Fringe Areas Research Articles

Analysis of spatial–temporal evolution trends and influential factors of desert-oasis thermal environment in typical arid zone: The case of Turpan–Hami region

As a typical geographic landscape unit in the arid zone of northwest China, the distribution of the thermal environment in the substratum of the desert-oasis is of great significance to the monitoring of the ecological environment and the quality of human habitat in the region. The purpose of this research is to reveal the spatial–temporal evolution pattern of the thermal environment of the desert–oasis in the Turpan–Hami region from 2005 to 2020 and its trend changes, and to investigate the relationship between natural and human factors and the thermal environment and to conduct a long time series analysis. Firstly, the accuracy of MODIS land surface temperature (LST) data combined with site data was verified. Secondly, the mean-standard deviation method is used to identify desert heat island and oasis cold island zones. Again, the spatial–temporal distribution and change trends of thermal environment are explored by using standard deviation ellipse and spatial autocorrelation combined with land use/land cover (LULC) types. Finally, based on the multi-source remote sensing data, the natural factors and human factors are selected to explore their correlation with the thermal environment using Pearson correlation analysis. The results show that (1) the desert heat island zones are distributed in the desert areas on the periphery of urban built-up areas in Gaochang District, Shanshan County and Yizhou District of Hami Region. The oasis cold island zones are concentrated in the urban built-up areas of Gaochang District and Yizhou District, mainly because the vegetation coverage of urban built-up areas is higher than that of the peripheral desert areas. (2) The spatial development characteristics of the extremely high temperature (EHT) zone and the high temperature (HT)zone from 2005 to 2020 are “southeast-northeast-northwest” and “southeast-northwest” respectively, and the area of construction land 16a increased by 0.31%. This indicates that the spatial evolution of the thermal environment is closely related to the LULC and the degree of urbanization development. (3) From a four–period image with P < 0.001 and Z > 2.58, the thermal environment displays a high positive spatial correlation with Moran's I values of 0.45, 0.54, 0.47, and 0.45. (4) Temperature (Tem), downward longwave radiation (LWdown), and nighttime light intensity (NPP) all exhibited positive correlations with the LST and are significant in the desert region (p < 0.05); The albedo exhibited negative correlations with the LST and is significant in the grassland and woodland regions (p < 0.05).

Have COVID lockdowns really improved global air quality? –Hierarchical observations from the perspective of urban agglomerations using atmospheric reanalysis data

COVID-19 cases surged in late 2019, leading to worldwide lockdowns that closed non-essential places and activities, industries, and businesses to halt the spread of the virus. Many studies suggested improved air quality during lockdowns. However, these findings often focused on core city limits and did not account for heavy pollution sources outside cities (around the fringe areas), such as factories, power plants, and coal mines, which operated continuously for energy needs even during lockdowns. Therefore, this study quantified and re-analyzed the air quality data using a top-down approach. This study analyzed six major air quality parameters namely SO2, O3, NO2, PM2.5, AOD500, and UAI. The time-averaged approach was adopted to analyze the data followed by ground validation. High variability and anomalies in air quality parameters were observed at different levels of observations (i.e. city level, country level, etc.). However, it was found that during the lockdown period, PM2.5 and NO2 significantly dropped at the country level with few exceptions. Changes were also observed in AOD500, O3, and UAI concentrations from city to country scale. Mixed behaviors among the atmospheric pollutants were observed with changes in scale and time. This makes the claim about air quality improvements during COVID-19 lockdowns very relative to the scale of observation and the pollutant indicators being referred to. Multi-layered analyses of pollutant concentrations extending beyond the city limits to the meso-regional levels with varying space-time observations made the present work unique from existing literature that claimed a global air quality improvement during the COVID-19 lockdown period.

A Novel Demand-Responsive Customized Bus Based on Improved Ant Colony Optimization and Clustering Algorithms

The customized bus operating mode based on passenger demand is an effective way to solve the problem of bus services in low travel density areas such as urban fringe areas, ensure the profitability of bus enterprises, and promote the development of customized bus and other emerging bus. First, this study introduces the concept and operating principle of customized bus, determines the advantages and disadvantages of customized bus, evaluates the relevant theories of customized bus lines and station planning, and determines the principles of customized bus lines and station planning. Second, according to the characteristics of customized bus, this study proposes a novel customized bus line and station planning method completely based on passenger travel demand, including travel demand data processing, traffic community division, joint station planning, the establishment of a customized bus line planning model, and the solution of the planning model. Finally, the proposed planning method and improved ant colony optimization and clustering are verified by simulation experiments. The experimental results show that the station line planning method proposed in this paper can better realize the line planning of demand-responsive customized bus as well as meet diverse passenger travel needs.

