Towards sustainable urban development: Traffic generation at food superstores in the UK

C. Black*, D. C. Broadstock, A. Collins, L. C. Hunt

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

    Abstract

    In the light of increasing concern over home-shopping traffic growth generated by food superstores in the UK and elsewhere and their possible role in reinforcing a 'food desert' effect, this study introduces an empirical framework to help underpin subsequent policy decisions. A trip attraction model is estimated by ordinary least squares (OLS) for food superstores in the UK using a composite dataset constructed from data from the UK Census of Population, the UK National Online Manpower Information System (NOMIS), and the Trip Rate Information Computer System (TRIGS). It is found that traffic to a given food superstore, other things being equal, increases with car ownership, parking provision, retail floor space, distance to the nearest competitor and, perhaps surprisingly, increased public transport provision. The latter effect is discussed in the light of a possible explanation linked to the 'food deserts' debate, along with the associated implications for effective (inner-urban) sustainable development. Increases in household size are found to be associated with a fall in vehicle traffic to a site, due to household economies of scope and scale, which may also perpetuate use of less sustainable modes of transport.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationUrban Transport XII
    Subtitle of host publicationUrban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century
    Pages61-70
    Number of pages10
    Volume89
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2006
    Event12th International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century - Prague, Czech Republic
    Duration: 12 Jul 200614 Jul 2006
    Conference number: UT06

    Conference

    Conference12th International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century
    Abbreviated titleURBAN TRANSPORT 2006
    Country/TerritoryCzech Republic
    CityPrague
    Period12/07/0614/07/06

    Keywords

    • Activity based travel
    • Food deserts
    • Food superstores
    • Sustainable development
    • Traffic generation
    • Transport planning

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