IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v130y2019icp770-782.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Straddling boundaries in superblock cities. Assessing local and global network connectivity using cases from Abu Dhabi, UAE

Author

Listed:
  • Scoppa, Martin
  • Bawazir, Khawla
  • Alawadi, Khaled

Abstract

In this paper, superblocks are evaluated as local street systems with global implications, focusing on connections between superblocks and their ability to form extended areas of access. Superblocks’ corners are examined as destinations for calculating route efficiency and distribution. Additionally, the extent of the accessible areas from the corners are quantified using pedestrian catchment areas. Results show strong similarities in terms of route efficiency among the studied designs and wide variations in terms of distribution and extent of the catchment areas. This paper foregrounds the need to address local and global scales when studying the street systems of cities planning for superblocks. It provides, as well, a foundation on which to better frame longstanding questions regarding the use of superblocks for neighborhood planning.

Suggested Citation

  • Scoppa, Martin & Bawazir, Khawla & Alawadi, Khaled, 2019. "Straddling boundaries in superblock cities. Assessing local and global network connectivity using cases from Abu Dhabi, UAE," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 770-782.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:130:y:2019:i:c:p:770-782
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2019.09.063
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096585641930391X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2019.09.063?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. Reid Ewing & Robert Cervero, 2010. "Travel and the Built Environment," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 76(3), pages 265-294.
    2. Emily Talen, 2003. "Neighborhoods as Service Providers: A Methodology for Evaluating Pedestrian Access," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 30(2), pages 181-200, April.
    3. Michael W. Mehaffy & Sergio Porta & Ombretta Romice, 2015. "The "neighborhood unit" on trial: a case study in the impacts of urban morphology," Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 199-217, June.
    4. Khaled Alawadi & Ouafa Benkraouda, 2018. "What happened to Abu Dhabi’s urbanism? The question of regional integration," Journal of Urban Design, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 367-394, May.
    5. Paul L. Knight & Wesley E. Marshall, 2015. "The metrics of street network connectivity: their inconsistencies," Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 241-259, September.
    6. John Peponis & Sonit Bafna & Zongyu Zhang, 2008. "The Connectivity of Streets: Reach and Directional Distance," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 35(5), pages 881-901, October.
    7. Elek Pafka & Kim Dovey, 2017. "Permeability and interface catchment: measuring and mapping walkable access," Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 150-162, April.
    8. Sergio Porta & Emanuele Strano & Valentino Iacoviello & Roberto Messora & Vito Latora & Alessio Cardillo & Fahui Wang & Salvatore Scellato, 2009. "Street Centrality and Densities of Retail and Services in Bologna, Italy," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 36(3), pages 450-465, June.
    9. Marshall, Wesley & Garrick, Norman, 2012. "Community design and how much we drive," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 5(2), pages 5-21.
    10. Wang, Fahui & Antipova, Anzhelika & Porta, Sergio, 2011. "Street centrality and land use intensity in Baton Rouge, Louisiana," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 285-293.
    11. Emily Talen, 2011. "Sprawl Retrofit: Sustainable Urban Form in Unsustainable Places," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 38(6), pages 952-978, December.
    12. Khaled Alawadi & Sarah Dooling, 2016. "Challenges and opportunities for participatory planning approaches within Dubai’s urban context," Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 276-301, September.
    13. Har Ye Kan & Ann Forsyth & Peter Rowe, 2017. "Redesigning China’s superblock neighbourhoods: policies, opportunities and challenges," Journal of Urban Design, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(6), pages 757-777, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Özbil Torun, Ayşe & Göçer, Kenan & Yeşiltepe, Demet & Argın, Görsev, 2020. "Understanding the role of urban form in explaining transportation and recreational walking among children in a logistic GWR model: A spatial analysis in Istanbul, Turkey," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Martin Scoppa & Rim Anabtawi, 2021. "Connectivity in Superblock Street Networks: Measuring Distance, Directness, and the Diversity of Pedestrian Paths," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Anfal Al-Ali & Praveen Maghelal & Khaled Alawadi, 2020. "Assessing Neighborhood Satisfaction and Social Capital in a Multi-Cultural Setting of an Abu Dhabi Neighborhood," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, April.
    4. Sven Eggimann, 2022. "The potential of implementing superblocks for multifunctional street use in cities," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(5), pages 406-414, May.

