IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v109y2023ics0966692323000716.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring nonlinear and collective influences of regional and local built environment characteristics on travel distances by mode

Author

Listed:
  • Tao, Tao
  • Cao, Jason

Abstract

We examined the nonlinear associations of the built environment with travel distances by driving, transit, and active travel and compared the relative contributions of local and regional built environment characteristics through applying gradient boosting decision trees to regional travel survey data in the Twin Cities, US. We identified the common thresholds of built environment characteristics associated with the three travel distances and inform planners of the efficient allocation of limited resources to planning efforts at different scales. We found prevalent threshold associations between built environment characteristics and travel distances. The thresholds suggest the common ranges of built environment characteristics that optimize the reduction of driving and the promotion of transit and active travel. For example, job accessibility should be larger than 800 thousand jobs within 20-min of driving and distance to downtown Minneapolis should be within 10 miles. The results also showed that regional characteristics collectively have a stronger influence on all three distances than local characteristics. The findings on transit and active travel differ from the common understanding in the literature. This study suggests that planners should pay more attention to metropolitan-scale planning and deploy programs that enhance regional accessibility.

Suggested Citation

  • Tao, Tao & Cao, Jason, 2023. "Exploring nonlinear and collective influences of regional and local built environment characteristics on travel distances by mode," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:109:y:2023:i:c:s0966692323000716
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103599
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692323000716
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103599?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marlon Boarnet, 2011. "A Broader Context for Land Use and Travel Behavior, and a Research Agenda," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(3), pages 197-213.
    2. Mark R. Stevens, 2017. "Response to Commentaries on “Does Compact Development Make People Drive Less?”," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(2), pages 151-158, April.
    3. Xu, Yiming & Yan, Xiang & Liu, Xinyu & Zhao, Xilei, 2021. "Identifying key factors associated with ridesplitting adoption rate and modeling their nonlinear relationships," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 170-188.
    4. Tao, Tao & Wang, Jueyu & Cao, Xinyu, 2020. "Exploring the non-linear associations between spatial attributes and walking distance to transit," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Yang, Linchuan & Ao, Yibin & Ke, Jintao & Lu, Yi & Liang, Yuan, 2021. "To walk or not to walk? Examining non-linear effects of streetscape greenery on walking propensity of older adults," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. Sehatzadeh, Bahareh & Noland, Robert B. & Weiner, Marc D., 2011. "Walking frequency, cars, dogs, and the built environment," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 741-754, October.
    7. Ding, Chuan & Cao, Xinyu & Wang, Yunpeng, 2018. "Synergistic effects of the built environment and commuting programs on commute mode choice," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 104-118.
    8. Lanjing Wang & Chunli Zhao & Xiaofei Liu & Xumei Chen & Chaoyang Li & Tao Wang & Jiani Wu & Yi Zhang, 2021. "Non-Linear Effects of the Built Environment and Social Environment on Bus Use among Older Adults in China: An Application of the XGBoost Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-22, September.
    9. Reid Ewing & Robert Cervero, 2010. "Travel and the Built Environment," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 76(3), pages 265-294.
    10. Ziliak, Stephen T. & McCloskey, Deirdre N., 2004. "Size matters: the standard error of regressions in the American Economic Review," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 527-546, November.
    11. Petter NÆss & Ole Jensen, 2004. "Urban structure matters, even in a small town," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 35-57.
    12. Song, Siqi & Diao, Mi & Feng, Chen-Chieh, 2016. "Individual transport emissions and the built environment: A structural equation modelling approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 206-219.
    13. Friedman, Jerome H., 2002. "Stochastic gradient boosting," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 367-378, February.
    14. Mark R. Stevens, 2017. "Does Compact Development Make People Drive Less?," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(1), pages 7-18, January.
    15. Daniel W. Apley & Jingyu Zhu, 2020. "Visualizing the effects of predictor variables in black box supervised learning models," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 82(4), pages 1059-1086, September.
    16. Liu, Jixiang & Wang, Bo & Xiao, Longzhu, 2021. "Non-linear associations between built environment and active travel for working and shopping: An extreme gradient boosting approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    17. Ding, Chuan & Cao, Xinyu (Jason) & Næss, Petter, 2018. "Applying gradient boosting decision trees to examine non-linear effects of the built environment on driving distance in Oslo," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 107-117.
