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People’s spatial distribution and concentration within the urban complex are essential determinants of urban shape, structure, and transportation requirements.
Population density is influences both land-use configurations and travel patterns. Even today, density has been closely linked to transportation systems.
Population and transportation density identify specific cities. It is one of the most precise measures of how suburbia differs from the central city, and it depicts the most visual contrast between urban areas throughout the world.
Although differences exist within the central city and suburbia, differences on a global basis between North American and European cities are even more impressive.
Population Density
Density is a hugely important measure connected to everything from urban design to transportation and economic growth.
The densest central urban neighborhoods usually developed earliest before cars and trains allowed people to cover travel more than a few kilometers in an hour’s time.
The densest neighborhoods found are frequently found in Chinese cities. Even the densest parts in New York City are no less dense than the densest neighborhoods in China.
Tokyo also has the highest overall density of all the cities, and yet almost no district in Tokyo exceeds 20 thousand people/sq km (light red color).
Los Angeles and San Francisco have small, high-density (red) urban cores developed before the car’s appearance, in contrast to more far-flung lower-density suburbs that were built up mainly after the car’s appearance.
One of the most notable effects of density on urban travel is the close correlation between high density and high public transportation usage.
Transit depends on the spatial and temporary concentration of movements; hence, intensively developed central business districts and high-density radial corridors contribute to transit usage.
There are apparent interactions between density patterns and transportation facilities. Transportation often catalyzes accelerating density changes.
A minimum density of about 11,5 thousand people/sq km is required before heavy rail (subway) development makes economic reason (red and pink area on the map). The density threshold at which light rail is cost-effective is about 7 thousand people/sq km (dark orange color).
In some cities, you can see a perfect overlapping of subway systems with high-density neighborhoods (light red and above colors). These cities with subway networks date back about a century (Paris, New York City, Tokyo).
Other cities’ subway systems are not strictly aligned with high density, serving both medium and high-density parts (London, Chicago, Sao Paulo).
Chinese cities rely on constantly growing subway systems to meet their exact needs. This is why Beijing and Shanghai now have the most comprehensive subway systems on the planet.
