Duration as the Sixth Dimension of the Built Environment Travel Behaviour Framework

Duration as the Sixth Dimension of the Built Environment Travel Behaviour Framework

The built environment (BE) plays a central role in shaping everyday mobility patterns and determining how physical activity (PA) is integrated into daily life. Foundational BE frameworks such as the 5Ds (density, diversity, design, distance to transit, and destination accessibility) have shaped policy and planning worldwide. However, these frameworks remain predominantly spatial and overlook temporal dynamics. This review addresses this omission by introducing Duration as the sixth dimension (6th D) of the BE framework, reframing accessibility in terms of the lived temporal experience of movement rather than static spatial distance. Travel conditions vary across the day. Routes that are safe and efficient at one time often become congested, stressful, and prohibitive at another. Such variability undermines PA and active transport (AT) and diminishes the health benefits of supportive BE. Methodologically, the review synthesises evidence from 1991 to 2025 across public health, transport planning, BE, and environmental psychology. Pertinent literature (102 shortlisted articles) published in English was retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and PubMed, which collectively provide comprehensive coverage of multidisciplinary research spanning transport planning, public health, and behavioural sciences. The PRISMA 2020 approach and VOSviewer (version 1.6.20), were used, together with a structured, Excel-based integrative synthesis, to analyse publication trends, conceptual evolution, and integrative patterns in the retrieved literature. The synthesis shows that accessibility, mobility stress, and travel behaviour are strongly time-dependent. This time dependence is systematic rather than incidental across contexts. Globally, commute durations beyond 45 min are associated with lower life satisfaction and poorer health outcomes. Embedding Duration within BE frameworks establishes a time-responsive and equity-sensitive paradigm for healthier and more resilient urban systems.