IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v149y2025ics0264837724003685.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatiotemporal analysis of underlying factors in urban transformations: Quantifying the importance of urban plan intentions in the Austin Metropolitan Area, Texas

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Chunhong
  • Weng, Qihao
  • He, Zhichao

Abstract

Urban planning has widely become a key policy tool for managing urban growth. However, understanding the role of urban planning in shaping land development and directing urbanization is still contentious across various socioeconomic and geographical contexts. This paper conducts an in-depth analysis of urban spatial transformation in Austin, Texas across three distinct periods: the pre-planning period (1992–2001), the Envision Central Texas (ECT) period (2001–2011), and the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan (IACP) period (2011–2019). The findings reveal a marked decline in urban sprawl and the construction of new low-intensity development zones after 2001. Simultaneously, there was a noticeable increase in the percentage of newly transitioned high-intensity developed land. Employing Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression (GWLR) modeling, the study provides a nuanced understanding of how spatially varying planning intentions guided spatial planning practices since the mid-2000s. The results indicate a diminishing influence of traditional factors on urban transformation while the role of planning intentions saw increasing prominence over time. Amongst the different planning intentions, those related to 'development centers' had less impact compared to those tied to protected areas and transport systems. The study establishes that IACP had a profound influence on Austin's urban spatial transformation, primarily due to its more clearly defined and explicit planning intentions compared to ECT. The research contributes to a deeper understanding of urban spatial transformation dynamics, which is vital for future planning initiatives aimed at sustainable urban development.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Chunhong & Weng, Qihao & He, Zhichao, 2025. "Spatiotemporal analysis of underlying factors in urban transformations: Quantifying the importance of urban plan intentions in the Austin Metropolitan Area, Texas," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:149:y:2025:i:c:s0264837724003685
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107415
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837724003685
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107415?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Minjun Kim & Dongbeom Kim & Daeyong Jin & Geunhan Kim, 2023. "Application of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in Urban Growth Modeling: A Case Study of Seoul Metropolitan Area, Korea," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Glaeser, Edward L. & Kahn, Matthew E., 2004. "Sprawl and urban growth," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 56, pages 2481-2527, Elsevier.
    3. Lei, Yayuan & Flacke, Johannes & Schwarz, Nina, 2021. "Does Urban planning affect urban growth pattern? A case study of Shenzhen, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    4. Pierri Daunt, Ana Beatriz & Sanna Freire Silva, Thiago & Bürgi, Matthias & Hersperger, Anna M., 2021. "Urban expansion and forest reserves: Drivers of change and persistence on the coast of São Paulo State (Brazil)," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. ChengHe Guan & Jairo A Gómez & Pratyush Tripathy & Juan C Duque & Santiago Passos & Tong Cheng & Ying Li & Michael Keith, 2023. "Evaluating the impact of water protection policy on urban growth: A case study of Jiaxing," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(4), pages 1000-1019, May.
    6. Jasper van Vliet, 2019. "Direct and indirect loss of natural area from urban expansion," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(8), pages 755-763, August.
    7. He, Zhichao & Zhao, Chunhong & Fürst, Christine & Hersperger, Anna M., 2021. "Closer to causality: How effective is spatial planning in governing built-up land expansion in Fujian Province, China?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schatz, Eva-Maria & Bovet, Jana & Lieder, Sebastian & Schroeter-Schlaack, Christoph & Strunz, Sebastian & Marquard, Elisabeth, 2021. "Land take in environmental assessments: Recent advances and persisting challenges in selected EU countries," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    2. Mark Partridge & M. Rose Olfert & Alessandro Alasia, 2007. "Canadian cities as regional engines of growth: agglomeration and amenities," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 40(1), pages 39-68, February.
    3. Ricardo Flores-Fillol & Rosella Nicolini, "undated". "Aerotropolis: an aviation-linked space," Working Papers 283, Barcelona School of Economics.
    4. Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques-François Thisse, 2006. "Regional Specialization, Urban Hierarchy, And Commuting Costs," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1295-1317, November.
    5. Qiu, Bingwen & Li, Haiwen & Tang, Zhenghong & Chen, Chongcheng & Berry, Joe, 2020. "How cropland losses shaped by unbalanced urbanization process?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    6. Hans R. A. Koster & Jos N. van Ommeren & Piet Rietveld, 2016. "Historic amenities, income and sorting of households," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 203-236.
    7. Carozzi, Felipe & Roth, Sefi, 2023. "Dirty density: Air quality and the density of American cities," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    8. Eric A. Hanushek & Kuzey Yilmaz, 2007. "Schools and Location: Tiebout, Alonso, and Government Policy," NBER Working Papers 12960, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Vicente Royuel & Rosina Moreno & Esther Vaya, 2007. "Is the influence of quality of life on urban growth non-stationary in space? A case study of Barcelona," IREA Working Papers 200703, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Feb 2007.
    10. Ortuño-Padilla, Armando & Fernández-Aracil, Patricia, 2013. "Impact of fuel price on the development of the urban sprawl in Spain," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 180-187.
    11. Nicolas Coeurdacier & Florian Oswald & Marc Teignier, 2021. "Structural Change, Land Use and Urban Expansion," Working Papers hal-03812819, HAL.
    12. Or Levkovich & Jan Rouwendal & Jos van Ommeren, 2020. "The impact of highways on population redistribution: the role of land development restrictions [Roads and innovation]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 783-808.
    13. Dascher, Kristof, 2019. "Function Follows Form," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 131-140.
    14. Duranton, Gilles & Puga, Diego, 2014. "The Growth of Cities," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 5, pages 781-853, Elsevier.
    15. Jin, Peizhen & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Song, Malin, 2021. "Moving towards a sustainable and innovative city: Internal urban traffic accessibility and high-level innovation based on platform monitoring data," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    16. Ehrlich, Maximilian V. & Hilber, Christian A.L. & Schöni, Olivier, 2018. "Institutional settings and urban sprawl: Evidence from Europe," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 4-18.
    17. Kurt Paulsen, 2014. "Geography, policy or market? New evidence on the measurement and causes of sprawl (and infill) in US metropolitan regions," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(12), pages 2629-2645, September.
    18. Zębik Grzegorz, 2011. "Typology of Suburban Communities in Poland," Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Sciendo, vol. 16(16), pages 173-188, January.
    19. Gilles Duranton & Matthew A. Turner, 2012. "Urban Growth and Transportation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(4), pages 1407-1440.
    20. Yongsheng Jiang & Dong Zhao & Andrew Sanderford & Jing Du, 2018. "Effects of Bank Lending on Urban Housing Prices for Sustainable Development: A Panel Analysis of Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:149:y:2025:i:c:s0264837724003685. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.