Bradley Bereitschaft

Urban Form, Air Pollution, and CO2 Emissions in Large U.S. Metropolitan Areas

In this article we explore the relationships between urban form and air pollution among 86 U.S. metropolitan areas. Urban form was quantified using preexisting sprawl indexes and spatial metrics applied to remotely sensed land cover data. Air pollution data included the nonpoint source emission of the ozone (O3) precursors nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the concentration of O3, the concentration and nonpoint source emission of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) from on-road sources. Metropolitan areas that exhibited higher levels of urban sprawl, or sprawl-like urban morphologies, generally exhibited higher concentrations and emissions of air pollution and CO2 when controlling for population, land area, and climate.

Neighbourhood change among creative–cultural districts in mid-sized US metropolitan areas, 2000–10

Cities across the United States are experiencing a surge in urban residential development, particularly within the downtown core and other centrally located, historic, mixed-use urban neighbourhoods. Often situated in former warehouse districts or other ‘marginal’ areas, many of these neighbourhoods have been revalorized and reinvented as hubs of creative–cultural production and consumption. Through an examination of 102 US neighbourhoods in 70 mid-sized metropolitan areas, this article explores patterns in the physical form, geography, and recent demographic and socio-economic evolution of the ‘creative–cultural district’ (CCD). The results of this exploratory analysis suggest that over the previous decade (2000–10), the majority of CCDs attracted high-skill, high-wage creative–knowledge workers at a rate faster than their respective metropolitan areas. This ‘creative gentrification’ was also evident in rising residential populations, household income, education and rent. Rent increased faster than income in over half the surveyed neighbourhoods, suggesting that a widening deficit in affordable housing has accompanied growing consumer demand for vibrant urban neighbourhoods and associated arts/cultural/entertainment amenities.

Equity in neighbourhood walkability? A comparative analysis of three large U.S. cities

ABSTRACT This study examines the spatial and statistical relationships between social vulnerability (SV) and neighbourhood walkability across three large U.S. cities with different urban typologies and development patterns: Charlotte, NC (a low-density, fast-growing “Sunbelt” city); Pittsburgh, PA (a moderate density, shrinking “Rust Belt” city); and Portland, OR (a progressive West Coast city known for its sprawl-containment policies). Binary logistic regression, independent-samples t-tests, and mapping techniques are employed to determine whether neighbourhoods with high SV (i.e. older populations, higher poverty rates, more service occupations, lower educational attainment, and a higher proportion of minorities) are as likely as those with low SV to exhibit a high degree of walkability. The publically available Walk Score® metric, based on proximity to amenities, street network connectivity, and density, was used as a proxy for neighbourhood walkability. The results indicate significant variability among cities, with Charlotte exhibiting the greatest potential for inequitable access to walkable urban environments and the most prominent concentration of “walk-vulnerable” block groups (BGs) with high SV and low walkability. Both Portland and Pittsburgh exhibited more equitable access when comparing BGs with high and low SV; however, they each presented unique spatial patterns, visualised using a series of maps.

The Geography of Non-Earned Income in the Piedmont Megapolitan Cluster

In this article we identified factors that may have contributed to spatial and temporal trends in non-earned income (NEI) within the 121-county Piedmont Megapolitan Cluster (PMC). We also assessed the impacts of the Great Recession on NEI, focusing on differences in NEI among metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties between 2007 and 2011. NEI exhibited a strong core-periphery relationship, with core urban counties, and those with research universities, exhibiting a higher proportion of NEI from dividends, interest and rent (DIR), and a lower proportion of NEI from public transfer payments (TP). The percent of the population with a bachelor’s degree was the dominant predictor of high ratios of DIR to TP at the county level. The Great Recession resulted in a reduction in DIR and an increase in TP among most PMC counties; however metropolitan counties experienced the most significant gains in TP.

