and physical aspects, although their tendency to participate was high. Moreover, correlation between participation capacity and intention for participation in renewing the structures had a significant relation with cultural and historical values at a confidence level of 99%.

An Analysis of Associations between Neighborhood Road Networks and Pedestrian Traffic Accidents : Focused on the TAAS (2012-2014) in Seoul, Korea

The complexity, connectivity, and continuity of road network structure affect the speed of vehicle and drivers‘ vision and driving behavior, which strongly determines pedestrian safety. Thus more objective and in-depth research is required to identify the association between road network and pedestrian safety. In this context, this study examines the relationship between neighborhood environment including road network structure and pedestrian safety using the TAAS (2012-2014) data. We utilize negative binominal regression model. Unlike previous studies, this study includes exposure variables such as pedestrian volume, population, and road congestion level and objective measures of road network structure such as average geodesic distance, network betweenness centrality, average clustering coefficient. Key finding and implications can be organized as follows. First, pedestrian traffic accidents on community living zone road is strongly associated to road network structure of neighborhood-level. Second, we confirm that pedestrian volume and traffic condition are important variables for pedestrian accidents. Third, pedestrian traffic accidents are strongly associated with commercial land use and public transportation systems including median exclusive bus station. This study suggests policy implications for neighborhood road network design in urban planning and design projects and for pedestrian safety.

Churn and change along commercial strips: Spatial analysis of patterns in remodelling activity and landscapes of local business

Commercial strips are common within metropolitan regions throughout the world and particularly within Canada and the USA. Planners have identified these linear clusters of commercial land use as a form of auto-oriented sprawl on the one hand, and as fertile ground for local independent businesses on the other. Despite the rapid churn of businesses in a number of gentrifying central cities, few studies have examined the distribution or cumulative impacts of commercial remodelling or its relationship to larger scale urban transformations. In this research, we demonstrate methods used to identify spatial patterns in central city remodelling activity. Getis Ord Gi*, also known as hot spot analysis, is used to identify clusters of reinvestment activity associated with locally owned restaurant and retail businesses. Associations with differences in urban form are observed, including clustering of independently owned restaurant and retail businesses along areas of commercial strips with smaller lots. Theories on the location of clusters in older buildings are also tested, with mixed results. In addition, we use a Redevelopment Impact Index to capture the degree of external modification to commercial buildings and the nature of changes in building usage. Point density analysis is used to identify areas where commercial remodels are likely to add up to entertainment and leisure zones. The results of statistical tests show some association between proximity to the restaurant and retail clusters and new, mixed use development. Thus, we illustrate methods of examining emerging landscapes of local restaurant and retail business and their relationship to larger scales of redevelopment. This methodology has applications in the study of incubation and retention of local businesses, land use planning and redevelopment along commercial strips, and gentrification studies.

Beyond Density: Municipal Expenditures and the Shape and Location of Development

Sprawling development patterns are often accused of increasing traffic congestion and pollution, decreasing employment accessibility, increasing social isolation and racial segregation, and increasing the cost of providing municipal services. This last effect is the focus of the analysis presented here. A clear understanding of the relationship between development patterns and municipal expenditures is complicated by how one chooses to quantify these patterns. Extant literature often employs a single density measure to capture the low-density nature of sprawl. While density provides an intuitive link to economies of scale and congestion costs, it fails to capture other spatial characteristics of sprawl related to centrality, connectedness, and mixed use that may influence municipal expenditures according to Smart Growth and New Urbanism advocates. This study uses Massachusetts orthoimagery data to construct multidimensional measures of residential and commercial land use patterns. Municipal expenditures associated with public works, fire, and police are regressed on multidimensional measures of land use as well as a number of demand controls. Findings indicate that economies and diseconomies do exist with respect to the multidimensional metrics considered; however, support is mixed for development patterns emphasized by Smart Growth and New Urbanism advocates.

Developing Macrolevel Collision Prediction Models to Evaluate Bicycle Safety in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

To encourage greener cities while reducing the impacts of the transportation system—such as impacts on climate change, traffic congestion, and road safety—governments have been investing in sustainable modes of transportation, such as cycling. A safe and comfortable cycling environment is critical to encourage bicycle trips because cyclists are usually subject to greater safety risks. Engineering approaches to road safety management have traditionally addressed road safety by reacting to existing collision records. For bicycle collisions, which are rare events, a proactive approach is more appropriate. This study described the use of bicycle-related macrolevel (i.e., neighborhood or zonal-level) collision prediction models as empirical tools in road safety diagnosis and planning. These models incorporated an actual bicycle exposure indicator (the number of bicycle kilometers traveled). The macrolevel bicycle–vehicle collisions models were applied at the zonal level to a case study of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Collision-prone zones in Vancouver were identified, and the highest-ranked zones were diagnosed to identify bicycle safety issues and to recommend potential safety countermeasures. The findings from this study suggest that the safety issues may be a result of high density and commercial land use type, coupled with a high traffic volume, particularly on arterial routes, and high bicycle volumes on routes with mixed vehicle and bicycle traffic. The case study demonstrated the use of the models to enhance bicycle safety proactively.

