Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space

This paper presents a method of examining the impact of shop closures, brought on by intensified competition from large new retail developments, upon consumers. The method is illustrated by an analysis of the hypothetical effects of a hypermarket upon shops and consumers in the Reading area. Details of shop closures are derived from a simulation model, and the effects of these closures upon consumers are expressed through indices of ‘discomfiture’ and ‘loss in accessibility’. It is shown that the loss in accessibility to local shops could be widespread, but in almost all parts of the area it is only slight in importance. Further applications of, and improvements in, these methods are suggested.

Dynamic models have been studied intensively during the last decade, particularly in the field of growth theory and diffusion analysis. Consequently, problems like temporal autocorrelation have received much attention. Recently the attention of econometricians has also concentrated on spatial autocorrelation, particularly in the field of spatial interaction models. The existence of spatial autocorrelation among spatially dispersed phenomena appears to lead to significant differences in the treatment of multiregional models. In this paper, attention will be focused on the formal aspects of dynamic spatial diffusion models. Some statistical measures for temporal-spatial autocorrelation will be constructed. In addition, a formal derivation of necessary extensions in estimation procedures for dynamic multiregional econometric models will be presented, particularly in the field of seemingly unrelated regressions and instrumental variables. The analysis will be illustrated by means of a dynamic explanatory model for the spatial dispersion of foreign workers in The Netherlands.

Revealed spatial preference scales are the most general way of measuring the degree of individual choice unanimity between alternatives in revealed spatial interaction data. From an examination of the information theoretic content of these scales, a continuous transform of scale differences into predicted choice probabilities is derived, as well as a ratio measure of spatial equity, or a measure of the differences in the quality of facility provision for groups of individuals. It is not necessary to assume that the functions involved are monotonic, additive, or independent of other choices that are known to have been made, and the personal attributes of the decisionmakers.

The research reported in this paper used four different survey methods to elucidate the importance of thirteen place attributes in the decision to migrate to Columbus, Ohio; (1) a Likert-type assessment of the general importance of each attribute; (2) a paired-comparison technique for ascertaining attribute trade-off possibilities; (3) measures of saliency and satisfaction with each attribute in the former place of residence, in the town that was the second choice for migration, and in Columbus, the migration destination; and (4) open-ended self-reports of reasons for moving. Use of these varying methodological approaches allows observations both on research strategies for migration studies and on substantive findings concerning place attributes. Relative to the latter, a two-step process is proposed.

The first stage of the migration process is identifying a set of alternative destinations in comparison with the former place of residence. Although all thirteen attributes are important in the abstract, housing, jobs, schools, and health care facilities are particularly critical should trade-offs be necessary. Nearness to home and shopping would be traded off most readily, as would ‘city lights’ amenities, which are generally regarded as important in migration literature.

In the second stage, a destination is chosen. Attributes appear to function primarily as threshold conditions in this process. Thus, Columbus and the second choice were both perceived as dramatically different from the former place of residence, but were nearly identical to one another. In this context personal contacts in a potential migration destination are apparently crucial in confirming for the migrant that perceptions of attributes are correct and in easing assimilation and adjustment problems.

Only in the past few years has any attention been directed toward oblique rotations and higher-order analysis in factor analytic research. This paper focuses upon the utility of higher-order analysis by comparing factorial-ecology results for a single set of variables over two differing systems of observational units covering the same area. The necessity for higher-order analysis is demonstrated for sub communities, but not for census tracts. Interpretations of underlying structural configurations from higher-order analysis lead to different perspectives than from lower-order findings. Implications of the results are then related to issues of areal aggregation and structural change.

The paper deals with the problem of how to define traffic flow in a continuous transportation model. A hydrodynamic analogy with continuously distributed sources and sinks, where a continuum of vector fields represents the communication system, is used. Traffic is defined as an integral of the moduli of all these vector fields. The definition is seen to provide for conservation of traffic. The measure is compared to those obtained by counting ‘cordon crossings’. It is seen that a measure obtained in this way agrees with the one proposed if the cordon crossings are weighted by the reciprocals of the cosines of the incidence angle.

A frequently voiced democratic catch phrase is ‘one man, one vote; one vote, one value’. Equality of representation, or proportional representation, is often taken as a guarantee that the democratic criterion is met. Whereas proportional representation may ensure ‘one man, one vote’, however, it is dubious whether it will also ensure ‘one vote, one value’. The latter component is defined here as voting power, and an analytical procedure is outlined which investigates the distribution of power. Application of the procedure to three EEC institutions—the Council of Ministers, the European Assembly, and the European Parliament—indicates clear disparities between the distributions of votes and of power, which have implications for national sovereignty.

This paper investigates the use of discriminant analysis as an empirical technique for assisting the urban planner in predicting patterns of neighborhood change. A discriminant model estimated for ninety low-income census tracts within the city of Pittsburgh predicts 97% of upgrading income paths and 92% of downgrading paths over the period 1960 to 1970. Some form of the discriminant model would appear to be a useful guide to policymakers and a reasonable technique for limiting the areas of immediate policy concern.

Investigation of the factors affecting individual response to noise provides an improved basis for the selection and implementation of noise impact reduction policies. This investigation is necessary because the cause and effect relationship between the level of noise exposure and noise response is confounded by personal and situational variables. Examination of the effects of these variables on response to road traffic noise with the use of data collected at residential sites in Southern Ontario suggests the following points for residential planning decisions. Arguments for taking no action to reduce noise impact are not supported. The sex, age, and socioeconomic compositions of residential areas are not important considerations for implementing measures to reduce noise impact. Life-style characteristics of residents on the other hand do affect response to noise. Methods to reduce noise must be effective indoors and outdoors to have a significant effect on attitudes: air conditioning alone is inadequate. Noise barriers appear to be more effective for improving attitudes than their noise reduction properties would suggest.