2018 Volume 41 Issue 4 Pages 38-46
In this thesis, we analyze which factors influence urban compactness. Our results show that the potential urban area size which is determined by land use regulations such as the “Urbanization Promotion Area”, and the ratio of private car users to all commuters, have a significant positive influence on the “Normalized Standard Distance,” which is the indicator of urban compactness. This means that land regulation and public transportation could contribute to urban compactness. In addition, we found that public transportation is more effective for urban compactness at the period when the potential urban area is limited to a narrow area, which corresponds to the period before the urban area is extended to the suburbs. Our results suggest that the earlier public policy actions toward urban compactness benefited urban compactness.
