IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v110y2018icp107-117.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Applying gradient boosting decision trees to examine non-linear effects of the built environment on driving distance in Oslo

Author

Listed:
  • Ding, Chuan
  • Cao, Xinyu (Jason)
  • Næss, Petter

Abstract

Although many studies have explored the relationship between the built environment and travel behavior, the literature offers limited evidence about the collective influence of built environment attributes, and their non-linear effects on travel. This study innovatively adopts gradient boosting decision trees to fill the gaps. Using data from Oslo, we apply this method to the data on both weekdays and weekends to illustrate the differential effects of built environment characteristics on driving distance. We found that they have a stronger effect on weekdays than on weekends. On weekdays, their collective influence is larger than that of demographics. Furthermore, they show salient non-linear effects on driving distance in both models, challenging the linearity assumption commonly adopted in the literature. This study also identifies effective ranges of distance to different centers and population density, and highlights the important role of sub-centers in driving reduction.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:110:y:2018:i:c:p:107-117
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2018.02.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856417310030
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2018.02.009?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gerrit-Jan Knaap & Uri Avin & Li Fang, 2017. "Driving and Compact Growth: A Careful Look in the Rearview Mirror," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(1), pages 32-35, January.
    2. Reid Ewing & Robert Cervero, 2017. "“Does Compact Development Make People Drive Less?” The Answer Is Yes," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(1), pages 19-25, January.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Chen, Cynthia, 2004. "TTB or not TTB, that is the question: a review and analysis of the empirical literature on travel time (and money) budgets," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 38(9-10), pages 643-675.
    6. Daniel G Chatman, 2009. "Residential Choice, the Built Environment, and Nonwork Travel: Evidence Using New Data and Methods," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(5), pages 1072-1089, May.
    7. Susan Handy, 2017. "Thoughts on the Meaning of Mark Stevens’s Meta-Analysis," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(1), pages 26-28, January.
    8. Christian Holz-Rau & Joachim Scheiner & Kathrin Sicks, 2014. "Travel Distances in Daily Travel and Long-Distance Travel: What Role is Played by Urban Form?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(2), pages 488-507, February.
    9. Ron N. Buliung & Pavlos S. Kanaroglou, 2006. "Urban Form and Household Activity‐Travel Behavior," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 172-199, June.
    10. Cao, Xinyu (Jason) & Xu, Zhiyi & Fan, Yingling, 2010. "Exploring the connections among residential location, self-selection, and driving: Propensity score matching with multiple treatments," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 797-805, December.
    11. Robert Cervero & Kang-Li Wu, 1998. "Sub-centring and Commuting: Evidence from the San Francisco Bay Area, 1980-90," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 35(7), pages 1059-1076, June.
    12. Tae-Hyoung Tommy Gim, 2013. "The relationships between land use measures and travel behavior: a meta-analytic approach," Transportation Planning and Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(5), pages 413-434, July.
    13. 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.
    14. Salon, Deborah, 2015. "Heterogeneity in the relationship between the built environment and driving: Focus on neighborhood type and travel purpose," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 34-45.
    15. Tae-Hyoung Gim, 2012. "A meta-analysis of the relationship between density and travel behavior," Transportation, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 491-519, May.
    16. John Holtzclaw & Robert Clear & Hank Dittmar & David Goldstein & Peter Haas, 2002. "Location Efficiency: Neighborhood and Socio-Economic Characteristics Determine Auto Ownership and Use - Studies in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco," Transportation Planning and Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 1-27, January.
    17. Erling Holden & Ingrid T. Norland, 2005. "Three Challenges for the Compact City as a Sustainable Urban Form: Household Consumption of Energy and Transport in Eight Residential Areas in the Greater Oslo Region," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(12), pages 2145-2166, November.
    18. Brownstone, David & Golob, Thomas F., 2009. "The impact of residential density on vehicle usage and energy consumption," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 91-98, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Miotti, Marco & Needell, Zachary A. & Jain, Rishee K., 2023. "The impact of urban form on daily mobility demand and energy use: Evidence from the United States," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 339(C).
    4. Lin, Tao & Wang, Donggen & Guan, Xiaodong, 2017. "The built environment, travel attitude, and travel behavior: Residential self-selection or residential determination?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 111-122.
    5. Faizeh Hatami & Jean-Claude Thill, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Evaluation of the Built Environment’s Impact on Commuting Duration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-19, June.
    6. Blanco, Hilda & Wikstrom, Alexander, 2018. "Transit-Oriented Development Opportunities Among Failing Malls," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt3h62q04h, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    7. Donggen Wang & Tao Lin, 2019. "Built environment, travel behavior, and residential self-selection: a study based on panel data from Beijing, China," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 51-74, February.
    8. Holz-Rau, Christian & Scheiner, Joachim, 2019. "Land-use and transport planning – A field of complex cause-impact relationships. Thoughts on transport growth, greenhouse gas emissions and the built environment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 127-137.
    9. Næss, Petter & Peters, Sebastian & Stefansdottir, Harpa & Strand, Arvid, 2018. "Causality, not just correlation: Residential location, transport rationales and travel behavior across metropolitan contexts," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 181-195.
    10. 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).
    11. Blaudin de Thé, Camille & Carantino, Benjamin & Lafourcade, Miren, 2021. "The carbon ‘carprint’ of urbanization: New evidence from French cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    12. Wolday, Fitwi & Cao, Jason & Næss, Petter, 2018. "Examining factors that keep residents with high transit preference away from transit-rich zones and associated behavior outcomes," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 224-234.
    13. Jixiang Liu & Longzhu Xiao, 2024. "Socioeconomic differences in effect size: predicting commuting mode choice of migrants and locals using a light gradient boosting approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 1-24, February.
    14. Charles Raux & Ayana Lamatkhanova & Lény Grassot, 2021. "Does the built environment shape commuting? The case of Lyon (France)," Post-Print halshs-03010833, HAL.
    15. Faan Chen & Adriano Borges Costa, 2024. "Exploring the causal effects of the built environment on travel behavior: a unique randomized experiment in Shanghai," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 215-245, February.
    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. Charles Raux & Ayana Lamatkhanova & Lény Grassot, 2020. "Does the built environment shape commuting? The case of Lyon (France)," Working Papers halshs-03010833, HAL.
    18. Zhu, Pengyu & Tan, Xinying & Zhao, Songnian & Shi, Shuai & Wang, Mingshu, 2022. "Land use regulations, transit investment, and commuting preferences," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    19. Tae-Hyoung Tommy Gim, 2023. "Residential self-selection or socio-ecological interaction? the effects of sociodemographic and attitudinal characteristics on the built environment–travel behavior relationship," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 1347-1398, August.
    20. Michał Czepkiewicz & Áróra Árnadóttir & Jukka Heinonen, 2019. "Flights Dominate Travel Emissions of Young Urbanites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-35, November.

    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:transa:v:110:y:2018:i:c:p:107-117. 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: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    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.