Arlie S Adkins

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Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Stoker, P. A., Adkins, A. S., & Ewing, R. (2017). Pedestrian Safety and Public Health. In Walking: Connecting Sustainable Transport with Health.

Journals/Publications

• Okyere, S. A., Frimpong, L. K., Oviedo, D., Mensah, S. L., Fianoo, I. N., Nieto-Combariza, M. J., Abunyewah, M., Adkins, A., & Kita, M. (2024). Policy-reality gaps in Africa’s walking cities: Contextualizing institutional perspectives and residents’ lived experiences in Accra. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1-22. doi:10.1080/07352166.2023.2296105
• Salas, L., & Adkins, A. (2024). Standardizing Vehicle Travel Speed Data for Road Safety. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 61(1). doi:10.1002/pra2.1031
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  In 2022, almost 50,000 people died in road crashes in the United States, with speeding implicated in 29% of these fatalities. Despite known links between vehicle speed and crash occurrence and severity, there are no federal guidelines for collecting vehicle travel speed (VTS) data. Cities with open VTS data are using unstandardized datasets, which complicates large-scale and cross-jurisdictional analysis. We conducted a qualitative assessment of open data repositories for the 25 largest U.S. cities, using a framework of knowledge representation, evaluated twelve metadata components, and determined the potential usability of these datasets. Our knowledge representation framework includes five data elements: speed metric, timestamp, geospatial representation, posted speed and vehicle type. Findings show that one-quarter of these cities have open VTS datasets. Of those cities, none has a VTS dataset containing all the elements defined in our framework. This suggests the need to design information policy standards for the collection and sharing of open VTS data.
• Smith, C., Myadar, O., Iroz-Elardo, N., Ingram, M., & Adkins, A. (2022). Making of home: Transportation mobility and well-being among Tucson refugees. Journal of Transport Geography, 103. doi:10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2022.103409
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  The article is based on a multidisciplinary research project that aimed to study mobility challenges that refugees in Tucson, Arizona experience after their resettlement. Using qualitative and quantitative data collected from interviews and survey data, we argue that mobility shapes the ways refugees foster social connections, attain employment and access educational opportunities. Accordingly, barriers to mobility negatively impact refugees' perception of well-being in post resettlement. However, these challenges are not experienced unevenly. Nor are refugees passive subjects who lack agency in overcoming various barriers they experience. The study also reveals the resilience of the refugee community in navigating the intersectional challenges they confront related to their mobility. We hope that the implications of this study can inform various stakeholders to better support refugees in navigating existing mobility and transportation challenges and to promote policy change that can increase better spatial mobility for all Tucson community members.
• Iroz-Elardo, N., Adkins, A., & Ingram, M. (2021). Measuring perceptions of social environments for walking: A scoping review of walkability surveys. Health and Place, 67. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102468
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  The neighborhood pedestrian environment is an important determinant of physical activity and health. Despite widespread acknowledgment that neighborhoods' social and physical characteristics contribute to a walkable place, constructs and metrics remain focused primarily on the built environment. This scoping review documents the current state of the practice to measure perceived social elements of pedestrian environments in order to identify measurement strategies to understand and support walking, particularly in socially diverse neighborhoods. We identified 20 survey instruments focused on pedestrian environments, walkability, or physical activity at the local (neighborhood) scale and designed to capture residents' perceptions of outdoor walking environments. Across the 20 instruments, we identified and categorized 182 distinct items that measured social environments into four domains (social capital, personal safety, physical signifiers, and general neighborhood descriptors) and thirteen subdomains. Many items emphasized negative social elements, such as crime and disorder. Only a few items focused on community identity. Most instruments cover some aspects of the social environment well, but few provide a holistic inventory of the social environment across domains and subdomains. We also observe that the state of the practice seems frozen, with most instruments in use having originated in 2010 or earlier.
• Adkins, A., Adkins, A., Dantzler, P., Dantzler, P., Makarewicz, C., & Makarewicz, C. (2020).