DETERMINATION OF URBAN SPRAWL PHENOMENON IN PEKALONGAN CITY AND ITS SURROUNDING

Urbanization defines as a spatial and socio-economic transformation process from rural to urban areas. While urban sprawl is the process of propagation of the appearance of urban physical characteristics from the inner city toward the urban fringe area. Pekalongan City has grown from a small town to a medium-sized city with a population of 300,000 people. This study aims to identify the phenomenon of urban sprawl in Pekalongan City and its surroundings (Pekalongan and Batang Regency) and identify the urban environment quality based on the condition of the public services availability in these urban areas. The data used in this study were the 2019 Village Potential (PODES) from the Central Agency on Statistics (BPS) and a digital base map from the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG). The urban-rural classification scoring from the BPS was used to identify urban areas as the method in this study. The results showed that 111 out of 285 villages in Pekalongan Regency and 63 out of 248 villages in Batang Regency could already be classified as urban areas and formed an urban agglomeration with Pekalongan City. This study also showed that the environmental quality in urban areas with urban sprawl phenomenon has met the standards and criteria for urban public services compared to other areas.

Angle Measurement Based on Second Harmonic Generation Using Artificial Neural Network

This article proposed an angle measurement method based on second harmonic generation (SHG) using an artificial neural network (ANN). The method comprises three sequential parts: SHG spectrum collection, data preprocessing, and neural network training. First, the referenced angles and SHG spectrums are collected by the autocollimator and SHG-based angle sensor, respectively, for training. The mapping is learned by the trained ANN after completing the training process, which solves the inverse problem of obtaining the angle from the SHG spectrum. Then, the feasibility of the proposed method is verified in multiple-peak Maker fringe and single-peak phase-matching areas, with an overall angle measurement range exceeding 20,000 arcseconds. The predicted angles by ANN are compared with the autocollimator to evaluate the measurement performance in all the angular ranges. Particularly, a sub-arcsecond level of accuracy and resolution is achieved in the phase-matching area.

Assessing the impact of urban land expansion on ecosystem carbon storage: A case study of the Changzhutan metropolitan area, China

The extension of urban development can encroach onto ecologically important land, such as forests and farmland, and have a significant impact on regional ecosystem carbon storage. Although there has been extensive research on the carbon storage response to land use changes, limited exploration has been conducted on the changes in ecosystem carbon storage resulting from the expansion of construction land.. In the current research, we analyzed the characteristics involved in the growth related to built-up space in the Changzhutan metropolitan area from 1990 to 2020. Using the InVEST model, we evaluated the resulting effects on ecological carbon sequestration, and using the PLUS model, we simulated the effects of building land expansion under four scenarios: natural development, farmland protection, ecological protection, and comprehensive development. Additionally, our aim was to quantify the possible implications of the development of built-up areas on regional carbon storage. (1) The Changzhutan metropolitan area expanded its construction land by 721.58 km2 from 1990 to 2020, with the expansion mainly concentrated in the urban fringe areas, and the land type mainly changed from forests and farmland to construction land. (2) The ecosystem carbon sequestration in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan metropolitan area decreased by 22.66 × 106 t from 1990 to 2020, with the most significant decrease occurring from 2005 to 2010 when the expansion of construction land was 284.43 km2. (3)By 2030, the Changzhutan metropolitan area is projected to expand its construction land by 312.05 km2, 175.65 km2, 68.21 km2, and 68.90 km2 under the scenarios of natural development, farmland protection, ecological protection, and comprehensive development, respectively. Land use change in each scenario is expected to cause carbon storage losses of 10.01 × 106 t, 11.01 × 106 t, 2.07 × 106 t, and 1.95 × 106t, compared to 2020. (4) Over the investigation time span, expansion of construction ground in metropolitan Changzhutan had a negative impact on regional carbon storage, reaching a stable state from 2005 to 2020, and the effect pertaining to growth from the area of development upon the carbon accumulation of regional ecosystems under the comprehensive protection scenario in 2030 was −0.46. Considering the spatial heterogeneity analysis of regional carbon storage, this scenario would substantially upgrade the functional area surrounding the region and increase the biological system stabilization, which is conducive to achieving carbon neutrality goals.

