MRP

1.2 | site-issue context
Flower Mound is a suburb located
by Groot (2016) and Rosen et al. (2007):
northwest of Dallas, Texas. The young
(1) coherence; (2) comprehensiveness;
suburban “town” exploded with
(3) directness; (4) attractiveness; (5)
development after Dallas-Fort Worth
safety; and (6) comfortability. Recently,
International Airport, located a 20-minute
however, the city has made progress in
drive to the south and the second busiest
addressing these challenges, as well as
airport by foot traffic in the US, was
the challenges formulated through the
completed in 1974 – becoming one of
following literature review in a new Trails
the fastest-growing communities in the
and Bikeways Masterplan. (Flower Mound
United States. While most of the eastern
Trails and Bikeways Master Plan, 2022)
part of the city is built up, the western
portion remains largely open and rural,
with neighbourhoods spread throughout
1.3 | key objectives
as farmhouses and ranches dot the
landscape. Much like the surrounding
region, Flower Mound is relatively flat, with
only gentle rolling hills. As is common in
suburban areas around the United States,
the city is much a result of post-World War
II movement patterns and prioritisation
of cars as the means of travel. Its land use
1. Examine existing dialogue on active
travel and bicycle infrastructure and
incorporate research and contextual
analysis of relatively bicycle-friendly
cities who reliably and consistently
experience extreme heat events yearto-year.
is also heavily separated, with relatively
little of its built-up area zoned as mixeduse.
Although it boasts an extensive 65.5-
mile disconnected network of trails – of
which include 8’ mixed-use pathways
and a small portion of unprotected onstreet
bicycle lanes – the network suffers
from a shortage of the factors needed
for a successful bicycle network defined
2. Gather best practices within literature
and aspects of case study cities that
have successfully helped increase
bicycle mode share and explore the
various principles that influence
peoples’ decision to bicycle/not bicycle.
3. Curate and implement a design toolkit
for application on study area (Flower
Mound, TX). Then, review and reflect
on findings of implementation.
1.4 | research questions
1. How can you augment American
suburbia to prompt residents living in
hot climates to decrease their reliance
on cars and increase bicycle usage?
2. In more temperate cities, cycling modal
share has jumped. How have other
cities achieved targeted and purposeful
increases in cycling participation?
F1b: Change in Flower Mound’s built context over time
3. What are the common barriers to cycling
in cities that experience extreme heat?
4. How can you change perceptions of
cycling for users who do not already
cycle?
8