This might be classified under "blinding flash of the obvious", but it's nice to know there is an official study to back it up.
- Study Links Auto Use to Neighborhood Design - For decades, city planners have dismissed calls for building better cities, saying there is only anecdotal evidence that "smart growth" works. But authors of a new, peer-reviewed study from the Natural Resources Defense Council say their research proves for the first time that better urban design can reduce auto use and relieve the traffic congestion and pollution that come with it. The researchers' analysis of the San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago metropolitan areas found a direct link between the amount people drive and city attributes like neighborhood density, transit access, and pedestrian- and bicycle-friendliness. According to the authors, those attributes measure an area's "location efficiency," and, not surprisingly, the more efficient the location, the less people drive. The study, "Location Efficiency: Neighborhood and Socio-Economic Characteristics Determine Auto Ownership and Use - Studies in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco" by John Holtzclaw, Robert Clear, Hank Dittmar, David Goldstein and Peter Haas, appeared in the March 2002 issue of Transportation Planning and Technology. For more information, visit http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/020610.asp _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
