2017
Masoumi, Houshmand E.
In: Mirmoghtadaee, Mahta (Ed.): Urban and Regional Transportation Policies in the New Towns, pp. 97-114, Road, Housing, and Urban Development Research Center, Tehran, Iran, 2017.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: employment centers, Iran, new cities, polycentric urban form, suburbs, urban travel behavior
@incollection{Masoumi2017,
title = {The Effects of Employment Centers and Polycentric Urban Form on Urban Travel Characteristics in New Cities and Suburbs of Iran: Knowledge Gaps and Future Research (in Persian)},
author = {Houshmand E. Masoumi},
editor = {Mahta Mirmoghtadaee},
url = {https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Houshmand_E_Masoumi/publication/316542706_athrat_mrakz_ashtghal_w_shkl_shhr_chnd_hsth_ay_br_rftar_sfr_dr_shhrhay_jdyd_w_hwmh_hay_ayran_khla_pzhwhshy_w_thqyqat_ayndh/links/5b050b344585154aeb0802e9/athrat-mrakz-ashtghal-w-shkl-shhr-chnd-hsth-ay-br-rftar-sfr-dr-shhrhay-jdyd-w-hwmh-hay-ayran-khla-pzhwhshy-w-thqyqat-ayndh.pdf?origin=publication_detail},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-04-05},
booktitle = {Urban and Regional Transportation Policies in the New Towns},
pages = {97-114},
publisher = {Road, Housing, and Urban Development Research Center},
address = {Tehran, Iran},
abstract = {The influences of the built environment on travel behavior in Iranian cities are under-researched. Such gaps in research are not limited to Iran, but other countries of the Middle East and North Africa and in general, many developing countries lack such studies. In Iran, no empirical studies on the effects of urban land use on travel behavior including travel length, travel frequency, transport mode choice, and car ownership of residents of new cities and suburbs exist. Thus, in this paper, it has been attempted to describe the potentials of polycentric urban form and employment clusters for positively influencing commute and non-commute urban trips in new Iranian new cities and the suburbs on the periphery of the new cities or the mother cities. For that, the international literature of polycentric urban form are reviewed. Such literature includes urban development conceptual models and theories, some of which are economics and some are physical. Likewise, the effects of employment clusters and centers on urban travels in the western world and developing countries are explained. Limited examples from developing countries include Mexico and China, and a more relevant example for Iran is introduced from Turkey. As the main body of the paper, a discussion about the necessity for developing research frameworks targeting the importance of residential self-selection and the possible positive effects of planning job centers including shopping malls, urban sub-centers with different scales, etc. is presented. Meanwhile, two proposals are presented to Iranian scholars for future research: first, cross-sectional studies comparing the function of centered neighborhoods in new cities and suburbs of mother cities, second, longitudinal analysis of the travel behavior impacts of developing large employment centers. Both research proposals can be done by means of collecting disaggregate data using questionnaires. The findings will help decision makers have a better understanding about the uses of job locations in providing alternative and sustainable urban transportation. In the meantime, they will strengthen the scientific body of literature related to the topic. The above are proposed having in mind that the pull factor of land use can have limited effectiveness in affecting urban trips compared to stronger socioeconomic factors in the Iranian context. },
keywords = {employment centers, Iran, new cities, polycentric urban form, suburbs, urban travel behavior},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
The influences of the built environment on travel behavior in Iranian cities are under-researched. Such gaps in research are not limited to Iran, but other countries of the Middle East and North Africa and in general, many developing countries lack such studies. In Iran, no empirical studies on the effects of urban land use on travel behavior including travel length, travel frequency, transport mode choice, and car ownership of residents of new cities and suburbs exist. Thus, in this paper, it has been attempted to describe the potentials of polycentric urban form and employment clusters for positively influencing commute and non-commute urban trips in new Iranian new cities and the suburbs on the periphery of the new cities or the mother cities. For that, the international literature of polycentric urban form are reviewed. Such literature includes urban development conceptual models and theories, some of which are economics and some are physical. Likewise, the effects of employment clusters and centers on urban travels in the western world and developing countries are explained. Limited examples from developing countries include Mexico and China, and a more relevant example for Iran is introduced from Turkey. As the main body of the paper, a discussion about the necessity for developing research frameworks targeting the importance of residential self-selection and the possible positive effects of planning job centers including shopping malls, urban sub-centers with different scales, etc. is presented. Meanwhile, two proposals are presented to Iranian scholars for future research: first, cross-sectional studies comparing the function of centered neighborhoods in new cities and suburbs of mother cities, second, longitudinal analysis of the travel behavior impacts of developing large employment centers. Both research proposals can be done by means of collecting disaggregate data using questionnaires. The findings will help decision makers have a better understanding about the uses of job locations in providing alternative and sustainable urban transportation. In the meantime, they will strengthen the scientific body of literature related to the topic. The above are proposed having in mind that the pull factor of land use can have limited effectiveness in affecting urban trips compared to stronger socioeconomic factors in the Iranian context.