Function and form of U.S. cities

TL;DR

This study analyzes how U.S. cities' travel patterns relate to their physical layout, revealing that mobility behaviors form universal classes that are not strongly dictated by urban form.

Contribution

It introduces a method to classify cities based on trip data and road network topology, highlighting the weak influence of urban form on travel behavior.

Findings

Seven distinct city clusters based on travel behavior

Travel patterns are similar across different urban forms

Urban function and form clusters do not strongly overlap

Abstract

The relationship between urban form and function is a complex challenge that can be examined from multiple perspectives. In this study, we propose a method to characterize the urban function of U.S. metropolitan areas by analyzing trip patterns extracted from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). To characterize urban form, we employ measures that capture road network topology. We cluster cities based on both form and function and subsequently compare these clusters. Our analysis of 52 U.S. metropolitan areas identifies 7 distinct clusters of cities that exhibit similar travel behavior, suggesting that diverse mobility patterns can be effectively grouped into a few universal classes. The observed disparity between the urban-function clustering and the urban-form clustering suggests that travel behavior in the U.S. is not strongly influenced by the physical infrastructure of the city.