The Effect of Urban Physical Form on Citizen's Travel Mode (Case study: Sari city)

Rapid urbanization and urban population has increased the need for mobility and travel demand day by day and Prolongation of Travel times has caused to increase the contribution of private travel modes (auto), increase traffic, noise and air pollution due to the transport system. In this regard, It can be said that widespread use of Automobile in cities, is a reflection of the increasing need to travel and the average its distance as a result of horizontal and widespread growth of cities and a disturbance in the structure order and urban spatial form and spatial distribution of activities. This research aimed to investigate the influence of physical form factors of urban styles on citizen's travel mode in the Sari city and to recognize the dominant patterns of travel. In this study, research type is applied- developmental and conducted by a "survey" method. Statistical society is 6 neighborhood of neighborhoods of Sari that 300 person were selected of these people by using Cochran formula and multi-stage cluster sampling method and were studied factors of mixed usage, connectivity and density in three form of compact, semi- compact and sprawl. This study, after analysis evidence acknowledges that urban form variables are effective factor in choosing citizen's travel mode in the Sari city. The results show that the "density" factor has the most effect on travel mode to the workplace in the compact form (EXP (B):5.533). Also, "connectivity" factor had the most effect in the use of public transport on travel mode to the workplace respectively in semi- compact and sprawl form with quantities (EXP (B): 5.324) and (EXP (B): 5.130).