Identifying the areas of walking, transit and automobile urban fabrics in Finnish intermediate cities

Abstract The theory of urban fabrics is based on a schema that identifies walking, transit and automobile fabrics. From the urban fabrics perspective, the basic sustainability challenge for cities is the automobile fabric and its impact on walking and transit fabrics. We introduce a GIS-based method to identify and delineate areas of walking, transit and automobile urban fabrics in four Finnish city regions. Existing delineation that identifies public transport supply is used as a starting point and a reference. The emphasis is on delineating the boundary between areas of transit fabric and areas of automobile fabric. The methodology relies on an overlay analysis and thresholds for three variables that represent basic determinants of the transit fabric in intermediate city regions. These include: the combined density of the population and jobs, the proximity of bus stops with a sufficient level of transit services, and the availability of grocery shops within walking distance. The results are tested using data on modal share and car ownership. The results show that with the inclusion of two new variables (density and grocery shops) the delineation is more accurate for identifying those areas that accommodate a higher share of carless households and sustainable transport modes compared to those with only public transport supply. The results show the similarities of each fabric area type in different cities and great differences between fabric areas inside each city region, which indicates that the application is useful. It also reveals the need for more detailed analysis.