John Zacharias

Potential for revival of the bicycle in Beijing

ABSTRACT This research reports on the commuting behavior and perceptions of the road environment of Beijing bicycle and nonbicycle commuters (n = 852), in relation to the environmental conditions in three local areas. The binary logistic regression model tested the impact of four social and 22 environmental factors on perceptions of the bicycle commute and provides new insights on the association between perception of the cycling environment and the likelihood of commuting by bicycle. Differences in perception of the road environment between the two groups were slight. Gender and education were unrelated to the cycling decision, while age and income were shown to be marginally significant. The role of commuting distance on bicycle mode choice was upheld; however, the rapid decline in bicycle mode share in Beijing can be explained only partially by increasing commuting distance. Traffic safety and air quality are common major concerns of all commuters. The negative perception that bicycle lanes have gradually been taken over by motorized vehicles is one key reason that deters motorized commuters from bicycling. Air pollution, traffic safety, the lack of road space, climatic disadvantages, insufficient secure parking for bicycles, and inadequate night lighting are seen as major barriers by all commuters. There were significant differences in the bicycle mode share among the three communities that could not be attributed to sociodemographic differences but are suggestive of the importance of environmental factors. Relatively short commuting distance for many commuters—47.9% of residents and 32.5% of motorized commuters travel less than 5 km—suggests the substantial potential for bicycle commuting for a large proportion of the working population. Finally, bicyclists and nonbicyclists can hardly be differentiated in this study in Beijing, suggesting that many nonbicyclists are potential candidates for the nonmotorized mode.

Choosing Between Stairs and Escalator in Shopping Centers: The Impact of Location, Height, and Pedestrian Volume

The study tested the hypothesis that separating stairway from escalator between pairs of origin and destination floors in a shopping center would increase the rate at which the stairway was used. The study site included 13 stairways and 12 pairs of escalators in seven connected shopping centers. A total of 33,793 pedestrians were counted ascending or descending over 35 days. Simultaneous flow rates up and down among centers correlated at r = .89. Distance between stairway and escalator accounted for 71% of variance in the ascending model and 21% in the descending model, with height between floors resulting in slightly diminished pedestrian volumes, and overall pedestrian volume accounting for less than proportional increases in stair climbing and descending. A 100% increase in distance between stair and nearest escalator yielded a 95% increase in stair climbing.

Morphology and Spatial Dynamics of Urban Villages in Guangzhou’s CBD

Studies on the urban village (chengzhongcun) over the past ten years have focussed on legalistic and structural aspects, as well as the social outcomes of village-led redevelopment. Studies on the morphology of villages, their spatial and economic linkage with the city, and their internal spatial dynamics are, in comparison, limited in number and scope. This study of village space in the new central area of Guangzhou focusses on the spatial relationships between village space and the surrounding city—the exchange of people and goods, the movement system in relation to commercial activity, and the relationship between the pattern of building and movement networks—as a primer for new approaches to physical renewal. Primary field data, interviews, and archival research support the analysis of Shipai village, in particular. It was found that Shipai plays a significant role in transport and economy at the district and central city level. The internal movement system functions to connect surrounding areas while supporting a commercial and services system of local and district-level significance. The built form of the village is also self-generated by location and internal rule making. The physical and activity patterns of the self-rebuilt village exhibit the characteristics of emergent spontaneous order.

Local environment and social factors in primary school children's afterschool commute in China

The rapid decline in young childrens active commutes to and from school has prompted investigations into ways to raise activity levels. The period after school is recognized as very important in the daily activity regime of primary school children. In this study, we examine the relative effects of local environmental factors and socio-economic status on childrens after-school commute mode choice. Environmental factors are pedestrian priority streets, street intersection density, motorways, shops, and play spaces. Property values are used as a proxy for income. Twenty-four school districts are selected using intersection density and motorway length as criteria. All childrens exit behaviors were film-recorded on October weekdays and extracted as four choices–alone, in a group of children, on foot with a parent or guardian, on e-bike driven by an adult. A multinomial logistic regression reveals that gated communities, higher priced housing, motorways and bus stops are associated with children accompanied by adults. The presence of pedestrian streets is associated with children travelling alone and in groups. Greater travel distance is also associated with parents accompanying children on foot or on e-bike. The amount of play space is associated with children leaving school in groups. Overall, social and environmental factors are influential in the independent travel of primary school children after the school day ends in south China.

