EFFECTS OF DENSITY ON URBAN TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS

Abstract

THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND CONCENTRATION OF PEOPLE WITHIN THE URBAN COMPLEX IS AN IMPORTANT DETERMINANT OF URBAN SHAPE, STRUCTURE, AND TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS. POPULATION DENSITY INFLUENCES BOTH TRAVEL PATTERNS AND LAND USE CONFIGURATIONS. TRADITIONALLY, DENSITY HAS BEEN CLOSELY RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS--EVEN TODAY THE IMPACTS AND INTEREFFECTS ARE APPARENT. THE CONCEPT OF DENSITY BEST CHARACTERIZES THE CHANGE IN URBAN STRUCTURE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES. SOME OF THE PERTINENT INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN POPULATION DENSITY AND URBAN TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS, ON A CITY-TO-CITY BASIS, AND WITHIN GIVEN CITIES ARE ANALYZED. DENSITY-TRAVEL ANALYSES DEVELOPED TO DATE ARE REVIEWED. REGIONAL AND HISTORICAL EFFECTS ON POPULATION DENSITY, DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS OF URBAN DENSITY, AND DENSITY IMPLICATIONS ON TOTAL PERSON AND VEHICULAR TRIP GENERATION, CAR OWNERSHIP, TRAVEL MODE, TRANSIT PATRONAGE, AND FREEWAY IMPACTS ARE ANALYZED. /AUTHOR/