  Another Look at Location Affordability: Understanding the Detailed Effects of Income and Urban Form on Housing and Transportation Expenditures

  . Housing Policy Debate, 30(6), 1033-1055. doi:10.1080/10511482.2020.1792528
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  Findings from a study using the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics (PSID) and detailed urban environment and transit data support the location affordability hypothesis. Households in location-efficien...
• Adkins, A., Ingram, M., Leih, R., Sonmez, E., Yetman, E., Adkins, A., Ingram, M., Leih, R., Sonmez, E., & Yetman, E. (2020).

  Health Disparities, Transportation Equity and Complete Streets: a Case Study of a Policy Development Process through the Lens of Critical Race Theory.

  . Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 97(6), 876-886. doi:10.1007/s11524-020-00460-8
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  Historic disinvestment in transportation infrastructure is directly related to adverse social conditions underlying health disparities in low-income communities of color. Complete Streets policies offer a strategy to address inequities and subsequent public health outcomes. This case study examines the potential for an equity-focused policy process to address systemic barriers and identify potential measures to track progress toward equity outcomes. Critical race theory provided the analytical framework to examine grant reports, task force notes, community workshop/outreach activities, digital stories, and stakeholder interviews. Analysis showed that transportation inequities are entrenched in historically rooted disparities that are perpetuated in ongoing decision-making processes. Intentional efforts to incorporate equity into discussions with community members and representatives contributed to explicit equity language being included in the final policy. The potential to achieve equity outcomes will depend upon policy implementation. Concrete strategies to engage community members and focus city decision-making practices on marginalized and disenfranchised communities are identified.
• Makarewicz, C., Dantzler, P., & Adkins, A. (2020). Another Look at Location Affordability: Understanding the Detailed Effects of Income and Urban Form on Housing and Transportation Expenditures. Housing Policy Debate, 30(6). doi:10.1080/10511482.2020.1792528
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  Findings from a study using the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics (PSID) and detailed urban environment and transit data support the location affordability hypothesis. Households in location-efficient places spent significantly less on household transportation, enough to offset high housing costs. Walkable blocks and good transit especially contribute to these savings. But households with very low incomes (below 35% AMI) do not see significant enough savings. Authors recommend investments in transit, sidewalks, and economic development in disinvested areas; the preservation and creation of affordable housing of all types and tenures; and more supports for households with very low incomes. For decades, researchers have explored how location efficiency (LE) affects housing affordability, including incorporating transportation costs into a holistic housing affordability measure known as location affordability. Others have argued that estimated transportation savings from LE may be overstated because of limits in data and methods. Smart and Klein’s 2018 article in Housing Policy Debate analyzed the PSID and found “no evidence to support the location affordability hypothesis.” Considering their study’s policy implications, as well as its methodological limitations, we tested the PSID data at a smaller geography using more detailed household and urban form variables, per the LE literature. With this approach, we find statistically significant and meaningful transportation cost differences that are enough to offset higher housing prices for several income groups. However, the transportation savings for households in the lowest-income group in urban areas do not offset high housing costs. Because location-affordable places are in short supply, and the extreme shortage of affordable housing, both housing and transportation investments are needed to support households with low and moderate incomes. Expanding location affordability regionally will also help to address climate change and expand access to job opportunities, goods, services, and other amenities.
• Adkins, A., Barillas-longoria, G., Ingram, M., & Martinez, D. N. (2019).

  Differences in social and physical dimensions of perceived walkability in Mexican American and non-hispanic white walking environments in Tucson, Arizona.