The Value of Agricultural Areas: An Estimation Model of the Area to the Southeast of the City of Bari

The role of agricultural activities in countries with mature economies suggests, on the one hand, the traditional role of producing foodstuffs and dietary fibers; on the other, it speaks to the offering of landscape, cultural, recreational, and environmental services. The member states of the European Union have for some time derogated the control of agricultural processes to EU decision-making, within an overarching vision that recalls both roles of this primary activity. The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine military crisis have heightened the urgency to protect national agricultural production and guarantee minimum levels of agricultural provisions. In Italy, this orientation clashes with practices of unauthorized construction, favored by policies of “building amnesties”, and the pressure exercised on urban growth that, particularly in fringe areas, modifies the mercantile nature of agricultural lands. This paper examines the theme in operative terms, analyzing an urban fringe in the city of Bari. The use of multiple regression analysis, applied to the agricultural land market, evidenced how prices in these areas are clearly impacted by their potential transformation into buildable terrains, even when urban plans do not foresee this use.

Walkability Perceptions and Gender Differences in Urban Fringe New Towns: A Case Study of Shanghai

Urban fringe areas, characterized by relatively larger community sizes and lower population densities compared to central areas, may lead to variations in walkability as well as gender differences, such as safety perception. While objective measurements have received considerable attention, further research is needed to comprehensively assess subjective perceptions of walking in the urban periphery. As a case study, we evaluated survey responses of community perceptions of “Imageability”, “Enclosure”, “Human scale”, “Complexity” and “Safety” of Shanghai’s five new towns, comparing these with responses from the central area in terms of gender difference, and analyzed influencing factors and prediction performance of machine learning (ML) models. We developed a TrueSkill-based rating system to dynamically collect audits of street view images (SVIs) from professional students and used the result to integrate with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Computer Vision (CV), Clustering analysis, and ML algorithm for further investigation. Results show that most of the new towns’ communities are perceived as moderately walkable or higher, with the city center’s community exhibiting the best walkability perceptions in general. Male and female perceptions of the “Human scale” and the factors that affect it differ little, but there are significant disparities in the other four perceptions. The best-performing ML models were effective at variable explanations and generalizations, with Random Forest Regression (RFR) performing better on more perception predictions. Responses also suggest that certain street design factors, such as street openness, can positively influence walkability perceptions of women and could be prioritized in new town development and urban renewal for more inclusive and walkable cities.

Urban Sprawl Symptoms in Makassar City

Urban sprawl symptoms are characterized by the phenomenon of the expansion of urban functional areas into urban fringe areas. The residential area of Bumi Tamalanrea Permai Makassar showed the symptoms, where the dynamics of densification and dualistic residential areas and the region’s growth have exceeded the supporting capacity and basic availability infrastructure in the area. This article was intended to explore the processes, activities, and analysis of urban sprawl symptoms in urban fringe using a mixed quantitative and qualitative/mixed methods approach. The research results show that there has been densification, dualistic settlements, gated areas beyond urban functional boundaries, and changes in the pattern of the transformation of physical and spatial functions toward the urban fringe in such a way that they form urban sprawl.

Dynamics of Informal Settlement Expansion on the Urban Fringe: The Case of Birbir Town, Southern Ethiopia

This study examines the dynamics of fringe land invasion in Birbir Town, southern Ethiopia by adopting a descriptive survey design with both qualitative and quantitative data analyses. Primary data were acquired through a household survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and observations. This study also benefited from relevant secondary sources. Using a simple random sampling technique, 156 household heads were selected from Birbir and two adjacent rural areas. The study revealed that informal settlement expansion in the form of fringe land invasion occurs in Birbir Town predominantly due to population increase, urban sprawl, migration, poor land administration and governance systems, a lack of boundary demarcation, and the presence of available unserviced public land near the town. The process was intensified by actors such as farmers, local administrators, informal dealers, politicians, and local elders. The encroachment of urban fringe areas has led to deforestation, relinquishment of cultivable acreage, entitlement disputes, a prevailing trend of illicit land occupation, an unstructured urban expansion pattern, and a surge in criminality, fostering discordant communities. This study contributes to the understanding of informality on the urban fringe as posing socioeconomic and governance challenges in small towns of developing countries by presenting the case of Birbir.