Shifting from Metro to Sustainable Surface Modes for Short-Distance Travel

Many cities with metro systems are experiencing overcapacity problems on some or many lines. Beijing is one such city whose metro also services a high proportion of short-distance trips. The proportion of short-distance travel—less than 5 km (3.1 mi)—carried out on foot or on bicycle varies greatly across cities, depending on alternative travel modes and local environmental conditions. In this study, users of a multimodal transportation corridor that included metro (n = 400) were interviewed about their travel mode preferences depending on distance within the short-distance travel category. Users were also asked to state their preferences for mode, depending on distance and a progressive rise in metro ticket fare. Finally, users were asked to state their mode preferences for trips that extended to five metro stations if a public bicycle system with a separate lane were made available. Modal choice was highly sensitive to variable short-distance trips. A progressive shift to bus use occurred as the metro fare price increased, with little change in the walking rate or in the use of motorized modes. When the original low metro fare price was maintained, the availability of a public bicycle system led to a sevenfold increase in bicycle use, with significant drops in bus share, and to a lesser extent, metro share. Responses to the stated preference survey indicated that fares and a public bicycle program might be effective to manage the use of metro for short-distance trips.

Revealed Bicyclist Route Preferences and Street Conditions

In this study, the route choices of cyclists in an urban environment were related to nine variables on street design and dynamics: tree shade, car parking, traffic speed, traffic volume, mixed or segregated traffic, dedicated bicycle facility, number of car lanes, number of restaurants, and number of retail stores. Cycling itineraries were collected with a tracker equipped with GPS and responses from an intercept survey (n = 212). Distance-equivalent routes were obtained with a geographical information system. All street segments used by cyclists were investigated to obtain original relevant traffic and physical data. Street segments were coded for the nine variables and entered into a multiple linear regression model in which cyclist volume from the revealed preference survey was the dependent variable. Tree shade, traffic speed, mixed traffic, and the presence of restaurants were found to be significant or highly significant, while car parking and traffic volume were nearly significant. The model explained 21% of the variance in route choice in this sample of four kinds of cycling trips in Shenzhen, China. Examination of the distance-equivalent alternative routes revealed that the number of turns was significantly higher, while tree shade and mixed traffic were not significant in choice.

A short history of the Chinese Central Business District

The Central Business District (CBD) is one of the great governmental projects of Chinese cities in the early twenty-first century. In preparation for transition to an information-based economy and to accelerate such transition, major cities have sponsored the plans and infrastructure as well as some of the buildings of these new central places, in locations far removed from the heretofore central city. Over the 15 years of concerted building, there have been several distinct phases, as cities evaluated the previous effort and responded to new exigencies. These project phases can be distinguished by location and intention and in certain instances by formal expression. The late Modernist architecture of these places, punctuated with iconic structures and vast, representational open spaces, symbolize the national drive towards a globalized modernity. CBDs mark the latest generation of urban plans in hundreds of Chinese cities, although there is little doubt that Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen will remain the largest and most advanced. This article recounts the brief history of the emergence of the Chinese CBD in those first four cases, why new phases of development were deemed necessary, and how these new efforts can be distinguished in terms of internal characteristics and economic role.

