Urban Design Factors Research Articles

Revisiting Urban Street Planning and Design Factors to Promote Walking as a Physical Activity for Middle-Class Individuals with Metabolic Syndrome in Cairo, Egypt.

This paper revisits the planning and design factors of "pedestrianized" and "walkable" urban streets to encourage physical activity, focusing on their prioritization according to public health and smart growth. The aim is to create a conceptual framework for urban planners and designers to encourage walking and reduce metabolic syndrome (MetS) risks. Through a scoping review, the study found that while pedestrianized and walkable streets share many planning and design factors, they have different objectives. The study explores how urban planning and design can reduce MetS risk among middle-class individuals using online video storytelling for 30 participants in three districts of Cairo, Egypt: El Zamalek, Old Cairo, and Heliopolis. It identifies three factors to address MetS symptoms for middle-class individuals: strategic, design-oriented, and technical. Practitioners and policymakers can use this framework to evaluate the impact of their work. This study is particularly relevant for cities in the Global South that are facing similar challenges.

Ambient temperature modelling from surface characteristics and associating urban morphology with thermal discomfort

Urban heat island assessment is of paramount importance when monitoring microclimate changes, increased heat stress, mortality and energy consumption. Simply analysing land surface temperature patterns for human comfort and health assessment is often inadequate. In this study, we attempt to resolve this inadequacy with ambient temperature modelling from multiple surface characteristics for a tropical megacity. A 336 datapoint‐based multilinear regression model was formulated to predict the maximum summer air temperature with a mean absolute error of 0.694°C. Specific locations of critical thermal environments were demarcated with Getis‐Ord statistic. Based on our results, extreme hotspots covered 10.53 per cent of the city on a daily basis at 99 per cent confidence level. The application of an outdoor thermal comfort index highlighted the existence of very strong heat stress zones over 14.67 per cent of the study area. The air temperature hotspots were verified with intra‐urban variation in carbon sequestration. This environmental parameter was used to strengthen the observed results since, carbon sequestration directly links urbanization with degradation of thermal environments. Further, five urban morphological parameters were analysed to conclude that building density and height were the most significant urban design factors leading to increased air temperature. Simultaneous local climate zone mapping depicted that heat islands were dominated by mid and high‐rise built‐up areas, of which 68.44 km2 of that area is suitable for vertical and roof gardening. Another 33.29 km of road stretch was delineated within low‐rise built‐up areas with scope for green landscaping to improve urban sustainability.

How far I’ll go: Social infrastructure accessibility and proximity in urban neighborhoods

Recent studies have shown that social infrastructure – community spaces, places of worship, social businesses, and parks – help build social ties, mitigate political polarization, and improve our health. This exploratory study examines why some areas in American cities see greater access to social infrastructure than others, applying geospatial models and city block analyses to the case of Boston. We hypothesize that neighborhoods of color and lower-income neighborhoods might see lower levels of access to social infrastructure, which have significant implications for the health and resilience of these neighborhoods. Using analyses of proximity on a large-N dataset of (1) all social infrastructure sites in Boston and (2) every building in Boston, we measure the distance between every building and social infrastructure site in the city, and model the associations of neighborhood demographics, socioeconomic status, and urban design factors on median distance from social infrastructure. Finally, we demonstrate findings using hyperlocal case studies of 3 iconic city blocks in Boston, examining Back Bay, Nubian Square, and Mount Bowdoin. We find evidence of strong race- and income-related gaps in access to social infrastructure, consistent even after extended controls for demographics and physical infrastructure traits, highlighting major inequities in social policy.

