The impact of major road developments on the spheres of urban influence of Japanese cities

This study aims to measure the impact of major road developments on the spheres of urban influence of Japanese cities.First, the sphere of urban influence is defined by application of an individual behavior model. The model explains the number of trips to representative cities in regions from the residential place of each individual using the following factors; the attractiveness of cities, the travel time to cities and the individual's free time. Development of major roads shortens the travel time, and this causes the change in the sphere of urban influence. The model we propose has the structure to explain this phenomenon.Second, this method is applied to all of Japan where expressways are now being rapidly constructed and, how they change spheres of urban influence is explained. In the application, as a measure of attractiveness of cities, population, commercial and industrial activity, etc. are considered. From these points of view, the impacts of construction of expressways in Japan are estimated.