Low-density Residential Areas Research Articles

Factors influencing injury severity of motor vehicle–crossing pedestrian crashes in rural Connecticut

The ordered probit model was used to evaluate the effect of roadway and area type features on injury severity of pedestrian crashes in rural Connecticut. Injury severity was coded on the KABCO scale and crashes were limited to those in which the pedestrians were attempting to cross two-lane highways that were controlled by neither stop signs nor traffic signals. Variables that significantly influenced pedestrian injury severity were clear roadway width (the distance across the road including lane widths and shoulders, but excluding the area occupied by on-street parking), vehicle type, driver alcohol involvement, pedestrian age 65 years or older, and pedestrian alcohol involvement. Seven area types were identified: downtown, compact residential, village, downtown fringe, medium-density commercial, low-density commercial, and low-density residential. Two groups of these area types were found to experience significantly different injury severities. Downtown, compact residential, and medium- and low-density commercial areas generally experienced lower pedestrian injury severity than village, downtown fringe, and low-density residential areas.

Non-spatial calibrations of a general unit model for ecosystem simulations

General Unit Models simulate system interactions aggregated within one spatial unit of resolution. For unit models to be applicable to spatial computer simulations, they must be formulated generally enough to simulate all habitat elements within the landscape. We present the development and testing of a unit model for the Patuxent River landscape in the state of Maryland, USA. The Patuxent Landscape Model (PLM) is designed to simulate the interactions among physical and biological dynamics in the context of regional socioeconomic behavior. The PLM is a tool for evaluating landscape change within the Patuxent watershed through simulation of ecological systems. A companion economic model estimates land development patterns and effects on human decisions from site characteristics, ecosystem properties, and regulatory paradigms. Landscape elements that are linked within the PLM are forest, agriculture and open water systems, and three levels of urban development. Urban developments are low and medium density residential areas (14.07% of the total watershed), and commercial, industrial and institutional area (5.7%). Forests are mixed populations of deciduous and evergreen species (45.11%). Agricultural areas (28.02%) are simulated through rotating crops of corn, winter wheat and soybeans within a cycle of two years. Open water (6.84%) represents the ecosystems within the rivers and streams where phytoplankton are the primary producers. In this paper we illustrate, how we gathered and formalized working models used within the Patuxent watershed for forests, agriculture urban settings and wetlands. Further, we show how we tested and merged the variety of models employed by scientific disciplines and created a general unit model to be used in the Patuxent Landscape Model (Pat_GEM). The Patuxent Landscape Model is built under the Spatial Modeling Environment.

Implications of Urban Development for Travel Demand in the Netherlands

The assumption that travel demand is influenced by land use has long been applied in Dutch spatial planning policy. The aim of the present analysis is to explore how far this policy has succeeded in bringing about a compact and mixed spatial structure. Hence, a detailed analysis of the variation and development in the dispersal of urban activities, mix of uses, density, and diversity in urban areas between 1990 and 1996 is provided. It appears that although urban areas are leveling out on the one hand, they are undergoing a process of separation on the other. Although most of the building in the Randstad (the densely populated western part of the Netherlands) is taking place inside the designated urban regions, it is not producing compact monocentric towns; the urban areas are converging more and more, the metropolitan centers are losing their importance, and subcenters and concentrations of services are springing up on the edges of the urban regions. These phenomena confirm the emergence of complex, polycentric urban areas. Suburban sprawl is increasing rapidly in the intermediate zone outside the Randstad, where low-density residential areas, monoenvironments, and business estates are expanding. This region appears to have become the suburban search space for the Randstad. These dual trends will increase the distance between locations and make destinations less easily accessible by bicycle and public transport. Hence, neither the polycentric development inside the Randstad nor the suburban developments outside the Randstad will contribute to the reduction of car use.

Controlling Sewage Treatment Plant Noise

Many local agencies responsible for the sewage treatment process manage a large number of small treatment facilities that serve low-density residential areas. This process is often noisy and, as a result, frequently generates complaints from nearby residents. Most of these agencies do not have staff with the requisite expertise to determine when noise complaints represent significant noise impacts. Further, if problems do exist, then the specialized knowledge required to mitigate noise impacts is not present. This paper presents the results of a study conducted for the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) in which a measurement procedure was developed, along with guidelines for determining the noise level at which impacts can be expected. Finally, an abatement solution was developed and tested, demonstrating the feasibility of a low-cost method of significantly lowering high noise levels generated by the operation of a typical low-volume sewage treatment facility.

Makers of the Residential Landscape: Conflict and Change in Outer London

This paper investigates the activities underlying change and lack of change in the urban landscape. Two low-density residential areas in south-east England undergoing strong development pressures are examined and comparisons are made with findings from previous studies of town centres. The timing of attempts to initiate change in the study areas was strongly influenced by the family circumstances of owner-occupiers but few of their planning applications were implemented. In their attempts to restrain development Local Authorities became involved in protracted conflicts with property owners and developers, particularly where private individuals sought permission for more than one or two dwellings. The physical form of development was primarily determined by profitability to developers, who often submitted applications following outline applications by owner-occupiers. Non-local developers, mainly employing nonlocal agents, were in the majority, but they were less preponderant than in town centres. In the more accessible residential area, land was acquired by developers earlier in the pre-development process, non-local firms played a more dominant role, demolition was more prevalent, and a higher proportion of flats/maisonettes were constructed.