Olsen, J. R. , Nicholls, N. , Whitley, E. and Mitchell, R. (2024) Association between local amenities, travel behaviours and urban planning: a spatial analysis of a nationwide UK household panel study. Journal of Transport and Health, 36, 101784. (doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2024.101784)
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Abstract
Introduction: Globally, there has been a recent resurgence in planning policies focused on local living (such as the 20-min neighbourhood) with proposed benefits of creating sustainable and healthy places. The policies aim to provide improved spatial access to local amenities within short walkable distances of home to encourage walking and cycling and discourage car use, however these pathways have not been examined. This study aimed to quantify the density and diversity of local amenities and their association with daily/weekly travel behaviours. Methods: We used data from Understanding Society, a national panel survey of UK adults. Spatial data were used to quantify the number and diversity of amenities that have previously been associated with active travel and focused on in 20-min neighbourhood policies within small geographical areas across the UK. These were linked to individual-level data describing daily and weekly travel behaviour for: walking (at least 10-min), cycling, car and bus use. Logistic regression models measured the association between individual amenities, their diversity and daily/weekly travel, whilst controlling for individual factors such as age, sex and employment, residing in a retail centre, as well as area-level urbanicity and deprivation. Results: Our analysis revealed variations in active travel and car usage patterns by sex, employment status, urbanicity, and area-level deprivation. Local amenities were associated with daily travel behaviours with more amenities generally associated with more frequent walking and less regular bus and car travel. Furthermore, increased amenity diversity was associated with reduced daily car use (OR: 0.77, p < 0.001). Similar patterns were apparent for weekly travel outcomes. Conclusions: Both access to specific local amenities as well as their diversity are both important neighbourhood factors for achieving shifts from motorised to active transport modes. Policy makers and planners need to ensure the diversity of local amenities are included in local living policies.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | 20-minute neighbourhoods, amenity diversity, travel behaviours, active travel, urban planning, inequalities. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Nicholls, Dr Natalie and Whitley, Dr Elise and Olsen, Dr Jonathan and Mitchell, Professor Rich |
| Creator Roles: | Olsen, J. R.Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – original draft Nicholls, N.Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – review and editing Whitley, E.Data curation, Writing – review and editing Mitchell, R.Methodology, Writing – review and editing |
| Authors: | Olsen, J. R., Nicholls, N., Whitley, E., and Mitchell, R. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU |
| Journal Name: | Journal of Transport and Health |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| ISSN: | 2214-1405 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2214-1405 |
| Published Online: | 11 March 2024 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2024 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Journal of Transport and Health 36: 101784 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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Funder and Project Information
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