Since World War II, urban development in most cities of the industrialised countries has tended towards activity clustering. Suburban development shows segregated land use responding to plans based on zoning and on strict regulations. The segregation between residential and other activities is particularly noticeable. This urban pattern has often been linked to higher car use and increasing environmental and social costs. The phenomenon is not exclusive to the wealthier countries, though, and it can also be observed in many cities of Latin America, where the spatial segregation includes an additional (or a more marked) clustering of population by income. There are very few studies analysing the relation between urban development and travel behaviour in Latin American cities, but available data suggest that commuting travel times, mostly based on public transport means, are extremely high. The neo-traditional neighbourhood design (NTND), also called new urbanism, was proposed around 1980 as an alternative to conventional land use planning. NTND basically proposes to reorient development towards traditional communities (i.e. those existing before World War II) that are usually characterised by mixed land uses and a highly interconnected street system. The aim of the paper to be presented to the ETC is to analyse, for the two kinds of approaches to urban planning, the relation between residential development patterns and travel behaviour and the corresponding satisfaction level of households. The case of Caracas, where a specific survey has been carried out, is used to illustrate the analysis. While there is no proper NTND development in Caracas (and, in fact, there are very few examples in other countries), the city offers the possibility to compare traditional neighbourhoods with clustered ones.
Samenvatting