Overlooked Destinations: Suburban Nodes, Centers, and Trips to Strips

While suburbia is often considered antithetical to active travel due in part on its low density development and lack of destinations, this is far from true. Previous research funded in part by OTREC found that commercial developments throughout suburbia are often surrounded by high-density suburban multifamily housing. In addition, previous research by the PI in four states around the country found that, based in part on this high density housing, suburban commercial development can have as many as 1,200 single-family and multifamily units within a 1/4 mile walking distance of the commercial parcel. Recent data from the Portland area shows…

While suburbia is often considered antithetical to active travel due in part on its low density development and lack of destinations, this is far from true. Previous research funded in part by OTREC found that commercial developments throughout suburbia are often surrounded by high-density suburban multifamily housing. In addition, previous research by the PI in four states around the country found that, based in part on this high density housing, suburban commercial development can have as many as 1,200 single-family and multifamily units within a 1/4 mile walking distance of the commercial parcel.  Recent data from the Portland area shows an average of nearly 900 housing units existing within walking distance of each suburban commercial development (CoStar Realty Information Inc. 2010). Strip malls, in addition to being vehicular magnets, also have the potential to become pedestrian magnets in suburbia. 

OTREC funded research in the last two years has shown that greater connectivity between suburban multifamily developments and adjacent commercial development is correlated with a significant increase in biking and walking to the commercial area by residents.  This research goes beyond the question of integrating land use and transportation and focuses on the role of site design as a critical aspect in the creation of livable, less congested and multi-modal suburban communities.  While the previous research focused primarily on the site design of suburban multifamily housing, it suggested that the design of the commercial development and its connectivity to surrounding development is also critical to the mode choice of residents.  The goal of the proposed research project is to flesh out these early findings through a targeted study of the site design of suburban commercial centers and their surrounding development.  The intention is to study the effects of commercial development site design and connectivity on the mode choice of residents living within walking distance. 

Using a case study approach and following a similar methodology used in the previous multifamily housing research by the PI, this investigation will include transportation and demographic surveys of residents living within 1/4 mile of targeted commercial developments as well as audits/analysis of existing site designs. We will compare paired case study commercial development ‘nodes’ in two different regions (Portland, Oregon and Orlando, Florida) where half of the sites in each region will have substantial physical connectivity with adjacent uses and half will have limited physical connectivity with adjacent uses.  These case studies will address the following research questions:

- Does increased physical connectivity between suburban commercial centers and adjacent multifamily and single family housing lead to a significant increase in non-motorized travel and transit use?

- If increased connections do lead to increased non-auto travel, how can existing commercial developments be retrofitted to increase connections, and what changes need to happen, at a code and policy level, to increase these connections in new suburban commercial developments?

- What are the ‘best practices’ examples of commercial development and connectivity that can serve as a guide for future regulation and design?

If addressing site design issues in suburban commercial development can increase non-auto travel, this would point to a low-cost, widely applicable, and easily implemented strategy that would contribute to USDOT goals of reduced congestion and increased mobility.

This research will lead to one or two peer reviewed journal articles. Given a general lack of scholarly work in the area of suburban commercial development, we anticipate that the articles produced will be well received.  Potential journals we will consider include Transportation and Planning, the Journal of the American Planning Association, the Journal of Urban Design, and the Journal of Architectural and Planning Research.  In order to promote the reconsideration of suburban commercial development, its regulation, and its design, we will also focus on presenting this research at national professional and academic conferences that deal with transportation, planning, and design issues. Conferences might include the American Planning Association and the Transportation Research Board among others.