1832-PUB: SECRET—Screening and Educating Adolescents for Obesity

Background: India is predicted to have over 27 million children with obesity, representing over half of the children with obesity in the region and 1 in 10 of all children globally. Aim: To study Obesity prevalence in Adolescents and making timely interventions for healthier lifestyle adoption in urban and rural Ahmedabad. Methodology: A team of physician, nurse, pediatrician, educator took up the task of collecting data from schools in the rural and urban areas of Ahmedabad and periphery of 50kms during months of March-May 2022 with prior consent from guardians at 4 schools. Data including height, weight, abdominal girth, neck circumference was collected along with survey on food intake, type, exercise and habits. Adolescents of age category 14-18 yrs were included. Menstrual history was taken. Obesity was defined using the National Center for Disease Control definitions. We used the NHANES proposed cutoff of ≥90th percentile of Waist Circumference for identifying central obesity and Neck Circumference ≥ 50th percentile for identifying obesity. BP measurement and acanthosis assessment was also done. We conducted seminars on healthy eating and physical activity for all kids irrespective of their health status. Results: Total Cohort: 800, 14-18 years with a 1:1 ratio of girls:boys and same in rural and urban areas. There was higher prevalence of overweight in girls compared with boys (16%vs 12%), but the prevalence of obesity is higher in boys than girls (8%vs6%), the prevalence of underweight is slightly higher in boys than girls (21%vs9.5%). Underweight is more prevalent in rural areas vs obesity in urban areas. Conclusion: Screening adolescents for obesity, and making timely interventions for the prevention of disorders through education and appropriate lifestyle interventions can be one step towards a healthy future of the country. There lies necessity for expanding these screening and education programs through ROOTS ie Recognition, Obesity monitoring, Obesity prevention, Treatment and System based approach. Disclosure V.Chavda: None. D.Hasnani: None. S.Hasnani: None. B.Saboo: None. V.Abichandani: None. A.Shrivastava: None. S.Jha: None. B.D.Saboo: None.

Soil-Water Comprehensive Treatment Theory of Urban Fringe

Urban fringe is an active expanding belt, the environment of the urban fringe is complex and frangible. Previous studies have focused on the landscape spatial pattern changes, the spatial-temporal variability of soil pollutants and the land management and policy issues, etc., but it is lack of the theory and practice study of land &amp; water comprehensive remediation in urban fringe areas. This article is taking the Shichuan River as an example. And establish a new concept of comprehensive remediation with soil purification as the key, and with water treatment as the link, meanwhile it will keep clear water with pure land. Form land organic rearrangement theory for different types of land utilization.

Fencing affects movement patterns of two large carnivores in Southern Africa

The erection of peripheral fences around protected areas has been shown to adversely affect the movement behavior, genetic connectivity and long-term viability of animal populations. However, fencing is also used extensively to reduce human encroachment, limit poaching activities, and mitigate human–wildlife conflicts. Limited information on the movement behavior of carnivores is available along the periphery of protected areas, particularly in semi-arid environments. To quantify the potential effects of the 824 km perimeter fence surrounding the Etosha National Park (Etosha, Namibia) on the movement and space use of carnivores, we collected GPS movement data from 36 lions (Panthera leo) and seven spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) over a 14-year period. For these two apex carnivores, we measured the impact of the Etosha fence on their movements (step lengths and path straightness), calculated the likelihood of fence crossings, and evaluated the spatial–temporal characteristics of these crossings. Our results indicated that lions and hyenas moved faster (longer step lengths) when closer to the fence. Lions showed no variation in path straightness with respect to the fence but hyenas had straighter movement paths when closer to the fence. When moving within the vicinity of the fence, lions had a 9% likelihood of crossing the fence, while hyenas were much more likely (18%) to do so, which suggests that the Etosha fence was more permeable for hyenas than for lions. Fence crossings predominantly occurred at night for both species. Lions were more likely to cross the fence during the cold dry season (May–August) whereas hyenas crossed more often during the warm wet season (December–April). Female and adult lions had a higher probability of crossing the fence than males and subadults. These findings could be useful in the development of appropriate strategies to mitigate human–carnivore conflicts and thus promote the conservation of carnivores in multiple-use areas along the periphery of the park. Further research is needed to better elucidate the impact of perimeter fences on a broader suite of carnivores and other large mammals, including species-specific variation in the response to fences, as well as the economic benefits of fencing provided to local communities.