    18. Sciara , Gian-Claudia & Handy, Susan, 2013. "Cultivating Cooperation without Control: A Study of California’s MPO-Driven Smart Growth Programs," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt1xq050ts, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    19. Yang, Jiawen & Cao, Jason & Zhou, Yufei, 2021. "Elaborating non-linear associations and synergies of subway access and land uses with urban vitality in Shenzhen," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 74-88.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhenbao Wang & Shuyue Liu & Haitao Lian & Xinyi Chen, 2024. "Investigating the Nonlinear Effect of Land Use and Built Environment on Public Transportation Choice Using a Machine Learning Approach," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Peikun Li & Quantao Yang & Wenbo Lu, 2024. "Nonlinear Relationship of Multi-Source Land Use Features with Temporal Travel Distances at Subway Station Level: Empirical Study from Xi’an City," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Sun, Shan & Guo, Liang & Yang, Shuo & Cao, Jason, 2024. "Exploring the contributions of Ebike ownership, transit access, and the built environment to car ownership in a developing city," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ding, Chuan & Cao, Xinyu & Yu, Bin & Ju, Yang, 2021. "Non-linear associations between zonal built environment attributes and transit commuting mode choice accounting for spatial heterogeneity," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 22-35.
    2. Tao, Tao & Cao, Jason, 2024. "Ineffective built environment interventions: How to reduce driving in American suburbs?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    3. Laviolette, Jérôme & Morency, Catherine & Waygood, E.O.D., 2022. "A kilometer or a mile? Does buffer size matter when it comes to car ownership?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    4. Liu, Jixiang & Wang, Bo & Xiao, Longzhu, 2021. "Non-linear associations between built environment and active travel for working and shopping: An extreme gradient boosting approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Tao, Tao & Cao, Jason, 2022. "Examining motivations for owning autonomous vehicles: Implications for land use and transportation," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Erik Elldér & Katarina Haugen & Bertil Vilhelmson, 2022. "When local access matters: A detailed analysis of place, neighbourhood amenities and travel choice," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(1), pages 120-139, January.
    7. Ashik, F.R. & Sreezon, A.I.Z. & Rahman, M.H. & Zafri, N.M. & Labib, S.M., 2024. "Built environment influences commute mode choice in a global south megacity context: Insights from explainable machine learning approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    8. Li, Wu & Zhao, Shengchuan & Ma, Jingwen & Nielsen, Otto Anker & Jiang, Yu, 2023. "Book-ahead ride-hailing trip and its determinants: Findings from large-scale trip records in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    9. Yang, Hongtai & Luo, Peng & Li, Chaojing & Zhai, Guocong & Yeh, Anthony G.O., 2023. "Nonlinear effects of fare discounts and built environment on ridesplitting adoption rates," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    10. Ji, Shujuan & Wang, Xin & Lyu, Tao & Liu, Xiaojie & Wang, Yuanqing & Heinen, Eva & Sun, Zhenwei, 2022. "Understanding cycling distance according to the prediction of the XGBoost and the interpretation of SHAP: A non-linear and interaction effect analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    11. Tao, Tao & Wang, Jueyu & Cao, Xinyu, 2020. "Exploring the non-linear associations between spatial attributes and walking distance to transit," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Caigang, Zhuang & Shaoying, Li & Zhangzhi, Tan & Feng, Gao & Zhifeng, Wu, 2022. "Nonlinear and threshold effects of traffic condition and built environment on dockless bike sharing at street level," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    13. Liang Guo & Shuo Yang & Qinghao Zhang & Leyu Zhou & Hui He, 2023. "Examining the Nonlinear and Synergistic Effects of Multidimensional Elements on Commuting Carbon Emissions: A Case Study in Wuhan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-28, January.
    14. Yin, Chun & Cao, Jason & Sun, Bindong & Liu, Jiahang, 2023. "Exploring built environment correlates of walking for different purposes: Evidence for substitution," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    15. Yang, Hongtai & Zheng, Rong & Li, Xuan & Huo, Jinghai & Yang, Linchuan & Zhu, Tong, 2022. "Nonlinear and threshold effects of the built environment on e-scooter sharing ridership," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    16. Ding, Chuan & Cao, Xinyu & Liu, Chao, 2019. "How does the station-area built environment influence Metrorail ridership? Using gradient boosting decision trees to identify non-linear thresholds," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 70-78.
    17. Yang, Linchuan & Ao, Yibin & Ke, Jintao & Lu, Yi & Liang, Yuan, 2021. "To walk or not to walk? Examining non-linear effects of streetscape greenery on walking propensity of older adults," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    18. Shao, Qifan & Zhang, Wenjia & Cao, Xinyu (Jason) & Yang, Jiawen, 2023. "Built environment interventions for emission mitigation: A machine learning analysis of travel-related CO2 in a developing city," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    19. Hu, Songhua & Xiong, Chenfeng & Chen, Peng & Schonfeld, Paul, 2023. "Examining nonlinearity in population inflow estimation using big data: An empirical comparison of explainable machine learning models," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    20. Guan, Xiaodong & Wang, Donggen, 2019. "Influences of the built environment on travel: A household-based perspective," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 710-724.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:109:y:2023:i:c:s0966692323000716. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.