Associations Between the Built Environment of Employment-Intensive Areas and Commuters' Choice of Green Commuting Modes: A Case Study of Hefei High-Tech Industry Development Zone

<title>Abstract</title> <p>Urban employment-intensive areas generate large and highly directional peak-period commuting flows, and the relationship between their built environment and commuters' mode choice has practical implications for green transportation planning. Using Hefei High-Tech Industry Development Zone as an exploratory case, this study applied kernel density analysis, the Getis-Ord General G statistic, and Local Moran's I to identify large employment clusters. These clusters were further divided into nine study subareas according to road and land-use boundaries. Nine built-environment indicators were measured across three dimensions: land use, the streetscape visual environment, and road transportation. Based on 335 commuter questionnaires, a multinomial logit model was used to examine within-sample associations between five green commuting modes and car-based commuting. An enter-method multiple linear regression was also used to analyze factors associated with commuting time among 251 green commuters. The results show that: (1) the built environment differed substantially across the nine subareas; (2) marital status and car ownership showed relatively stable associations across several mode equations, whereas the positive associations of lower educational attainment with walking and bicycling were significant only in the baseline model; (3) the sky view factor had positive coefficients in all five green-mode equations, POI density was positively associated with walking, and intersection density was negatively associated with e-bike use; commuting time was negatively associated with walking and bicycling but positively associated with bus and metro use; and (4) among green commuters, higher bus stop density was associated with shorter commuting time, whereas intersection density, the sky view factor, and the street green view index were associated with longer commuting time. The study provides case-based evidence for improving green commuting environments in employment-intensive areas.</p>