Local environmental factors in walking distance at metro stations

Walking distances to metro stations vary substantially across systems, lines and stations, but few studies have attempted to explain such variable performance. The present study examines commercial land use, intersection density, total road length, distance to the nearest metro station, theoretical catchment area and built form density (FAR) as factors to explain walking distance in a study of 14 metro stations with 43 exits in three cities. These factors explain 7.5% of the variance in walking distance, amounting to a 16% difference in territorial coverage of the station, based on Euclidean extrapolation. In addition, stations with higher levels of patronage tend to have longer walks. Walking distance can be partially explained by the presence of commerce, while intersection density is negatively related to walking distance, in contrast to some indications in the literature. Commercial land use and certain employment areas have a much higher rate of destinations than do residential areas overall. The planning standard for pedestrian catchment zones and FAR are not significant in walking distance, although both are heavily relied upon for planning metros. This study reveals that land use and urban design can be controlled to promote the local use of metro.

Longer afterschool active commutes and the travel environment of middle schools in Shenzhen, China

The afterschool commute is a major part of childrens daily activity. This study examines the relationship between student extended active travel routes and route environment characteristics. Route environment characteristics may be related to an extended route for students who walk or bike home. Self-reported itineraries were collected from 12 to 15-year old students in 3 middle schools in Shenzhen in May and June (n = 1257). Itineraries involving a detour from the shortest possible route home (n = 437) were compared with the shortest route. A field study coded all possible routes within the school districts by playable open spaces, sidewalk width, controlled crossings, road category, and public transit stops. Binary logistic regression reveals that routes with greater intersection density and number of open spaces are related to active travel choice. Sidewalk width, number of traffic lights and proportion of arterial roads are positively related to motorized travel. Linear regression reveals that travel distance, sidewalk width, number of open spaces and street crossings, as well as the proportion of secondary roads and pathways are positively related to detour distance. Higher numbers of public transit stops and traffic lights are related to shorter detours. Attending cram school is also negatively associated with active travel and detour. Younger students, females and students with longer moderate-to-vigorous physical activity time have extended active travel. Specific route environment characteristics are associated with longer and more active middle school student commutes and may be implemented to raise overall activity levels in children.

Pokémon GO and Physical Activity in Asia: Multilevel Study

Background Physical activity has long been considered as an important component of a healthy lifestyle. Although many efforts have been made to promote physical activity, there is no effective global intervention for physical activity promotion. Some researchers have suggested that Pokémon GO, a location-based augmented reality game, was associated with a short-term increase in players’ physical activity on a global scale, but the details are far from clear. Objective The objective of our study was to study the relationship between Pokémon GO use and players’ physical activity and how the relationship varies across players with different physical activity levels. Methods We conducted a field study in Hong Kong to investigate if Pokémon GO use was associated with physical activity. Pokémon GO players were asked to report their demographics through a survey; data on their Pokémon GO behaviors and daily walking and running distances were collected from their mobile phones. Participants (n=210) were Hong Kong residents, aged 13 to 65 years, who played Pokémon GO using iPhone 5 or 6 series in 5 selected types of built environment. We measured the participants’ average daily walking and running distances over a period of 35 days, from 14 days before to 21 days after game installation. Multilevel modeling was used to identify and examine the predictors (including Pokémon GO behaviors, weather, demographics, and built environment) of the relationship between Pokémon GO use and daily walking and running distances. Results The average daily walking and running distances increased by 18.1% (0.96 km, approximately 1200 steps) in the 21 days after the participants installed Pokémon GO compared with the average distances over the 14 days before installation (P<.001). However, this association attenuated over time and was estimated to disappear 24 days after game installation. Multilevel models indicated that Pokémon GO had a stronger and more lasting association among the less physically active players compared with the physically active ones (P<.001). Playing Pokémon GO in green space had a significant positive relationship with daily walking and running distances (P=.03). Moreover, our results showed that whether Pokémon GO was played, the number of days played, weather (total rainfall, bright sunshine, mean air temperature, and mean wind speed), and demographics (age, gender, income, education, and body mass index) were associated with daily walking and running distances. Conclusions Pokémon GO was associated with a short-term increase in the players’ daily walking and running distances; this association was especially strong among less physically active participants. Pokémon GO can build new links between humans and green space and encourage people to engage in physical activity. Our results show that location-based augmented reality games, such as Pokémon GO, have the potential to be a global public health intervention tool.