Existing optimal road-network capacity-expansion models are based on minimizing travel time and rarely consider environmental factors such as vehicular emissions. In this study we attempt to solve such a transportation network design problem when the planner is environment conscious and thereby...

Application of a shape grammar involves the repetitive task of matching and replacing subshapes of a design under transformation, and as such is well suited for computer implementation. As a result, ever since the conception of the shape grammar formalism, efforts have been made to develop...

As the obesity epidemic in children increases, it is important to consider the role of neighborhoods in supporting children’s physical activity and healthy development, especially in low-income communities where obesity levels among children are higher than for their middle-income...

Although the principle of bounded rationality seems more realistic for formulating formal models of individual choice behaviour than traditional decision-outcome-based discrete choice models, existing studies have some limitations: (1) applications focus on the noncompensatory nature of the...

The concept of buzz is both new and heavily contested. One of the strongest debates about buzz is the possibility of ‘virtual buzz’ or buzz that takes place online. At the heart of this debate is the importance of real-time, face-to-face contact. To investigate virtual buzz we present a...

Land-use models have been developed for predicting future land-use patterns. We describe a logistic regression model for residential development in the Netherlands that takes the neighbourhood effects of land use and infrastructure into account. Hereto, a new methodology was developed, single...

Some experts suggest that urban design plans in US cities may lack adequate coverage of the essential design aspects of the built environment. Digital models and information technology tools may help designers to visualize and interact with design alternatives and large urban datasets more...

Planning support systems (PSSs) are intended to facilitate relevant steps in planning processes; however, the academic evaluation of PSSs reveals many bottlenecks precluding a widespread use of these systems. A central weakness is the lack of communication between PSS developers (focusing on...

Analogy is a powerful heuristic for problem solving. In design, where designers are constantly exposed to visual stimuli, visual analogies are considered to be particularly helpful. To date, however, few researchers have given enough attention to visual analogy and visual displays in design...

Accessibility has become a key issue in modern urban planning. This paper aims to identify the impact of differences in spatial accessibility on the development of the built environment in cities. Using a few simple accessibility indicators, it tries to map out in a quantitative way the detailed...