SPATIAL DESIGN IMPACT ON CHILDREN LIFESTYLES CHOICES

Spatial Design Impact On Children Lifestyles Choices

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare a number of local spatial configurations of land use and transport facilities in a British new town to address the question what impact these configurations have on the quality of life of different population categories. The results suggest that concentrating services near public transport nodes and increasing urban density, do have the potential to increase travel time and travel distance efficiency. High density offers the best opportunities to realize daily activities. More generally, this study highlights the necessity of a life-style oriented approach in planning the spatial configurations of residential areas.

Table of Content

ABSTRACTII

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

Overview1

Aim1

Objectives1

Rationale1

Proposed1

Main Research Questions2

Hypothesis2

Ethical Concerns2

Limitations & Delimitations of the study3

Reliability3

Validity4

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW5

CHAPTER 03: METHODOLOGY7

Research Design7

Literature Search7

Sample7

Study design and setting7

Analytic Strategy8

CHAPTER 04: RESULTS/ANALYSIS9

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSIONS16

REFERENCES19

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Overview

As a result of cultural, demographic, economic, and technological developments current society can be characterized by increasing opportunities for choice in different behavioural domains such as housing, the labour market, leisure and transport markets. Consequently, we observe a significant increase in the variety of household types and lifestyles that is accompanied by a differentiation in activity and travel patterns (Musterd and van Zelm, 2001; Bertolini and Dijst, 2003). However, these enlarged choice sets do not mean that individuals have complete freedom of choice. Highly individualized agendas increase coupling constraints and time pressures in the daily lives of many individuals. In view of this changing social-cultural context, it is remarkable that policymakers and academics are predominantly interested in the environmental impacts of spatial and transport policies.

Aim

The main aim is to investigate a design or design-related issue.

Objectives

Explain how does design influence on children.

Recognise the problem by genders.

Suggest solution for children to be more active.

Evaluate children social and mental behaviour on play spaces.

Rationale

The position of this paper with respect to prior research is briefly discussed in the next section. In Section 3 there are descriptions of the accessibility simulation model MASTIC used for the analyses of choice opportunities, the data, and the types of spatial configurations analysed. The current behaviour of the residents of the case study area are given in Section 4, followed by a description of the impact of spatial configurations on travel choices. Finally, we put forward some conclusions and a discussion of policy alternatives.

Proposed

In this paper we concentrate on the travel behaviour of some relevant population categories, such as single-earners, two- and one-earner households with or without children, and retired people. We address the choice opportunities these population categories have in different types of spatial configurations. We are particularly interested in the impact of spatial configurations on the efficiency of mobility behaviour from both a spatio-temporal and an environmental perspective. The simulation model MASTIC was used to analyse the impact of various density and land use mix configurations of shops, children's playgrounds, leisure facilities, dwellings, and parking places on the quality of life in daily travel. Three quality-of-life indicators were used: the feasibility of carrying out desired activities; travel time efficiency; ...