IMPACT OF HIGHWAYS ON URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS: A MODEL OF SOCIAL CHANGE

THIS PAPER DESCRIBES A MODEL OF URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS IN WHICH CERTAIN PHYSICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A NEIGHBORHOOD ARE RELATED TO THE AMOUNT OF SOCIAL INTERACTION THAT OCCURS WITHIN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. ONCE PROPERLY VALIDATED, THIS MODEL MIGHT BE USED TO ESTIMATE THE CHANGES IN SOCIAL INTERACTION IN URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS AS A RESULT OF HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS. IT IS PROPOSED THAT THE DEGREE TO WHICH A SPECIFIED GEOGRAPHIC AREA FUNCTIONS AS A NEIGHBORHOOD BE CALCULATED IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF SOCIAL INERACTION AND COHESION EVIDENCED BY THE RESIDENTS' SHARED BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS (PERSONAL INTERACTION, USE OF LOCAL FACILITIES, AND PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS) AND PERCEPTUAL PATTERNS (IDENTIFICATION WITH LOCAL AREA, COMMITMENT, AND EVALUATION). THROUGH THE USE OF FACTOR ANALYSIS, THESE VARIABLES CAN BE COMBINED INTO A SINGLE NUMBER, CALLED THE NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL INTERACTION INDEX. THIS INDEX IS USEFUL IN THAT IT IS HIGHLY PREDICTABLE FROM DATA (CALLED DESCRIPTORS) THAT DESCRIBE SPECIFIC PHYSICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD. THESE DESCRIPTORS ARE MOBILITY OF THE POPULATION (WHICH EXPLAINS MOST OF THE VARIANCE IN THE INDEX), LAND USE MIX, AND HOUSING DENSITY. THE INFLUENCE OF HIGHWAYS ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL INTERACTION INDEX CAN BE PREDICTED BY ESTIMATING HIGHWAY-RELATED CHANGES IN THESE 3 DESCRIPTORS. HIGHWAY CHARACTERISTICS THAT COULD CHANGE THESE NEIGHBORHOOD DESCRIPTORS ARE AMOUNT OF LAND TAKEN AND PLACEMENT OF THE HIGHWAY WITH RESPECT TO THE SPATIAL DISPERSION OF THESE DESCRIPTORS. HIGHWAY CHARACTERISTICS THAT COULD CHANGE INTRANEIGHBORHOOD ACCESSIBILITY ARE THE PRECEDING TWO PLUS NUMBER OF CROSSOVERS PER MILE AND ELEVATION OF THE ROADWAY. THE NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL INTERACTION INDEX, WHEN VALIDATED, COULD BE USED IN MAKING DECISIONS REGARDING THE NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGH WHICH THE HIGHWAY SHOULD BE ROUTED, WHERE THE HIGHWAY SHOULD BE LOCATED WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THE CHARACTER THE HIGHWAY SHOULD HAVE WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1971/356/356-009.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309019692
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by Committee on Social, Economic, and Environmental Factors of Transportation and presented at the 50th Annual Meeting. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Burkhardt, Jon E
• Publication Date: 1971

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 85-94
• Monograph Title: Social, Economic, and Environmental Factors of Transportation
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 356
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highways; Location; Mathematical models; Social factors; Social values
• Uncontrolled Terms: Highway location; Models
• Old TRIS Terms: Community values
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00240062
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309019692
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Mar 7 1972 12:00AM