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Smart growth policies have often emphasized the importance of land use mix as an intervention beholding of lasting urban planning and public health benefits. Past transportation-land use research has identified potential efficiency gains achieved by mixed-use neighborhoods and the subsequent shortening of trip lengths; whereas, public health research has accredited increased land use mixing as an effective policy for facilitating greater physical activity.

However, despite the celebrated transportation, land use, and health benefits of improved land use mixing and the extent of topical attention, no consensus has been reached regarding the conceptualization and measurement of this key smart growth principle or the magnitude of its link to walking. This research, comprising three empirical studies, explores this topic in detail.

This webinar will provide attendees with greater specificity in the measurement of land use mix and its connection to pedestrian travel behavior.

Steve Gehrke recently received his doctorate in civil & environmental engineering at Portland State University. He previously received a master’s degree in community planning from the University of Maryland and a B.S. in geography from New Mexico State University. His research explores the interactions between the built environment and travel behavior, with a focus on active transportation. In 2015, he was awarded a NITC dissertation fellowship and the Stan Czamanski Prize from the Regional Science Association International for his dissertation research proposal. In this work, he advanced the conceptualization and measurement of land use mix as an environmental determinant of pedestrian travel. Manuscripts related to this research are published in the Journal of Transport and Land Use, Environment and Planning B, and Travel Behaviour and Society. He has co-authored other articles in transportation journals studying the travel outcomes of residential location decisions, work-based travel behavior, and economic impacts of cycling infrastructure.