Spatial Patterns and Influencing Factors of Rural Land Commodification at Township Scale: A Case Study in Shijiazhuang City, North China

The rapid spread of capitalism in rural areas has facilitated rural land commodification (RLC). While some scholars have studied RLC, few have analyzed its spatial characteristics. Taking Shijiazhuang city as a study area, this paper applies Moran’s I method and spatial regression models to analyze township-scale RLC patterns and driving factors. The study investigates four common pathways of RLC: production-oriented farmland, tourism-oriented farmland, rural homesteads, and construction land commodification which are predominantly found in urban fringe areas. The distribution of RLC demonstrates positive spatial autocorrelation, characterized by spatial aggregation and polarization. Population, economic level, agriculture, and location conditions are identified as key drivers, and their specific mechanisms vary across development pathways. Future efforts should focus on ensuring balanced and coordinated RLC development in accordance with regional conditions and capacity, while also addressing the implications arising from the coexistence of RLC with rural aging and poverty.

Quantifying the impact of green infrastructure change on landscape patterns using intensity analysis and landscape metrics in the Taipei metropolitan area.

Developing a sound urban green infrastructure system is critical for addressing climate change. Green infrastructure (GI) also plays an essential role in the urban system by providing ecosystem services for urban residents. Although some research on GI has been published in Taiwan, there is a lack of understanding of how changes in land use and GI affect the landscape patterns in urban fringe areas. This study explores the impact of changes in GI on the landscape pattern of the urban fringe and urban core areas in the Taipei metropolitan area (TMA). We used intensity analysis to investigate changes in land area and land use intensity between 1981 and 2015 at three levels: interval, category, and transition. Landscape metrics were employed to analyze changes in GI patterns. We found, firstly, that although the rate of change in the urban core area of the TMA was faster than the rate of change in the urban fringe area during 1981-1995 and 1995-2006, changes in the urban fringe area nevertheless maintained a state of rapid change in 1995-2006 and 2006-2015. Secondly, forest and agricultural lands in urban fringe areas were the GI categories with the greatest changes in area from 1981 to 2015. Thirdly, transition areas among forest, agricultural, and built-up areas in urban fringe areas were larger during 1995-2015 than 1981-1995. Finally, the results of landscape pattern analysis indicate that the urban fringe area of the TMA is experiencing landscape fragmentation. Although forest land remained the main category in the urban fringe from 1981 to 2015, the integrity of its patch area decreased over time, and the prevalence of small and complex patches of built-up and agricultural land increased. Spatial planning should therefore consider how to build a GI system to promote ecosystem services in urban fringe areas so as to enhance the ability to respond to climate change.

Characterizing Sprawl Development in Urban China: A Perspective from Urban Amenity

Urban sprawl in China presents unique characteristics that differ from those commonly studied in Western contexts, an aspect not fully explored in previous studies. Therefore, taking Wuhan, Hubei as an example and integrating population data, remote sensing data, and POI data, this research offers a perspective on sprawl development in urban China. By incorporating population, urban land use, and urban amenities, this study measures their dynamics to classify urban spaces and employs spatial regression models to identify the characteristics of sprawl development with spatial effects controlled. It further applies geographically weighted regression to examine the underlying spatial heterogeneity. The findings indicate that population growth and urban land expansion do not align perfectly, and further exploration identifies the various trends of sprawl development in urban core and periphery areas. On the other hand, some suburban areas show compact development trends, but the growth of local amenities may be limited due to the historical sprawl development legacies. Regression results reveal specific characteristics of this sprawl development. Key findings include the following: (1) shaped by the triple process of sprawl development of urban renewal, suburbanization, and rural revitalization, Wuhan shows a significant core-periphery structure with the trend of polycentricity; (2) overcrowding in central urban districts is the primary driver of sprawl development; (3) most traditional suburbs in Wuhan have emerged as a consequence of rapid urbanization with a legacy of sprawl development; (4) spatial heterogeneity across urban spaces highlights the necessity for locally tailored approaches to regulating sprawl development.

