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With an increasing interest for electric vehicles (EV) and the associated charging needs, understanding how public charging infrastructure networks impact the adoption of such vehicles is central for planners and policymakers. While most studies are conducted at the regional or national scales, urban contexts present specificities for the deployment of these networks, given the scarcity of private parking spaces and the strong competition for land. Using data from a survey (n = 642) conducted in Montreal, Canada, this work investigates the influence of public charging infrastructure accessibility on EV adoption in an urban context. Three measures of accessibility are analyzed: 1) objective (number of charging stations near home), 2) perceived (perceptions about the current public charging network), and 3) prospective (expectations on the public charging network in five years). The findings reveal the importance of perceived and prospective accessibility measures as opposed to objective ones, and thus demonstrate that the deployment of public charging networks is an issue tied by perceptions. We also find that non-EV owners underestimate their accessibility to public chargers, thereby illustrating how perceptions may vary across individuals. The results suggest that, in addition to expanding the public charging network, efforts aiming at better informing citizens on the presence and the locations of these charging facilities could contribute to increasing EV adoption. This study highlights the importance of perceptions and expectations and provides a nuanced understanding of how integrating accessibility-based policies into electrification plans might speed up EV adoption in metropolitan areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We looked at the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Great Bay Area (GBA), especially Shenzhen, to demonstrate how geospatial big data, such as remote sensing data and human trajectory data, were used to monitor and track the progress of SDGs in the area. B Contents b B Introduction b Mee Kam Ng and Cecilia Wong B The Policy Conundrum of Integrating the Three "S's": Spatial planning, Smart Cities and Sustainable development b Cecilia Wong, Caglar Koksal, Ransford A. Acheampong, Wei Zheng and Mark Baker B This is Manchester: Working to be a Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive "Original, Modern" City b Dave Carter B Building a Digital and Green Region in Greater Manchester: Multi-Stakeholder Analysis and Role of Planners b Caglar Koksal, Wei Zheng, and Ransford A. Acheampong B Genesis of Smart Sustainable Development in Shenzhen, China's "Silicon Valley" b Mee Kam Ng, Jonah Tang, Mingmin Pan, and Sylvia Y. He B Strategy for the Application of Smart Technology in Spatial Planning in Shenzhen b Jifeng Dai, Weizhi Cheng, Tao Wang, and Yu Fang B Geospatial Big Data Analytics and the Progress of SDGs in the Greater Bay Area b Yang Yue, Zhong-Wen Hu, Qi-Li Gao, and Chi-Sheng Wang B "Digital Bay Area": Towards Sustainable Regional Development in the Greater Bay Area - From High Speed to High-Quality Development b Yu Fang, Wenyong Sun, Shuyao Cai, and Jifeng Dai B Smart Cities, Chinese Rooms and Extended Minds b Ian Wray Introduction Most smart city literature is about the adoption of information and communication technologies to make cities smart now (Fernandez-Anez et al., [1]). The "Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA" proposes the construction of smart city clusters, facilitated by big data monitoring platforms for the free flow of spatial data and information in the GBA. [Extracted from the article]

This study advances understanding of the role of residential location in joint household travel and activities for non-work purposes in an Asian city context. This has been done by investigating the relationship between job accessibility, and the undertaking and duration of joint travel and activities of multi-person households in Hong Kong. Particular attention was given to the difference between new town and urban-area commuters who experienced marked different levels of job accessibility as a result of their residential locations. Drawing on the 2011 household travel survey, a suite of multivariable analysis was carried out. The findings highlight that: (1) longer working hours were associated with a lower probability of joint household travel and activities for new town and urban-area commuters alike; (2) longer commute and working hours significantly reduced the time window for joint household activities; (3) and job accessibility played a more important role in affecting the opportunities for discretionary joint household activities among new town commuters than urban-area commuters. The implications of these findings can be used to inform policymaking to increase the opportunities and time window for joint household travel and activities among new town commuters. Potential avenues for future research are also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that spatial mismatch between residential location and employment opportunities acts as a key influencing factor in employment outcomes for ethnic minorities living in segregated neighbourhoods. However, the effect of job accessibility on residential choice and segregation of ethnic minorities and its relevance to spatial mismatch across different minority groups has not been fully captured, especially in high‐density, transit‐oriented cities. This study seeks to address these knowledge gaps by investigating the residential segregation of ethnic minorities in relation to job accessibility in Hong Kong. Using a suite of statistical analyses, spatial patterns of residential segregation were found to relate to disparities in the socio‐economic status of different minority groups. Furthermore, modelling results suggest a significant trade‐off between neighbourhood quality and job accessibility particularly for the retail and service industries of South/Southeast Asian groups. By contrast, more privileged minority groups, such as White and Japanese communities, were found to cluster predominantly in higher income neighbourhoods with improved amenities rather than living closer to employment opportunities. These insights contribute to a more nuanced understanding of spatial mismatch across different ethnic minority groups, with which we have proposed policy recommendations with a view towards improving job