    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. Martin Scoppa & Rim Anabtawi, 2021. "Connectivity in Superblock Street Networks: Measuring Distance, Directness, and the Diversity of Pedestrian Paths," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Boeing, Geoff, 2017. "Methods and Measures for Analyzing Complex Street Networks and Urban Form," SocArXiv 93h82, Center for Open Science.
    3. Choi, Dong-ah & Ewing, Reid, 2021. "Effect of street network design on traffic congestion and traffic safety," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    4. Anfal Al-Ali & Praveen Maghelal & Khaled Alawadi, 2020. "Assessing Neighborhood Satisfaction and Social Capital in a Multi-Cultural Setting of an Abu Dhabi Neighborhood," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Zhang, Tong & Zeng, Zhe & Jia, Tao & Li, Jing, 2016. "Examining the amenability of urban street networks for locating facilities," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 457(C), pages 469-479.
    6. Kim Dovey & Elek Pafka, 2020. "What is walkability? The urban DMA," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(1), pages 93-108, January.
    7. Delso, Javier & Martín, Belén & Ortega, Emilio, 2018. "A new procedure using network analysis and kernel density estimations to evaluate the effect of urban configurations on pedestrian mobility. The case study of Vitoria –Gasteiz," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 61-72.
    8. Ayse Ozbil & Tugce Gurleyen & Demet Yesiltepe & Ezgi Zunbuloglu, 2019. "Comparative Associations of Street Network Design, Streetscape Attributes and Land-Use Characteristics on Pedestrian Flows in Peripheral Neighbourhoods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-23, May.
    9. Geoff Boeing, 2020. "Off the Grid... and Back Again? The Recent Evolution of American Street Network Planning and Design," Papers 2010.04771, arXiv.org.
    10. Arranz-López, Aldo & Soria-Lara, Julio A & López-Escolano, Carlos & Pueyo Campos, Ángel, 2017. "Retail Mobility Environments: A methodological framework for integrating retail activity and non-motorised accessibility in Zaragoza, Spain," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 92-103.
    11. Tuomo Joensuu & Markku Norvasuo & Harry Edelman, 2019. "Stakeholders’ Interests in Developing an Energy Ecosystem for the Superblock—Case Hiedanranta," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, December.
    12. Benita, Francisco & Piliouras, Georgios, 2020. "Location, location, usage: How different notions of centrality can predict land usage in Singapore," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 540(C).
    13. Jeong, Sang Kyu & Ban, Yong Un, 2016. "A point-based angular analysis model for identifying attributes of spaces at nodes in street networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 450(C), pages 71-84.
    14. Nastaran Peimani & Hesam Kamalipour, 2020. "Access and Forms of Urbanity in Public Space: Transit Urban Design Beyond the Global North," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, April.
    15. Zhigang Han & Caihui Cui & Changhong Miao & Haiying Wang & Xiang Chen, 2019. "Identifying Spatial Patterns of Retail Stores in Road Network Structure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-20, August.
    16. Boeing, Geoff, 2019. "Street Network Models and Measures for Every U.S. City, County, Urbanized Area, Census Tract, and Zillow-Defined Neighborhood," SocArXiv 7fxjz, Center for Open Science.
    17. Rao, Fujie & Pafka, Elek, 2021. "Shopping morphologies of urban transit station areas: A comparative study of central city station catchments in Toronto, San Francisco, and Melbourne," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    18. Boeing, Geoff, 2018. "Measuring the Complexity of Urban Form and Design," SocArXiv bxhrz, Center for Open Science.
    19. Wang, Shiguang & Yu, Dexin & Kwan, Mei-Po & Zheng, Lili & Miao, Hongzhi & Li, Yongxing, 2020. "The impacts of road network density on motor vehicle travel: An empirical study of Chinese cities based on network theory," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 144-156.
    20. Han Yue & Xinyan Zhu, 2019. "Exploring the Relationship between Urban Vitality and Street Centrality Based on Social Network Review Data in Wuhan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-19, August.

    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:transa:v:130:y:2019:i:c:p:770-782. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    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.