Existing literature suggests that mixed land-use developments have the potential to reduce traffic by “capturing” some trips internally and providing a pedestrian-friendly environment to facilitate walking for some trips. However, these elements which are meant to provide the traffic-reducing benefits also reduce the overall cost of travel, thereby increasing the total amount of travel. This “induced” travel has implications for the site planning process, which assumes that all internal trips are replacing trips on the external street network. In this investigation, travel survey data were analyzed to determine the nature and extent of induced travel at mixed-use developments. The study site was a 75-acre suburban infill mixed-use development in Plano, Texas. Features of the study site included a diverse land-use mix, a grid-style street layout, and pedestrian-oriented streetscapes. The travel survey was administered as an interview of persons exiting buildings at the site and gathered information about two trips made by the respondent, including whether the trip made at the time of the interview was induced. A trip was considered induced if the respondent would not have made the trip if it had required travel outside of Legacy Town Center. Analysis found that in the morning, four percent of all trips at the study site were induced; in the afternoon, about one-quarter of all trips were induced. Induced trips accounted for one-eighth of internal trips in the morning and forty percent of internal trips in the afternoon. Most internal trips made in an automobile were replacements for off-site travel while most trips made on foot were induced. Based on this study, it is evident that some internal trips at mixeduse developments are not “captured” from external streets, but represent additional trips, induced by travel cost savings in the mixed-use environment. However, it is demonstrated that, even with this additional travel, mixed-use developments still contribute to a reduction in overall vehicle-miles of travel. Stakeholders are encouraged to consider these findings when evaluating new land-use policies or the traffic impacts of proposed mixed-use developments.

This thesis studies New Urbanism, a movement intending to address the problems of the American suburbs and create pleasing and livable communities. The focus is on the Traditional Neighborhood Design concept (TND), one of the five types of New Urbanism developed in the late 1980's by architects Andre Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. The goal of this thesis is to develop the best community design concept, with a basis in the TND concept, which responds to local cultural and physical environments. The study is comprised of two approaches: a literature review and a design approach. In the first three chapters, the findings of the literature review are shown. There include (1) the history, structure, and problems of the American suburbs, (2) the theory and types of New Urbanism community structures, and (3) the characteristics of TNDs. At the end of Chapter 3 the TND concept is analyzed using four criteria comprised, uses and activities, public space, circulation and typological characteristics of architecture, as well as a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the TND concept are summarized. In Chapter 4 the development of a TND plan for the New Town of Williamsburg is shown, which includes the context of the site, history of Colonial Williamsburg, site inventory, site analysis, design concept, and design development. The design concept was developed from the findings of the site analysis and the improved TND concept. The conclusions in Chapter 5 provide an overview of this thesis, findings of both the research and design part, lessons from this thesis, and areas for future research / Master of Landscape Architecture

This study examines the LEED-ND pilot rating program created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), the Congress for New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 2007. The rating system is evaluated based on its application as a broad set of national standards meant to encourage green neighborhood development. The main case study is a master planned community in semi-rural Paso Robles, California. Among other things, the study discovers problems related to the application of the rating system in semi-rural and rural regions of the Western United States. Both the standards used by the rating system and the certification process itself were considered through a case study methodology.

Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between the built environment and social and transportation outcomes when comparing traditional and conventional suburban neighborhoods, but much remains to be learned about whether New Urbanism can produce similar results. Among studies where new urban neighborhoods have been assessed, most have centered on regions with highly-utilized public transit systems and with climates that are amenable to utilitarian physical activity. This research sought to build on the existing research base through direct comparison of new urban and conventional suburban neighborhoods in central Florida, a region with an under-developed transit system and a climate that renders utilitarian physical activity impractical. Further, this research sought to lend greater insights into neighborhood selection factors across neighborhood types. A mixed-methods, single-case design was utilized to evaluate one new urban and one conventional suburban neighborhood in the central Florida region. Regional new urban neighborhoods were subjectively rated for adherence to tenets of the Charter of the New Urbanism, with the neighborhood (Celebration, in Osceola County, FL) found to most closely adhere to these tenets selected as the experimental group for the study. A socio-demographically comparable conventional suburban neighborhood (Sweetwater, in Seminole County, FL) was selected as the control group. Quantitative methods consisted of a household survey issued to 250 randomly- and convenience-sampled addresses in each neighborhood, followed by regression analysis to evaluate study hypotheses. Qualitative methods employed analysis of open-ended survey responses, detailed case studies of selected neighborhoods, and resident interviews. The household survey yielded net response rates of 15.79 percent and 25.50 percent iv for experimental and control neighborhoods, respectively, and a mean cross-neighborhood response rate of 20.64 percent. Twenty resident interviews (10 per neighborhood) were conducted. Quantitative and qualitative findings were compared to collectively address research questions. Regression results indicated no statistically significant difference between neighborhoods in attitudinal and behavioral components of community participation, in vehicle miles driven per week, or utilitarian physical activity frequency. However, results indicated that new urban residents had more positive attitudes toward utilitarian physical activity than conventional suburban residents and that attitudes toward community participation and utilitarian physical activity were positively correlated with associated behaviors. Qualitative findings provided substantial individual- and environmental-level insights to factors impacting evaluated attitudes and behaviors, and supported some quantitative findings while not aligning with others. Neighborhood selection factors were found to be quite different across neighborhoods: Celebration residents identified neighborhood social atmosphere and connection to the Walt Disney Company brand as top contributors to their selection decision, while Sweetwater residents expressed that access to quality schools was the most important factor in their selection decision. Qualitative findings indicated that car culture and climate within the central Florida region diminished both attitudinal and behavioral components of utilitarian physical activity across neighborhood types. This research expanded the understanding of the social and transportation outcomes of New Urbanism, particularly with respect to the central Florida region. While case and quantitative limitations may have impeded the ability of this study to draw decisive conclusions v about research questions, distinctive themes regarding social and transportation outcomes were identified. Findings of this research supported those of some prior studies while contradicting others, indicating that further exploration is needed to establish a firm understanding of the capabilities of new urban development to achieve desired outcomes, and of regional characteristics that may influence these outcomes.