Impact Analysis of Land Use on Traffic Congestion Using Real-Time Traffic and POI

This paper proposed a new method to describe, compare, and classify the traffic congestion points in Beijing, China, by using the online map data and further revealed the relationship between traffic congestion and land use. The data of the point of interest (POI) and the real-time traffic was extracted from an electronic map of the area in the fourth ring road of Beijing. The POIs were quantified based on the architectural area of the land use; the congestion points were identified based on real-time traffic. Then, the cluster analysis using the attributes of congestion time was conducted to identify the main traffic congestion areas. The result of a linear regression analysis between the congestion time and the land use showed that the influence of the high proportion of commercial land use on the traffic congestion was significant. Also, we considered five types of land use through performing a linear regression analysis between the congestion time and the ratio of four types of land use. The results showed that the reasonable ratio of land use types could efficiently reduce congestion time. This study makes contributions to the policy-making of urban land use.

Investigating Driver Behavior at Minor-Street Stop-Controlled Intersections in Qatar

Stop-controlled intersections are dangerous locations in which drivers must negotiate conflicts between traffic streams. This study examined driver stopping compliance at minor-street stop-controlled intersections in Qatar. Several variables that may influence driver behavior when approaching a stop sign were considered—including age, gender, driver heritage differences, vehicle type, presence of an approaching vehicle or a pedestrian, peak and nonpeak hours, weekday versus weekend, and residential versus commercial land use. Binary and ordinal logistic regression models were developed to describe driver stopping behavior as functions of these characteristics. Results indicated an alarmingly low compliance rate with minor-street stop signs. Generally, results indicated that male drivers, young drivers, and SUV drivers are less likely to come to a complete stop at these locations. Results also revealed that drivers are more likely to ignore the stop sign when they notice a vehicle or pedestrian approaching and most likely to beat the approaching vehicle or pedestrian through the intersection and reduce intersection-related delay. These findings raise a major safety concern and indicate aggressive driving tendencies. Potential countermeasures include increasing police enforcement, initiating traffic safety campaigns (e.g., targeting the higher risk drivers identified in the results), and improving the visibility of stop signs using different measures, such as larger and additional stop signs, “Stop Ahead” advance traffic control signs, and enhanced pavement markings.

Parking for residential delivery in New York City: Regulations and behavior

Increasing demand for direct-to-home deliveries requires frequent delivery of small volumes; these deliveries generate growth in commercial vehicle curb side parking activities in dense urban areas. In New York City, which has extremely densely developed, mixed land uses, this new demand is only exacerbating already challenging conditions for urban delivery. This study utilizes a number of existing “open” datasets from New York City to compare commercial vehicle parking regulations and violations in commercial, mixed-use, and residential land use areas in New York City. Results suggest that parking availability – and resulting violation rates – vary considerably by area and roadway type, and that current curb parking regulations are not adequate to accommodate growing residential demand.

Using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) sensor to detect change in land surface temperature in relation to land use change in Yazd, Iran

Abstract. Land surface temperature (LST) is one of the key parameters in the physics of land surface processes from local to global scales, and it is one of the indicators of environmental quality. Evaluation of the surface temperature distribution and its relation to existing land use types are very important to the investigation of the urban microclimate. In arid and semi-arid regions, understanding the role of land use changes in the formation of urban heat islands is necessary for urban planning to control or reduce surface temperature. The internal factors and environmental conditions of Yazd city have important roles in the formation of special thermal conditions in Iran. In this paper, we used the temperature–emissivity separation (TES) algorithm for LST retrieving from the TIRS (Thermal Infrared Sensor) data of the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM). The root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2) were used for validation of retrieved LST values. The RMSE of 0.9 and 0.87 °C and R2 of 0.98 and 0.99 were obtained for the 1998 and 2009 images, respectively. Land use types for the city of Yazd were identified and relationships between land use types, land surface temperature and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were analyzed. The Kappa coefficient and overall accuracy were calculated for accuracy assessment of land use classification. The Kappa coefficient values are 0.96 and 0.95 and the overall accuracy values are 0.97 and 0.95 for the 1998 and 2009 classified images, respectively. The results showed an increase of 1.45 °C in the average surface temperature. The results of this study showed that optical and thermal remote sensing methodologies can be used to research urban environmental parameters. Finally, it was found that special thermal conditions in Yazd were formed by land use changes. Increasing the area of asphalt roads, residential, commercial and industrial land use types and decreasing the area of the parks, green spaces and fallow lands in Yazd caused a rise in surface temperature during the 11-year period.