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Traffic and livability in Hanoi, Vietnam: exploring the impact of traffic volume on livability of residents in Hanoi

Sanders, Peter B.A. (2013) Traffic and livability in Hanoi, Vietnam: exploring the impact of traffic volume on livability of residents in Hanoi.

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Abstract:Urban transport is one of the most daunting problems faced by South East Asian cities. Research from the resident perspective in the developed world reveals that urban transport can severely affect livability of residents. However, such empirical evidence has yet to be obtained in South East Asia. This Master thesis evaluates livability of residents along streets with different traffic volumes in Hanoi, a rapidly growing metropolis characterised by high levels of personal motorized traffic in Vietnam. Two high volume traffic streets and two low volume traffic streets are studied. The study results show that – as expected – low traffic volume streets were rated more livable than high traffic streets. The study is able to quantify that residents on both low traffic volume streets experience less traffic hazard and stress, including noise and air pollution, than neighbouring high traffic streets. Though, interestingly, the level of social interaction and feeling of privacy and home territory were fairly high at all four low and high traffic streets. The methodologies used for this explorative study were revisiting the famous 1969 ‘’Livable Streets’’ project by Donald Appleyard and Mark Lintell. Like the original study, it compared responses of residents on streets with high and low traffic volumes and measured the effects on social interaction, stress, traffic hazard, and privacy and home territory. Appleyard found all four indicators to correlate inversely with traffic volume in San Francisco. However, the new study shows for social interaction and a feeling of privacy and home territory contradictory trends. This is most likely a consequence of contextual differences between Hanoi and San Francisco, such as average length of residence and level of individualism. Responses were nevertheless muted for a number of probable reasons, including residential self-selection, socio-demographic differences and physical differences other than traffic volume between the streets.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Clients:
HealthBridge Canada, Canada
Faculty:ET: Engineering Technology
Subject:56 civil engineering
Programme:Civil Engineering and Management MSc (60026)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63069
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