Evaluating Walkability in Budapest through Space Syntax Analysis

Walking is a fundamental and intuitive means of transportation both on an individual and urban scale, offering social and personal benefits like improved health, equity, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these benefits, urban sprawl and increased car dependency remain significant challenges. To combat this trend, urban planners have emphasized walking as a way to reduce vehicle travel and emissions, while public health researchers recognize its potential to improve general health.This study explores the concept of walkability and its relationship to urban design, with a specific focus on two recently renovated areas in Budapest, namely Egyetem Square and Corvin Promenade. Utilizing space syntax analysis, a promising approach to developing a walkability index, this research investigates the functional aspects of these urban spaces and their impact on walkability.The study aims to demonstrate the potential of space syntax analysis in enhancing urban planning efforts aimed at promoting walkability. By analyzing the spatial configuration, visibility, and accessibility of the case studies, this research examines how the design and layout of these areas influence pedestrian movement patterns and the overall walkability experience.By demonstrating the potential of space syntax analysis in informing urban planning decisions, this study provides insights into the relationship between spatial configuration and walkability. The findings highlight the importance of well-connected street networks, clear pathways, and visually appealing urban elements in creating walkable environments. The results of the analysis contribute to the understanding of how urban design factors can be leveraged to enhance walkability and create sustainable, livable cities.

Stress and streets: How the network structure of streets is associated with stress-related brain activation

Previous research has examined the relation between urban design factors and mental health, but the impact of street networks is underrepresented. This exploratory, cross-sectional study examines the association between street network variables based on the Space Syntax theory and whole-brain activation during a social stress paradigm. Forty-two individuals who lived in Berlin participated in an fMRI study during which acute social stress was induced. Saliva cortisol concentrations, subjective stress ratings, and mean heart rate were assessed as proxies for a successful stress induction. Space Syntax was used as a tool to objectively measure street network characteristics including global integration (‘proximity’ of a street to all the other streets in a network), local integration (‘proximity’ of a street to a certain number of streets within a walkable area), connectivity (‘direct street connections’ a street has), and normalized angular choice (NACH) (‘straightest and shortest’ route for a street in a street network). They were analyzed within a 1500 m radius of participants' address (i.e., neighborhood) as well as for the street closest to their address (i.e., point address). Higher mean neighborhood global and local integration, which equate to better integrated streets in the network, were associated with less activation during stress provocation in several brain regions, including dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and thalamus, which play a role in the detection of salient stimuli and threats. No association was found between brain activity and global and local integration for the point address. There was also no association between brain activity and connectivity or NACH for any conditions. The study indicates that Space Syntax is a useful tool for measuring macro-scale urban space (e.g., street networks) in neuro-urbanistic studies. The results underline the need to explore the potential of optimizing street networks to better understand pathways to urban mental health.

Urban design and cardio-metabolic risk factors

Accumulating evidence suggests that the built environment may be associated with cardiovascular disease via its influence on health behaviours. The aim of this study was to estimate the associations between traditional and novel neighbourhood built environment metrics and clinically assessed cardio-metabolic risk factors among a sample of adults in Canada. A total of 7171 participants from Albertas Tomorrow Project living in Alberta, Canada, were included. Cardio-metabolic risk factors were clinically measured. Two composite built environment metrics of traditional walkability and space syntax walkability were calculated. Among men, space syntax walkability was negatively associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure (b = −0.87, 95% CI -1.43, −0.31 and b = −0.45, 95% CI -0.86, −0.04, respectively). Space syntax walkability was also associated with lower odds of overweight/obese among women and men (OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.87, 0.99 and OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.79, 0.97, respectively). No significant associations were observed between traditional walkability and cardio-metabolic outcomes. This study showed that the novel built environment metric based on the space syntax theory was associated with some cardio-metabolic risk factors.

Walking alone or walking together: A spatial evaluation of children’s travel behavior to school

The purpose of this research is to extend our understanding of children’s walking behavior to school in an understudied region of the world, Istanbul, Turkey. Children (aged 11–17) and their parents were surveyed to comprehend subjective and objective factors on walking behavior to school when alone or with someone. Using participatory mapping and GIS, a route detour index was first created to highlight differences in walking behaviors. A robust spatial analysis, consisting of spatial statistics and a hierarchical spatial error model, then signified important survey responses, urban design factors from space syntax, and neighborhood composition and contextual variables on between-group route choices. Empirical and geovisual analysis confirmed that accompanied children deviated more from GIS shortest routes to school than their unaccompanied peers, and “hot-spot” analysis showed it was dependent on where children reside. The spatial error models exhibited notable relations among route choice, children’s age, health, and gender. Parent attitudes concerning greenspace positively affected children’s longer route choices, while street connectivity had the opposite influence. Surprisingly, neighborhood walkability did not impact children’s route choice decisions for either group. The results provide new insights on how to encourage additional walking trips to school.

