Citation

Shaer A, Rezaei M, Moghani Rahimi B, Shaer F. Cities 2021; 115: e103255.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.cities.2021.103255

PMID

36090382

PMCID

PMC9449484

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and policies to control the outbreak such as quarantine, jobs closures, and traffic restrictions on active travel of Central Businesses District (CBD) residents in comparison with the non-CBD residents of Shiraz, Iran; and examine the relationship between perceived built environment factors and active travel in the pre- and post-outbreak. The results indicate that the most effective individuals factors on active travel are bicycle and car ownership, and built environment characteristics are walkability, bikeability, security, aesthetics, traffic calming, intersections safety, land uses diversity and density, destination accessibility, street pattern, and bike-sharing infrastructures. Also, the average walking and cycling time of the CBD residents before and after the outbreak is more than that of the non-CBD residents, which is due to the quality of built environment factors in the CBD. A built environment with mixed, diverse, dense and accessible land uses, as well as safe and secure cycling and walking routes have major effects on active travel in the crisis. Hence, it is suggested that policymakers take action to make the environment more people-friendly to maintain citizens' mobility in the critical situation, when many travel modes have lost their efficiency.

Language: en

Keywords

Built environment; Coronavirus; Pandemic; Active travel; Central businesses district (CBD)