  . Journal of transport & health, 14, 100585. doi:10.1016/j.jth.2019.100585
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  Physical activity patterns within the U.S. vary greatly across ethnicity, with data generally indicating lower rates among Hispanic/Latino adults. At the same time, Hispanic/Latino pedestrians face higher rates of injury and fatalities. Despite the importance of supportive physical activity environments on both health and safety outcomes, limited attention has been paid to ethnic or cultural differences in perceptions of supportive environments for walking. To fill this gap, we explore differences in physical and social environment contributors to perceived walkability between pedestrians in predominantly (> 70%) Mexican American and predominantly non-Hispanic white areas in Tucson, Arizona..In early 2017 the research team conducted brief on-street intercept interviews with pedestrians (N = 190) to learn about the environmental attributes associated with pedestrian perceptions of walkability. Study locations were matched for similar physical walkability metrics, income, and poverty rates. Consensus-based thematic coding identified 14 attributes of the built and social environment that contributed, positively and negatively, to perceptions of walkability..Attributes of the social environment, both positive (i.e., social interaction, social cohesion, and community identity) and negative (i.e., crime/security), were more frequently expressed as components of walkability in Mexican American study areas while physical environment attributes (i.e., infrastructure, street crossings, and aesthetics) were more frequently mentioned in non-Hispanic white areas..Contributors to perceived walkability in non-Hispanic white study areas were largely consistent with existing built environment-focused walkability metrics. Differences seen in Mexican American areas suggest a need to better understand differences across populations, expand the construct of walkability to consider social environment attributes, and account for interactions between social and physical environments. Results highlight the need for collaboration between public health and planning professionals, to evaluate walkability using culturally relevant measures that account for the social environment, particularly in Mexican American and other communities of color.
• Makarewicz, C., Adkins, A., Frei, C., & Wennink, A. (2019). "A little bit happy:" How performance metrics shortchange pedestrian infrastructure funding. Research in Transportation Business & Management.
• Makarewicz, C., Adkins, A., Frei, C., & Wennink, A. (2018).

  “A little bit happy”: How performance metrics shortchange pedestrian infrastructure funding

  . Research in transportation business and management, 29, 144-156. doi:10.1016/j.rtbm.2019.01.002
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  Abstract After decades of inattention to the issue, cities and regions increasingly recognize the role of pedestrian infrastructure to improve safety, public health, air quality, accessibility, travel choices, and economic development. But extraordinary gaps exist between pedestrian infrastructure needs and what is funded and built. To understand why this gap persists, even as attention to pedestrian issues grows, we conducted 50 interviews about pedestrian funding with transportation professionals from different levels of government in three regions that have prioritized active transportation: Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon. We analyzed interviews along with each region's transportation plans, fiscally constrained budgets, and other policy and planning documents. Our analysis revealed three systemic barriers at the regional level that perpetuate the underfunding of pedestrian infrastructure: (1) overall transportation funding shortages made worse by the substantial and growing burden of operating and maintaining aging regional mobility systems; (2) performance and evaluation metrics used in funding decisions are biased toward regional mobility rather than accessibility; and (3) the relatively small scale of individual pedestrian projects often keeps them from being considered regionally significant or scoring highly on metrics related to regional impact. In addition to identifying the need for additional funding sources, the regions we studied used other strategies to address these challenges that may offer lessons for other regions. These include: collecting new data and establishing performance measures that better capture the benefits of active travel modes and their unique contributions to broad policy goals; coordinating across a region to bundle pedestrian projects into larger funding packages that can meet regional significance criteria; and creating regional pedestrian plans that demonstrate how smaller pedestrian projects contribute to regional goals.
• Adkins, A., Makarewicz, C., Scanze, M., Ingram, M., & Luhr, G. (2017). Contextualizing Walkability Do Relationships Between Built Environments and Walking Vary by Socioeconomic Context?. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION, 83(3), 296-314.
• Adkins, A., Sanderford, A., & Pivo, G. (2017). How Location Efficient Is LIHTC? Measuring and Explaining State-Level Achievement. HOUSING POLICY DEBATE, 27(3), 335-355.
• Ingram, M., Adkins, A., Hansen, K., Cascio, V., & Somnez, E. (2017). Sociocultural perceptions of walkability in Mexican American neighborhoods: Implications for policy and practice. JOURNAL OF TRANSPORT & HEALTH, 7, 172-180.
• Tremoulet, A., Dann, R. J., & Adkins, A. (2016). Moving to Location Affordability? Housing Choice Vouchers and Residential Relocation in the Portland, Oregon, Region. HOUSING POLICY DEBATE, 26(4-5), 692-713.
• Goddard, T., Kahn, K. B., & Adkins, A. (2015). Racial bias in driver yielding behavior at crosswalks. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART F-TRAFFIC PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR, 33, 1-6.
• Adkins, A. S., Dill, J., Luhr, G., & Neal, M. (2012). Unpacking walkability: Testing the influence of urban design features on perceptions of walking environment attractiveness. Journal of Urban Design, 17(4).
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  The potential environmental and health benefits of active transportation modes (e.g. walking and cycling) have led to considerable research on the influence of the built environment on travel. This paper presents the findings of a study combining environmental audits and a survey-based respondent mapping tool to test the influence of micro-scale built environment characteristics, including ‘green street’ storm water management features, on resident perceptions of walking environment attractiveness. Results suggest that this method is sensitive enough to unpack a concept like walkability into individual component characteristics. Findings from an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model indicate that in a predominantly single-family residential context well-designed green street facilities, as well as other features such as parks, separation from vehicle traffic, and pedestrian network connectivity can significantly contribute to walking environment attractiveness.
• Cervero, R., Adkins, A. S., & Sullivan, C. (2010). Are Suburban TODs Over-Parked?. Journal of Public Transportation, 13(2).
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  A survey of 31 multi-family housing complexes near rail stations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland, Oregon, show peak parking demand is 25-30 percent below supplies and, for most projects, falls below national standards. Peak parking demand is generally less for less expansive projects with short walking distances to rail stations that enjoy frequent peak-period services. Case study experiences suggest that well- designed, short and direct walking paths to rail stops lessen peak parking. A national survey of 80 U.S. cities with rail stations revealed that 75 percent have minimum TOD parking requirements that mandate more parking than suburban design standards and 39 percent grant variances for housing projects near rail stops.