Understanding the capacities of urban street spaces by mapping Melbourne’s parklets

ABSTRACT During the COVID-19 pandemic, many parklets have been deployed onto kerbside carparking spaces throughout Melbourne, Australia, by street-fronting hospitality businesses, to provide socially-distanced outdoor dining spaces. These temporary parklets provide useful indicators of the varying capacities of urban streets to support street life and commercial activity. By examining the distribution of Melbourne’s parklets, this paper identifies numerous urban design factors that provide capacity for parklets, or inhibit them. The analysis shows parklets thrive on traditional, pedestrian-friendly shopping streets with narrow frontages and good access but low through-traffic. Car-dependent outer-suburban shopping streets and strip shopping centres also support numerous parklets. Key hindrances include commercial streets serving as arterial commuter routes and streets that already have extensive traffic-calming features. Minor side streets can provide parklet capacity, but many design conditions inhibit this. The paper challenges policy-makers, planners and designers to address a variety of impediments to creating more pedestrian-friendly street environments.

Examining Challenges in Complying with the Principles of Sustainability for the Design of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia

Existential issues obstruct the practice of incorporating sustainability concepts, which is the holistic consideration of urban bridge design factors. Bridge infrastructure is considered a connecting structure for separated highways and railways. The case for ensuring the safe mobility of people and goods across obstacles from one urban corner to another is viewed as an essential component of transportation infrastructure. The design and provision of urban bridges to attain sustainability are associated with tremendous challenges because of a lack of awareness and existential issues and obstacles. The problem in the practice of urban bridge design in Ethiopia is indicated as being “traditional” in delivery, with a lack of accommodation for many essential components of sustainable design. Therefore, a change in thinking is needed to address sustainability. The question of how designers could make design practice sustainable is complicated by multiple challenges. In this research, we used a survey questionnaire to collect the opinions of design professionals. Principal component analysis was employed to explore the major gaps in sustainable urban bridge design practice. A lack of sustainable design impact; sustainability awareness; design codes, practices, and standards that consider sustainability criteria; working guiding protocols and frameworks; and support for sustainability practice were identified as major challenges. Addressing the design problem requires a mechanism to consider the challenges through the defined participation of the designer, client, and public during rule setting, monitoring, and evaluation. Sustainability rating tools must also be deployed to evaluate and quantify the performance of urban bridges.

Pedaling through a virtually redesigned city: Evaluation of traffic planning and urban design factors influencing bicycle traffic

