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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]

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]

Previous research on the self-containment of new towns has focused on access to employment and commute travel; little research has been documented regarding access to non-work facilities and its relation to non-work active travel, overlooking an important aspect to assessing the self-containment of new towns. Drawing on multiple sources of data in Hong Kong, we measure walking accessibility to three main types of non-work facilities (markets, restaurants and parks) as major destinations for non-work travel. Through a series of statistical analysis, we investigate in detail the effects of accessibility on the probability and duration of home-based walking trips. Our findings indicate that: (1) new towns were more disadvantaged and less equitable in terms of the accessibility to non-work facilities than urban areas; and (2) accessibility increased both the likelihood and duration of new town residents' walking trips particularly for grocery-shopping and dining-out purposes. The findings indicate that enhancing accessibility to non-work facilities in new towns can be beneficial in terms of both achieving self-containment and promoting more sustainable travel behaviour. Recommendations are proposed accordingly to help create more pedestrian-friendly environment, and balanced provision of non-work facilities in and around new towns and other suburban developments. • Accessibility to non-work facilities is vital to the self-containment of new towns • Walking accessibility to three main types of non-work facilities is measured. • The relationship between accessibility and walking trips is investigated. • Accessibility is lower and less equitable in new towns than urban areas. • Higher accessibility encourages longer walking trips for new-town residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing more walkable environments plays an essential role in healthy-city planning. Planners often assess the typical walkability framework from a geographic perspective based on GIS data. This paper proposes a refined walkability framework that quantifies walkability in terms of four pedestrian needs: safety, convenience, continuity, and attractiveness. Using Shenzhen as our case study, we integrate mesoscale and microscale built-environment features from different data sources: street view images (SVIs), social media, points-of-interest data, government open data, and GIS data. Deep learning semantic segmentation approaches apply to extracting street elements from SVIs. Results show that walkability and its four aspects are spatially heterogeneous in the city. Urban areas and suburban central business districts offer greater walkability than other areas. The less walkable areas are mainly in the rest of the suburbs. This work suggests that more academic and planning efforts should focus on improving walkability in less walkable neighborhoods and promoting pedestrian-friendly cities. [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.

Abstract: Children's independent mobility in many urban areas in the United States has been in decline. This implies that children's out-of-home travel involves the company of adults more often than before. This need requires parents to seek ways to balance work-family life. This study examines the factors that influence a parent-child joint trip to school in dual-earner households, with special consideration given to parental work arrangements and location, which act as intra-household temporal and spatial constraints. The study is carried out in the five-county Los Angeles region, drawing from household travel diaries from the 2001 Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Post Census Regional Household Travel Survey. The results show that parental employment, especially the mother's, is a very important factor influencing the probability of a joint trip to school. In terms of temporal constraints, longer working hours will reduce the likelihood that a child will be escorted by its parents. However, the option of flexible work hours offsets the negative effect of long working hours by offering a higher degree of scheduling flexibility. In terms of spatial constraints, the closer the mother's workplace is to the school, the more likely it is that the child will be escorted by the parents. This research provides important evidence that a child's joint trip is heavily influenced by the parents' work schedule and location. The findings shed light on how the provision of certain employment policies and programs may affect joint trips to school. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ever since their first establishment in Britain in 1946, new towns have become commonplace globally as a means to accommodate spillover populations from urban areas. Many of the planned new towns have a goal of creating self-contained communities with sufficient local jobs. However, despite over seventy years of new town development, few studies have examined whether and to what extent an intra-urban agglomeration economy has formed within these towns. This paper adds to the literature on new towns' spatial planning and performance by investigating the local agglomeration economy in new towns through employment sub-centres, with Hong Kong as the study area. We identify employment centres from 2000 to 2015 to map changes in the spatio-economic structure. Our results reveal that only a few of these primary employment centres exhibit strong location agglomeration: the proportion of jobs in the long-established urban core remained stable, while the agglomeration economies in new towns have not gained much momentum in attracting a larger proportion of the city's total employment. The new towns' sub-centres also indicate a similar industrial composition, and seemingly fail to foster local specialisation-based economies. • Local agglomeration economies were identified in Hong Kong from 2000 to 2015. • The main employment centres in Hong Kong exhibit strong location agglomeration. • A few relatively small employment sub-centres are located in new town areas. • New towns' employment sub-centres share homogeneous characteristics. • Most new towns have not formed a substantial agglomeration economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daily mobility of disadvantaged social groups, particularly low-income people, has gained increasing interest since the daily life of these people may encounter significant constraints that lead to certain social issues such as social exclusion and segregation. The concept and measure of activity space have been applied to measure the spatial barriers and inequalities faced by the low-income group in their daily life. However, research on how the daily mobility of different social strata has evolved over a longer period in parallel with urban development has been very limited. This study aims to address these gaps by investigating the activity space of the low-income group in comparison with other income groups in Hong Kong from 2002 to 2011, a period when several subway lines were opened. Four indicators were employed to capture the spatial extent and diversity of activity space. Propensity score matching was used to compare the activity space and mobility of the low-income group with those of the below-average and higher-income groups, while controlling for several confounding factors. The findings indicate that the activity space of the low-income people has not improved over the decade, despite some marked expansion of public transport infrastructure and urban development. In addition, a persistent gap in activity space between the low-income group and other income groups has remained stark in both urban areas and the new towns. Policy recommendations are put forward with a view to improving the daily mobility of the low-income group, with avenues for future research identified as well. • Activity space of the low-income group in Hong Kong of 2002 and 2011 is examined. • The spatial extent and diversity of activity space are measured in four indicators. • The activity space of the low-income group has not improved during the study period. • A persistent gap exists between the low-income group and other income groups. • The discrepancy along the income line exists in both urban areas and new towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]