Using road class as a replacement for predicted motorized traffic flow in spatial network models of cycling.

Recent years have seen renewed policy interest in urban cycling due to the negative impacts of motorized traffic, obesity and emissions. Simulating bicycle mode share and flows can help decide where to build new infrastructure for maximum impact, though modelling budgets are limited. The four step model used for vehicles is not typically used for this task as, aside from the expense of use, it is designed around too-large zone sizes and a simplified network.

Measuring the impact of spatial network layout on community social cohesion: a cross-sectional study.

Background: There is now a substantial body of research suggesting that social cohesion, a collective characteristic measured by the levels of trust, reciprocity and formation of strong social bonds within communities, is an important factor in determining health. Of particular interest is the extent to which factors in the built environment facilitate, or impede, the development of social bonds. Severance is a characteristic of physical environments which is hypothesized to inhibit cohesion.