Modeling residential and workplace location assessment on car commuting energy

摘要

A model for assessing resident and workplace location on energy for car commute to work is dealt with in the paper. The paper consists of two parts : model building and assessing simplified location patterns. The model is composed of five submodels: location patterns, commute trip distribution, spatial distribution of commute trip density, road traffic speed and energy calculation. Three simplified location patterns are set to resident and workplace respectively, so nine sets of locations are put under assessment The study area is assumed to be circular. The location sets together with commute length distribution form respective spatial distribution of car commute trip density in the area The density is convened to traffic speed. Car commuting energy is calculated by applying traffic speed-energy function to the speed distribution. Population is included in some of the submodels so that the model may be applicable over the wide range of population size. The model proved effective for the assessment on the whole on examination of the calculated average traffic speed against the observed in several Japanese cities of different population. The spatial distributions of car commute trip density are grouped into any one of bell, plate and plateau types. Plate typs is dented at and near the center and the plateau is intermediate between bell and plate. Those are, by converting to the density on traffic lane, lumped into those which are more or less depressed at and near the center. This means some increase in traffic speed there. Per capita energy use for car commuting is minimized by such a set of locations in which both resident and workplace densities are lowered toward the margin. The second minimum is achieved by two sets adjoining to the above. Relatively to the results comment is given on residential decentralization in progress in most Japanese cities.