[From the Victoria Transport Institute (VTPI) newsletter]

Lawrence D. Frank , et al. (2011), "An Assessment of Urban Form and Pedestrian and Transit Improvements as an Integrated GHG Reduction Strategy," Washington State Department of Transportation (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/765.1.pdf ).

This study used detailed data to assess the impacts of various urban form factors on vehicle travel and carbon emissions. This analysis indicates that increasing sidewalk coverage from 30% to 70% of streets in an urban neighborhood would typically reduce vehicle travel 3.4% and carbon emissions 4.9%. Land use mix and parking pricing also had significant impacts. Increasing average parking fees from $0.28 to $1.19 per hour (50th to 75th percentile) reduces vehicle travel 11.5% and emissions 9.9%. Study results were used to develop a spreadsheet tool that can evaluate the impacts of urban form, sidewalk coverage, and transit service quality and other policy changes for local and regional analysis.