To achieve the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement, it is of great importance to promote environmentally friendly means of transport. In urban areas, shifting motorized trips to active transport modes (i.e., walking and cycling) is essential. Therefore, knowledge of walking and cycling is indispensable for planning and policy, which is the basis for targeted promotion of active forms of mobility. This paper aims to identify factors that specifically influence cycling and to derive recommendations for action for planning and policy in a virtual testbed. Specifically, the influence of traffic planning measures (i.e., structural infrastructure facilities for stationary and moving traffic as well as traffic regulations) and urban design measures (i.e., the design of public space) on the promotion of cycling will be shown. For this purpose, a virtual reality simulation was used, independent of different external conditions during field surveys and the necessity of time-, cost- and regulation-intensive structural changes. Using an improved bicycle simulator, 93 people cycled through 20 variations of an approximately 680 m long road section, surveying the effect of selected traffic planning and urban design parameters. Special attention was paid to the subjective safety of the cyclists and the attractiveness of the urban environment. Furthermore, three types of infrastructure were differentiated: No bicycle infrastructure (riding on the roadway), a bicycle lane, and a structurally separated cycle path next to the sidewalk. The virtual road section represented a real location. In addition to the findings gained from the physiological optimization of the simulator, the results show that roadside greenery had the highest effectiveness in terms of subjective safety and attractiveness. Other factors with a high influence were a speed reduction from 50 to 30 km/h when riding on the roadway with cars and the red coloring of the bicycle lane, each increasing the perception of safety. In contrast, a lack of a boundary line between the cycle path and the sidewalk was unsettling for those who rarely or never ride bicycles in their daily lives. In addition, restaurant and recreation areas increased the attractiveness of the road section, although entailing a lower perception of safety. Other factors, such as motor vehicle traffic volume or vehicles parked at the roadside, showed no significant effects on the evaluation of cycling.With the help of these findings, the consequences of traffic planning and urban design measures can be better assessed in subsequent virtual testbeds. Also, initial trends can be identified as to which planning instruments should be used as a priority to promote cycling in urban areas. Future work should validate the transfer of these insights into physical urban spaces to support further the mid-term transformation towards sustainable urban mobility using scientific evidence.

Development and application of an algorithmic-parametric tool to assess the contribution of urban forestry to mitigate floods

As an impact of climate change, water-related disasters, such as floods, are becoming more frequent. In this context, there is an increasing demand to improve the resiliency of urban settlements, using multiple approaches and techniques. This paper assesses one of those techniques, by developing an algorithmic-parametric tool to quantify how urban forestry reduces flood impacts from rainfall runoff. The assessment was comprised by three main methodological steps: (#1) observing the scientific literature on “the sponge effect” observed in green infrastructures; (#2) developing an algorithmic-parametric tool using the Grasshopper application to estimate rainfall runoff, considering the influence of urban forestry design factors; and (#3) performing digital simulations with this parametric tool using a Rhinoceros-Grasshopper interface. Results indicate this method is effective in assessing the efficacy of green interventions to mitigate urban flood damage and also in foreseeing how different design strategies impact urban hydrological dynamics.

Analyzing Street Crime Hotspots and Their Associated Factors in Chittagong City, Bangladesh

Urban street crime (USC) hotspots severely affect the residential and business neighborhood (RBN) areas of any urban center. This study analyzes USC hotspots and identifies the associated risk factors of becoming a USC hotspot in the residential and business neighborhood areas of Chittagong city. Primary and secondary data sources were used, but primary data played a primary role in this study. It was found that male, married, landlord, and middle-income groups of people are more likely to be victimized than the female, unmarried, renters, rich, and no-income groups. More street crime hotspots were found in the residential than in the business neighborhood. The statistical analysis of the logistic regression model for street crime victimization, a hotspot analysis model of a contour map, and a spatial autocorrelation map identified vulnerable locations in the residential and business neighborhood areas where people are frequently victimized by street crime. Qualitative and statistical analysis results show social, economic, geographical, governance, and planning and urban design factors play a vital role in developing USC hotspots in Chittagong city. The study outcomes need to be considered for an integrated approach to monitor and reduce street crime hotspots by policymakers, urban local government, and community leaders in Chittagong city.

Spaces Eliciting Negative and Positive Emotions in Shrinking Neighbourhoods: a Study in Seoul, South Korea, Using EEG (Electroencephalography).

Although shrinking neighbourhoods are places where urban citizens experience negative emotions, some evidence suggests that people in some shrinking neighbourhoods feel less negative emotions than in other areas. Nevertheless, empirical studies that analyse environmental and personal elements that affect people's emotions in a shrinking neighbourhood remain insufficient. This is rather surprising, considering an increasing interest in the effects of negative emotions on individuals' health. Thus, this study used electroencephalography (EEG) to examine the impacts of environmental and personal characteristics on people's emotional levels in a shrinking area of Seoul, South Korea. A multilinear regression model was used to analyse emotional valence levels between sites with different urban designs and management levels. The results revealed that people felt positive emotions at sites where both urban design factors and their management were both satisfactory at appropriate levels. The results also found that people who had lived or worked in the neighbourhood for a long time and were women experienced more positive emotions than visitors and men. This finding implies that a shrinking neighbourhood can maintain a sense of satisfaction as long as the area is carefully managed. Revealing the emotional effects of environmental and personal characteristics in a shrinking neighbourhood can be used for planning practices and policy-making to create healthy and liveable urban neighbourhoods.