accessibility, particularly for lower income minority groups and have identified avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: From the 1970s to the 1990s, the Hong Kong government developed several new towns to alleviate pressure on contemporary urban areas and provide housing for a rapidly growing population. Although self-containment is a key objective in building new towns, no research has assessed residents' behavioral outcomes, limiting the objective assessment of the spatial planning of new towns. In this study, we hypothesize that adequate job accessibility would offer residents shorter commutes and hence more time for noncommute travel and activities and better work–life balance. Drawing on census and household travel survey data, we assess the spatial planning of new towns by investigating the effects of job accessibility on commute and noncommute travel durations. We find that a) there is a disparity in self-containment and access to job opportunities between these towns and urban areas, b) job accessibility strongly influences commute duration, and c) prolonged commutes can reduce noncommute travel duration, particularly for public transportation users, suggesting that this may harm work–life balance for workers with long commutes. Takeaway for practice: Building a self-contained new town requires strategic spatial planning and a concrete plan to develop the local economy. To cultivate local employment, planners should develop a regional plan that differentiates main industries in different new towns. A good starting point would be a thorough understanding of the history, spatial distribution of existing industries and firms, and skills of local workers in these towns. We recommend more proactive efforts to a) establish more self-contained new town communities, b) relocate jobs in certain sectors (e.g., government offices) to new towns, c) strengthen an integrated transit system, and d) adopt alternative work schedules (e.g., telecommuting, flexible work hours) in certain industries to relieve commute burdens, improving both commute experience and work–life balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system has been widely acclaimed for its unique 'rail-plusproperty' (R+P) model of operation. However, MTR projects, like other transit-oriented development (TOD) projects, have been under scrutiny as a catalyst for land-price appreciation and gentrification. In this study, we aim to examine the impact of new MTR lines on the spatial distribution of public and private housing estates across Hong Kong since the 1980s. Drawing on housing, transport and census data, we reveal that local improvement in accessibility due to the expansion of the MTR network has attracted private residential developments. This implies that low-income households might have been gradually squeezed out of such prime locations. Based on our findings, we propose recommendations on urban development under the TOD model, with a view to making Hong Kong and other transit cities more socially and spatially just. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children are traveling longer distances to school, and the share traveling by car is increasing. This paper examines the effects of school attributes on school choice, which in turn gives rise to travel distance and mode choice. It is well known that school quality is capitalized into residential land values. Households willing and able to pay price premiums may choose to live closer to good-quality schools. In contrast, households with less ability to pay are likely to live in places with schools of lower quality. The California public school system has an open enrollment policy, which allows students to transfer out of their neighbourhood school when places are available. When this option is exercised, students may travel longer distances to school compared with students who attend their neighbourhood schools. We used travel diary data from the 2001 Post Census Regional Household Travel Survey to model school destination choices for K-12 students in the Los Angeles region, California. Parents may choose to send their children to neighbourhood schools, other schools within their home district, or out-of-district schools. We find that location, school quality, and other school features influence the probability of a school being chosen, and the extent to which these factors influence choice varies depending on the characteristics of the residential district and the attributes of the household. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Extensive research has examined numerous transportation outcomes of home-based telecommuting, but few studies have investigated the outcomes of household-level travel. This article explores whether telecommuting is associated with different levels of household travel for various trip purposes, using 2008 household travel survey data of the Chicago metropolitan area. Results suggest that less-frequent telecommuters tend to undertake longer one-way journey-to-work (JTW) distances than frequent telecommuters and nontelecommuters; households with less-frequent telecommuters have longer JTW distances than the other households. Telecommuting is not associated with the durations of school trips or routine shopping trips but is associated with longer total daily trip duration on the days that telecommuters go to their workplaces. On the telecommuting days, households with less-frequent telecommuters tend to travel the similar amount as households without telecommuters, and those with frequent telecommuters tend to travel less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information related to diversity in urban planning. Topics being presented include the need to understand urban change and acknowledge improvements in the quality of life for many urban dwellers as well as the continuing obstacles to sustainable urban development, including social and economic exclusion and special segregation for all cities and human settlements.

Information about several concerns discussed at a conference 18th Inter-University Seminar on Asian Megacities in Hong Kong August 15-17, 2013 on urbanism of Asian countries is presented. Topics include challenges, socio-economic and environmental consequences, and reaction to growth and progress in Asian mega cities. The conference featured several speakers including professors Harry Dimitriou of England's University College London and Anne Haila of University of Helsinki, Finland.