Proceedings Publications

• Adkins, A. S., & Robinson, C. M. (2020, June). Arizona Negro Motorist Green Book neighborhoods at the intersection of history, heritage conservation, and planning. In EAAE-ARCC.
• Adkins, A. S., Sanderford, A. R., Pivo, G. E., Adkins, A. S., Sanderford, A. R., Pivo, G. E., Adkins, A. S., Sanderford, A. R., & Pivo, G. E. (2015, Fall). Location efficiency of affordable housing under the low-income housing tax credit program. In American Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Conference.

Presentations

• Hansen, K., Barillas-Longoria, G., Ingram, M., & Adkins, A. S. (2017, Fall). Investigating the role of physical and social characteristics of walkability using on-street interviews in Mexican American neighborhoods. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Atlanta, Georgia: APHA.
• Somnez, E., Hanson, V., Adkins, A. S., Ingram, M., & Hansen, K. (2017, Spring). Sociocultural influences on perceptions of walking in Mexican American neighborhoods in Tucson AZ. Active Living Research Conferenced. Clearwater Beach, Florida: Active Living Research.
• Adkins, A. S., & Makarewicz, C. (2015, Spring). Whose walkability? Do measures of walkability used by planners account for differences in perceptions and experience by income level?. Urban Affairs Association Conference. Miami, Florida: Urban Affairs Association.
• Adkins, A. S. (2014, Fall). Built environment and self-selection influences on recent mover non-work travel mode adoption. Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Conference. Philadelphia, PA: Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.
• Adkins, A. S. (2014, Spring). Low-income movers and barriers to the “new American Dream.”. Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
• Adkins, A. S. (2014, Summer). Determinants of recent mover active travel mode adoption. International Congress of Applied Psychology. Paris, France: International Association of Applied Psychology.

Poster Presentations

• Adkins, A. S., Ingram, M., & Cascio, V. (2015, February). Perceptions of Walkability and Barriers to Active Transportation in Mexican American Neighborhoods in Tucson, Arizona. Active Living Research. San Diego, CA: Active Living Research and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
• Goddard, T., Adkins, A. S., & Kahn, K. (2014, Spring). Racial Bias in Driver Yielding Behavior at Crosswalks. Active Living Research Conference. San Diego, California: Active Living Research.