Do “creative” and “non-creative” workers exhibit similar preferences for urban amenities? An exploratory case study of Omaha, Nebraska

Abstract Research into the locational decisions of creative class or knowledge workers has indicated that “classic” or “hard” factors, particularly employment opportunity and social connections, generally take precedence over “soft”, “quality of place” amenities such as art and cultural venues, historical assets, and tolerance/diversity. However, “soft” amenities are expected to shape where creative class/knowledge workers live within cities, and potentially whether they remain in the community long-term, or seek opportunities elsewhere. In this study, an online survey and questionnaire were employed to explore whether residents living in downtown Omaha, Nebraska with “creative” occupations exhibit stronger preferences for urban amenities relative to those with “non-creative” occupations. Generally in support of Richard Florida’s creative class thesis, the results suggest that creative workers may exhibit a stronger affinity for certain, primarily “soft,” urban amenities and characteristics, such as dining establishments, “third places”, arts/cultural venues, unique sense of place, and the hip, trendy, and youthful feel of Omaha’s downtown neighborhoods.

Walk Score® versus residents’ perceptions of walkability in Omaha, NE

ABSTRACT With an easily accessible online interface, Walk Score® has emerged as one of the most popular metrics to assess walkability, both within and outside academia. Based primarily on accessibility to common daily amenities, this quantitative measure is limited to a macro-scale view of urban form that does not consider micro-scale design elements that can significantly impact walking behavior such as building setbacks, sidewalk characteristics, lighting, or traffic volume. This study employed a survey and cognitive mapping exercise to identify neighborhood typologies in which Walk Score and residents’ perceptions of walkability are most likely to align, and, more crucially, where they are most likely to be at odds. Relative to residents’ perceptions, Walk Score tended to overestimate the walkability of suburban strip-mall corridors and underestimate the walkability of recreational areas and small entertainment districts. Potential differences in residents’ perceptions of walkability, and their associations with Walk Score, were also explored.

Fat-soluble vitamins A and E and health disparities in a cohort of pregnant women at delivery

The objective of the present study was to evaluate intakes and serum levels of vitamin A, vitamin E, and related compounds in a cohort of maternal–infant pairs in the Midwestern USA in relation to measures of health disparities. Concentrations of carotenoids and tocopherols in maternal serum were measured using HPLC and measures of socio-economic status, including food security and food desert residence, were obtained in 180 mothers upon admission to a Midwestern Academic Medical Center labour and delivery unit. The Kruskal–Wallis and independent-samples t tests were used to compare measures between groups; logistic regression models were used to adjust for relevant confounders. P < 0·05 was considered statistically significant. The odds of vitamin A insufficiency/deficiency were 2·17 times higher for non-whites when compared with whites (95 % CI 1·16, 4·05; P = 0·01) after adjustment for relevant confounders. Similarly, the odds of being vitamin E deficient were 3·52 times higher for non-whites (95 % CI 1·51, 8·10; P = 0·003). Those with public health insurance had lower serum lutein concentrations compared with those with private health insurance (P = 0·05), and living in a food desert was associated with lower serum concentrations of β-carotene (P = 0·02), after adjustment for confounders. Subjects with low/marginal food security had higher serum levels of lutein and β-cryptoxanthin compared with those with high food security (P = 0·004 and 0·02 for lutein and β-cryptoxanthin). Diet quality may be a public health concern in economically disadvantaged populations of industrialised societies leading to nutritional disadvantages as well.

Georeferenced data employed in the spatial analysis of neighborhood diversity and creative class share in Chicago

The dataset described in this article, and made available as an accompanying spreadsheet, was used in the study entitled, “Neighborhood diversity and the creative class in Chicago,” to assess the spatial associations between neighborhood diversity and the creative class at the neighborhood (i.e., census tract) scale in Chicago [1]. In this study, we found a significant positive association between the creative class and the proportion of gay households and income diversity, but not racial or linguistic diversity. However, a geographically-weighted regression (GWR) analysis demonstrated substantial spatial nonstationarity among these relationships. This article describes the creative class, diversity, and control variables, their sources, and the methods used to calculate them. *Correspondence to: Department of Geography/Geology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Durham Science Center 263, Omaha, NE 68182, USA.