The Impact of Urban Density on Car Dependency, a Case Study of Three Residential Districts of Region 1, Shiraz

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  Abstract   The negative consequences of high car dependency have motivated a great deal of research among urban scholars of stable development aimed at reducing car use. It is claimed that one of influencing factors in car-dependency and high car usage is the conventional urban development pattern. Because of the horizontal, low-density and sprawl pattern, activity centers are located far from each other which results in increasing more travel by car in the absence of an efficient public transportation system. This study investigates the factor effecting car-dependency within three urban districts of region Metropolitan Shiraz. The reason for choosing these areas is that they are similar in socio-economic characteristics but different in urban density level. The ownership of the cars and the amount of using them are used as indices to show car dependency the questioners completed by the head of the household (359 questioners) as well as the GIS dataset of Metropolitan Shiraz are used. Using statistical analysis such as analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis, the association between car ownership/usage and socio-economical and physical features is examined. The results suggest that the most important determinants of household car-dependency are some socio-economic characteristics -such as family income, household size, number of employees, and the job and education level of the head of the household and home ownership status-. On the other hand, urban density (floor area ratio) shows a positive association with car usage frequency. The results confirm that there is a fundamental difference between the situation of Iran cities and that of the West earn countries', in terms of car-dependency issue.   

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