Analysis of Spatial Concentrations of Large-Truck Crashes Using Data Mining Methods

In recent years, the number of studies on crashes involving large-trucks has increased due to its importance to the economy and the higher chance of fatalities. However, none of the previous studies has given attention to the spatial concentrations of large-truck crashes. Moreover, the literature lacks exploration of granular level land use and urban design factors. The current study used the DBSCAN (Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Application with Noise) method to identify the spatial concentrations of crashes involving large-trucks. Additionally, the study explored housing, population, employment, and road network density attributes along with the crash characteristics, roadway attributes, location type, traffic conditions, driver’s action and behavior, and environmental factors. The association rule analysis was employed to discover the contributory factors that lead to no injury, non-severe and severe injuries at the spatial concentrations of crashes involving large-trucks. The findings indicated that the rear-end collisions involving drunk drivers often lead to severe injuries in large-truck crashes. Non-interstate roads, speed limit from 40 to 80 kilometers per hour, high road network density, medium and high population density are frequent conditions of non-severe injuries. Lastly, collisions between large-trucks and fixed objects, sideswipe same direction collisions, snowy roads, clear weather, medium road network and employment density are likely to facilitate no injury crashes involving large-trucks. Road traffic authorities can use these insights to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes involving large-trucks at their spatial concentrations.

Housing Experience in Gated Communities in the Time of Pandemics: Lessons Learned from COVID-19.

Gated communities constitute an important component of the contemporary city in many countries, and the adequacy of such communities as a housing option has attracted the attention of researchers and policy makers from various backgrounds. However, it is unclear how gated communities will be perceived and reconsidered following the COVID-19 pandemic and whether this type of community will become more common. Thus, this study aims to investigate housing experience of gated community residents during the pandemic with reference to the urban context of Saudi Arabia. To this end, the residents of a selected gated community were surveyed using a structured questionnaire to identify the urban and architectural design factors that have affected their housing experience during the pandemic compared to that of the residents of non-gated communities. It was concluded that despite the criticism gated communities have received, they offered a safer and more controlled housing environment during the pandemic from the residents’ point of view, which may create additional housing demands for this type of residential community in the future. This requires further investigation for ascertaining how this may affect the housing market dynamics and strategies.

Criminological Research of Architectural, Construction and Infrastructural Environment of Modern Cities (Landmarks, Goals, Foreign Experience and Results)

In recent decades, in many countries of the world, promising applied scientific studies of architectural, construction and infrastructural environment of cities have been actively pursued for their criminogenicity. They not only expand the range of knowledge about causes and conditions of crime in cities, but also lead to the adoption of significant managerial decisions in the field of urban planning, construction, reconstruction and improvement of the territory of settlements, implementation of which neutralizes and suppresses criminogenic factors. In many cities, the level of crime has significantly decreased and the degree of victimological safety of city dwellers has increased due to carrying out these practice oriented scientific developments based on the connection identified by criminologists between crime and the nature of urban development, the location and appearance of buildings and structures, a layout of settlements, urban design and other environmental factors and following the conclusions and recommendations obtained from their results. Intensive processes of urbanization and urban population growth, which are observed today all over the world, actualize such studies and make them especially actual. This study not only acquaints the reader with the theoretical basis, teleological foundations, features, basic principles, the most recent results and new knowledge obtained by modern scientists-criminologists who study criminogenic factors of architectural, construction and infrastructural urban environment, but also with specific empirical material, obtained by the author and his colleagues, demonstrates the positive effect, heuristic potential and advantages of the direction of scientific research under consideration.

