2 4. How do these impacts vary across commuters living in specific neighborhoods? Research Methodology This study examined the statistical relationship between the built environment and job accessibility in Hong Kong. Job accessibility was measured by the commute distance and time that residents experienced. For the purposes of the study, the built environment included employment density, residential density, building mix, distance from home to rail stations, the proportion of residential areas within 500-meter radiuses of railway stations, the proportion of commercial areas within 500-meter radiuses of railway stations, etc. (See Table 1 for a brief description of selected variables). Data were collected from the Transportation Department, the Land Department, the Planning Department, the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong SAR, OpenStreetMap, and CentaMap. This study divided residents into sub-samples according to transportation modes (rails, buses, both rails and buses, and private vehicles) and residential neighborhoods (see Figure 1 for the categorization of neighborhoods) to analyze the homogeneous and heterogeneous impacts of built-environment features on job accessibility across groups. Each sub-sample was analyzed independently using multi-regression models. Findings and Analysis 1. General impacts of the built environment on commute distance and time In general, higher employment density and a higher proportion of residential areas within 500-meter radiuses of railway stations around home, and commuting to a workplace farther away from the Central Business District (CBD), i.e., Central, reduce commute distance and time, whereas higher residential density, a more complex building mix, and a higher proportion of commercial areas within 500-meter radiuses of railway stations around home, and living farther away from the CBD, increase commute distance and time. Figure 2 shows the spatial distribution of the average commute times for Hong Kong residents. 2. Heterogeneous impacts of the built environment on commuters using public transit and private vehicles Because they use less flexible transportation modes, the commuting behaviors of public transit users are more sensitive to the built environment than the commuting behaviors of private vehicle users. For example, higher residential density and a more complex building mix around home, and longer distance between home and the CBD substantially increase commute distance and/or commute time of public transit commuters but not those of private vehicle commuters. A higher proportion of residential areas within 500-meter radiuses of railway stations reduces commute distance and time for public transit commuters but increases commute distance and time for private vehicle users. This is because rail stations and nearby public transit facilities enhance the convenience of public transit commuters but lead to traffic congestion that adversely affects private vehicle users. 3. Homogeneous and heterogeneous impacts of the built environment on specific types of public transit commuters Living farther away from the CBD implies longer commute distance and time for all residents irrespective of public transit types. However, the impact is greater on commute distance than on commute time because of the efficiency of the city’s public transit system. Moreover, having a higher proportion of residential areas within 500-meter radiuses of railway stations around home reduces the commute distance and time for both rail-based and non-rail-based public transit commuters, indicating that rail stations and public transit facilities nearby benefit both types of public transit users. Built-Environment Feature Description Commute Distance# Distance from Home to Workplace Address Commute Time# Commute Time of All Trip Legs of the Day Employment Density* Employment Density = Employment / TPUSB Zone Area Residential Density* Residential Density = Residential Population / TPUSB Zone Area Building Mix* The mixture of various types of buildings, including residential, commercial, industrial and transport-related Distance from Home to the CBD* Average Household Distance to the City Centre (i.e. Central) Distance from Workplace to the CBD* Average Workplace Distance to the City Centre (i.e. Central) Proportion of Residential Areas located within 500-meter radiuses of rail stations* % of Residential Areas within 500-meter radiuses of railway stations Proportion of Commercial Areas located within 500-meter radiuses of rail stations* % of Commercial Areas within 500-meter radiuses of railway stations Table 1 Brief Description of Selected Variables #Variables were measured at the individual resident level. *Variables were measured at the Tertiary Planning Unit / Street Block (TPUSB) level. The TPUSB level is the finest grained zoning system for planning studies in Hong Kong, which divides the city into 4,816 zones. Impacts of the Built Environment on Job Accessibility: A Case Study of Hong Kong Public Policy BULLETIN
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