Identification of High-Value Land for Green Infrastructure in Urban Fringe Areas: A Case Study of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China

Urban fringe is the most active and complex space in which land and ecology change under the influence of urban expansion. Green infrastructure (GI) in urban fringe areas consists mostly of diversified, small-scale, and scattered green spaces, which simultaneously fulfill the functions of ecological maintenance and urban–rural services. Assessing GI land’s value can promote its effective use. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine various GI patches’ land value, specifically identifying GI lands with potential for public goods output in the urban fringe, which is oriented toward public welfare output. First, based on a combination of remote sensing technology, big data analysis, and artificial intelligence, we determined that Zhengzhou is divided into core area, edge area, and outer edge area. Second, we found that morphological spatial pattern analysis can accurately identify GI types that play important roles in ecological protection, and the GI lands in the fringe area of Zhengzhou can be characterized as small and fragmented, having poor connectivity, representing a single land type, containing a high proportion of farmland, and a lacking a purely natural landscape. Third, we constructed an evaluation system from ecological maintenance and urban–rural services public goods and identified the high-value GI lands of the edge district of Zhengzhou, including Xianghu Ecological Wetland Park, Die Lake Park, Xiliu Lake Park, Changzhuang Reservoir, Jiangang Reservoir, and greenways along some rivers and roads. Our results highlight the value of microhabitats in the urban fringe and suggest effective ways of protecting and utilizing them, providing a basis for GI network planning and construction and contributing to sustainable urban development.

Investigating the Implications of Transit-Oriented Land Use Development for a Potential Node in an Urban Metro for Sustainability

Urbanization is intrinsically connected to economic progress. India’s rapid economic and population growth has increased its carbon footprint and traffic congestion. A long-term strategy is essential to preserve the balance and alleviate the issues arising from the expansion. Integrating land use and transportation planning has been acknowledged as a means to achieve sustainable urban development worldwide. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is one such strategy. TOD is a planning and design strategy for promoting urban development by clustering jobs, housing, services, and amenities around public transport stations. This strategy can help achieve sustainable communities and improve the quality of life. This research paper assessed the land use characteristics of an urban fringe area in Trivandrum city and completed a land suitability analysis using GIS software tools. A potential node for re-development was identified by looking at various traffic, demographic, and land use parameters. Detailed TOD recommendations for the area surrounding the transit node were proposed based on its development potential.

Analyzing accessibility of car campgrounds through road network structure software in Beijing

The development of self-driving tourism and automobile campgrounds depends on the construction of road infrastructure. In this study, we utilized aeronautical reconnaissance coverage geographic information system (ArcGIS), spatial analysis technology and accessibility model to quantitatively examine the accessibility and spatial pattern of automobile campgrounds in Beijing. Our findings reveal that Beijing's automobile campgrounds exhibit a circular distribution pattern, with decreasing accessibility from the center to the periphery areas. The overall accessibility maintains high-level road directivity, with an average travel time to automobile campgrounds ranging from 0.028 to 3.37 h. Access to automobile campgrounds is higher in the central and southern-central regions compared to the northwest and southwest regions, highlighting a highly unbalanced spatial pattern of accessibility. Finally, we provide suggestions for optimizing the accessibility of automobile campgrounds in Beijing based on our research.

Urban Equity Measure of Tree Canopy: A case study of New York City

The urban tree canopy is widely recognized as an urban resource that contributes to the physical and mental health of residents, yet tree inequality is widespread. To achieve the goal of promoting tree equity and filling the gap in relevant academic research, this study develops a 2-step 9CNN model to obtain highly accurate urban tree canopy (UTC) data from high-resolution satellite images. New York City tree canopy data is obtained by this new method and correlates with New York City socioeconomic data to examine UTC's horizontal and vertical equity. OLS regression correlations of per capita UTC area with the number of elderly, poor, low-educated, and disabled were used to measure vertical equity. To avoid the interference of spatial autocorrelation, GWR models were used to test for spatial differences in vertical equity. The results of the horizontal equity study show that there is far less UTC space per capita in New York's urban centers than in the fringe areas. Vertical equity in UTC is poor across all of vulnerable groups and is particularly pronounced in some regions. These findings can subsequently help to develop policies for UTC equity and environmental justice concerns.