The impact of urban design and the built environment on road traffic crashes: A case study of Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Road traffic crashes are one of the biggest causes of unnatural deaths in developing countries. This study identifies urban design factors that can influence road traffic crashes. The factors are categorized under the dimensions of land use, street furniture, buildings, and landscape. Road crashes’ data was collected from 1122 Emergency Services of Punjab, Pakistan, while data regarding built environment factors were collected using field surveys. Kernel density estimation technique was used to identify crash hotspots. Multiple and Tobit regression models were used to determine the impact of these indicators on road traffic crashes. Results have shown that most collisions were along the main highways. Commercial, residential, and recreational land uses positively influenced traffic crashes. Informal stops, traffic sign visibility, road condition, footpath/setback encroachments, and green belt availability also affected accident density. The study highlights the need to consider urban form and design factors for road accident prevention and management.

A multilevel approach for assessing the effects of microclimatic urban design on pedestrian thermal comfort: The High Line in New York

Due to global warming and rapid urbanization, the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events in the United States have increased. Particularly for pedestrians, excessive heat has been reported as a critical barrier to walking activity, which, in turn, can deteriorate walkability and urban vitality. By using a multilevel spatial approach, this study investigates the combined effects of microclimatic urban design features on daytime pedestrian thermal comfort. For this purpose, it uses on-site field measurements taken in July 2019 and estimates how different scales of street- and block-scale design factor impact the physiological thermal comfort of pedestrians on the High Line in New York City. Based on the findings, the High Line experiences high thermal stress conditions, with clusters of hot spots particularly in its upper section. In addition, the urban design features at both the street and block scales are highly correlated with estimated pedestrian thermal comfort. Specifically, at the block-scale level, the mean energy budget value largely depends on block density and volume, while at the street-scale level, the height-to-width ratio, tree view factors, and tree canopy cover ratio have a negative linear relationship with absorbed solar radiation. Moreover, the findings indicate that the combination of urban design factors at the street- and block-scale levels significantly impact pedestrian thermal comfort. This study offers practical knowledge and a deeper understanding about climate-sensitive urban designs that are highly resistant to extreme heat events.

Evaluating the impact of urban design scenarios on walking accessibility: the case of the Madrid ‘Centro’ district.

Walking accessibility planning is seen a powerful approach for moving towards sustainable mobility paradigms; however little attention is paid to determining which factors influence this accessibility and why. This paper addresses this gap between the theory and the practice, and evaluates how far variations in walking accessibility are related to four specific walking needs: attractiveness, comfort, safety, and ease-to-walk. Taking the ‘Centro’ district in Madrid (Spain) as a case study, exploratory scenarios are simulated by altering certain urban design factors for each walking need. Walking accessibility levels are calculated and compared across the exploratory scenarios to gain an insight into how each urban design factor affects walking accessibility. The results show a similar spatial pattern of accessibility for the four walking needs, with higher accessibility values in the north than in the south due to the greater density of destinations. Urban factors related to attractiveness and comfort are found to produce the most significant variations in walking accessibility. The paper concludes with a discussion on the practical usefulness of the findings, particularly in terms of prioritising urban design policies that increase walking accessibility levels.

How are Neighborhood and Street-Level Walkability Factors Associated with Walking Behaviors? A Big Data Approach Using Street View Images

The built environment characteristics associated with walkability range from neighborhood-level urban form factors to street-level urban design factors. However, many existing walkability indices are based on neighborhood-level factors and lack consideration for street-level factors. Arguably, this omission is due to the lack of a scalable way to measure them. This paper uses computer vision to quantify street-level factors from street view images in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Correlation analysis shows that some streetscape factors are highly correlated with neighborhood-level factors. Binary logistic regressions indicate that the streetscape factors can significantly contribute to explaining walking mode choice and that streetscape factors can have a greater association with walking mode choice than neighborhood-level factors. A potential explanation for the result is that the image-based streetscape factors may perform as proxies for some macroscale factors while representing the pedestrian experience as seen from eye-level.