Search

Historical patterns of land-use development across many countries in the Global North have generally been characterised by land-use segregation, low-density settlements, and limited transport accessibility. This can lead to inefficient regional developmental patterns and can increase the environmental degradation attributable to regional expansion. Numerous metrics and datasets have been employed to infer the sustainability and efficiency of these developments. Here, we quantify and visualise the relative entropy of land-use configurations across the Republic of Ireland using a novel dataset. Specifically, we combine the discipline-standard CORINE Land Cover 2018 dataset and OpenStreetMap data, which provides more thorough land-use classifications in urban areas. Spatial differences in relative entropy are visualised using a spatial typology distinguishing between areas exhibiting low and high levels of relative entropy. Our Main Map visualises the coverage of both CORINE and OpenStreetMap datasets, compares relative entropy estimates for both datasets, and illustrates the disparities in cross-dataset estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sustainable retail development implies that retail centres should serve their communities economically and socially, while not degrading local environments. However, existing literature identifies that retail centres often create negative externalities, impacting the sustainable development of both the core and peripheries of city regions. International evidence also shows that retail sprawl and transport emissions have been exacerbated by existing planning architecture, notably retail parks. This has resulted in commercial centres shifting from high streets to car-dependent, suburban retail centres, worsening congestion levels and environmental degradation. This paper examines how location-effects influence transport-related emissions and travel mode choice when shopping in Ireland's five major administrative city regions. This paper adapts 2016 Census commuting data, and utilises retail and residential location data, to estimate hypothetical travel-related emissions within a multi modal transportation network incorporating cars, buses, cycling, and walking. This analysis is performed at the Small Area level for Ireland's five major cities and their surrounding commuter belts. The results show that retail centres generating the most travel-related emissions tend to be found outside city cores, in the fringe areas of built-up city environments, and that these retail centres are generally only accessible to car users. This supports theories suggesting that accessibility-centred development is the best option to combat the ill effects of sprawl, and that car dependency worsens the environmental degradation associated with sprawling developments. Above all, this study highlights the excessive environmental degradation caused by car dependent retail environments and offers direction for future policymaking. • Car dependent retail centres exacerbate transport-related emissions. • Peripheral retail centres are generally car dependent, worsening travel-related emissions. • Retail centres accessible to sustainable transport users generate less travel-related emissions. • Car dependency increases as distances from city cores increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]