New urban living and mobility

Abstract

Some cities across Europe currently experience new growth. Especially the inner-city areas are regaining their attractiveness as a residential area together with an influx of new residents and a diversification of the population structure (Herfert/Osterhage 2012; Haase/Kabisch 2010; Buzar et al., 2007). This process of urban population growth and change is oftentimes accompanied by an extension of the housing stock and the construction of new residential neighbourhoods within the existing built structure. Among these offers are new concepts for urban living that target specific demands of the residents and that potentially prevent urban sprawl and further suburbanization. The questions addressed in this article are which households relocate to these areas, what their motives are and how new urban development influences daily mobility. While it is established that compact mixed-use spatial structure rather supports low shares of motorized transport and short trip length, it is far from clear whether this is the case for new centrally located but rather low density areas. The results of a case study in Berlin suggest that this new type of urban living mostly attracts highly educated families with relatively high incomes. Residents mainly moved from other inner-city areas within Berlin to this newly developed location. The importance of some typically ‘suburban’ motives - a bigger apartment and a garden - for the decision to relocate indicates that new residents may have otherwise chosen to move out from the city centre. Daily mobility of residents is characterized by a rather high use of active modes such as walking and biking compared to the inner city population in general. Car use is about comparable despite a very high rate of car ownership. Overall, the study suggests that new inner city development, although with low density provides opportunities for sustainable mobility. At the same time, the potential of the area is far from being fully exploited.