Walkability and Mixed Land Use in German Cities: A Case in Heidelberg (poster)

Publication date: December 2017 Source:Journal of Transport & Health, Volume 7, Supplement Author(s): Cristina López Lindemann Background In the decision whether to make a trip on foot or not, a myriad of elements and conditions assert their influence, associated with both the physical environment and personal characteristics. Concerning specific urban characteristics many researchers have contributed to identify the key elements of a built environment that affect travel behaviors, for example the widely recognized three D's by Cervero & Kocelman: density, design and diversity (mixed-use development), the latter being one of the urban features of greater recognized incidence in urban mobility and, also, one of the most difficult to quantify. Although mixed use is cited as a key tenet of the most influential current planning paradigms, insufficient research has been carried out on the implementation of the mixed-use principle in practice. And while strong inertia still remains in relation to the zoning concept of modern urbanism throughout a significant part of the world, a number of remarkable examples have emerged in Germany, which consider mixed uses as part of their urban design proposals. Therefore, the following questions arise: Why did German professionals choose such a planning option? How are new uses measured and included in urban development plans? And finally, are mixed-use developments currently becoming more widespread in Germany? Aim The goa...
Source: Journal of Transport and Health - Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research