Building an area-based travel sustainability tool: rating the residential travel performance of new urban developments

Abstract

The location (or siting) of new development in relation to other elements of the urban area, such as shopping or employment centres, is known to influence travel patterns, particularly for trips such as journeys to work. Similarly, the design of a development, including such matters as density, land use mixing and connectivity, is now generally understood to influence travel patterns, especially for local trips such as journeys to shops or to schools. By altering either location or design choices it may be possible to increase the opportunities that future populations will have to access the goods and services they need. This paper is concerned with a project to develop a diagnostic tool that seeks to allow decision-makers and others to rate the residential travel performance of land use developments and to identify means to improve that performance. The project aims to measure the extent of travel made and the modes of travel used by residential populations and, with the assistance of accessibility analysis techniques, to use this information as a means to rate the effect of a development's location and design on residential travel. This work is being undertaken to assist in influencing the location and design of urban development to ensure that residential travel patterns contribute to sustainability objectives.