IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i5p1372-d143696.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring the Direct and Indirect Effects of Neighborhood-Built Environments on Travel-related CO 2 Emissions: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Wenyue Yang

    (College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China)

  • Shaojian Wang

    (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Urbanization and Geo-Simulation, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China)

  • Xiaoming Zhao

    (College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China)

Abstract

Intervening in the built environment is a key way for land-use and transport planning and related policies to promote low-carbon development and low-carbon travel. It is of significance to explore and recognize the actual impact of the neighborhood built environment on travel-related CO 2 emissions. This study calculated the CO 2 emissions from four purposes of trips, which were within the urban region, using Travel O-D Point Intelligent Query System (TIQS) and 1239 residents’ travel survey questionnaires from 15 neighborhoods in Guangzhou. It measured the direct and indirect effects of built environments on CO 2 emissions from different purposes of trips by developing structural equation models (SEMs). The results showed that for different purposes of trips, the effects of the neighborhood built environments on CO 2 emissions were inconsistent. Almost all built environment elements had significant total effects on CO 2 emissions, which were mainly indirect effects through mediators such as car ownership and trip distance, then affecting CO 2 emissions indirectly. Most of the direct effects of neighborhood built environments on CO 2 emissions were not significant, especially those from non-commuting trips. These findings suggest that in the process of formulating low-carbon oriented land-use and transport planning and policies, the indirect effects of the built environments should not be ignored, and the differences of the effects of the neighborhood built environments among different purposes of the trip should be fully considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenyue Yang & Shaojian Wang & Xiaoming Zhao, 2018. "Measuring the Direct and Indirect Effects of Neighborhood-Built Environments on Travel-related CO 2 Emissions: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:5:p:1372-:d:143696
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/5/1372/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/5/1372/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhao, Pengjun & Lü, Bin & Roo, Gert de, 2011. "Impact of the jobs-housing balance on urban commuting in Beijing in the transformation era," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 59-69.
    2. 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.
    3. Wang, Shaojian & Liu, Xiaoping, 2017. "China’s city-level energy-related CO2 emissions: Spatiotemporal patterns and driving forces," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 204-214.
    4. Moniruzzaman, Md. & Páez, Antonio & Nurul Habib, Khandker M. & Morency, Catherine, 2013. "Mode use and trip length of seniors in Montreal," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 89-99.
    5. Weibin Lin & Bin Chen & Lina Xie & Haoran Pan, 2015. "Estimating Energy Consumption of Transport Modes in China Using DEA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-15, April.
    6. 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.
    7. Patricia L. Mokhtarian & Michael N. Bagley, 2002. "The impact of residential neighborhood type on travel behavior: A structural equations modeling approach," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 36(2), pages 279-297.
    8. Yang, Wenyue & Chen, Bi Yu & Cao, Xiaoshu & Li, Tao & Li, Peng, 2017. "The spatial characteristics and influencing factors of modal accessibility gaps: A case study for Guangzhou, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 21-32.
    9. Cui, Qiang & Li, Ye, 2015. "An empirical study on the influencing factors of transportation carbon efficiency: Evidences from fifteen countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 209-217.
    10. Liang Ma & Jennifer Dill & Cynthia Mohr, 2014. "The objective versus the perceived environment: what matters for bicycling?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(6), pages 1135-1152, November.
    11. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Shrestha, Ashish, 2009. "Transport sector CO2 emissions growth in Asia: Underlying factors and policy options," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4523-4539, November.
    12. Yuanqing Wang & Liu Yang & Sunsheng Han & Chao Li & T. V. Ramachandra, 2017. "Urban CO2 emissions in Xi’an and Bangalore by commuters: implications for controlling urban transportation carbon dioxide emissions in developing countries," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 993-1019, October.
    13. Aguiléra, Anne & Voisin, Marion, 2014. "Urban form, commuting patterns and CO2 emissions: What differences between the municipality’s residents and its jobs?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 243-251.
    14. Bueno, Gorka, 2012. "Analysis of scenarios for the reduction of energy consumption and GHG emissions in transport in the Basque Country," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 1988-1998.
    15. Zhou, Guanghui & Chung, William & Zhang, Xiliang, 2013. "A study of carbon dioxide emissions performance of China's transport sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 302-314.
    16. Lu, I.J. & Lin, Sue J. & Lewis, Charles, 2007. "Decomposition and decoupling effects of carbon dioxide emission from highway transportation in Taiwan, Germany, Japan and South Korea," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 3226-3235, June.
    17. Shen, Qing & Chen, Peng & Pan, Haixiao, 2016. "Factors affecting car ownership and mode choice in rail transit-supported suburbs of a large Chinese city," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 31-44.
    18. Xinyu Cao & Patricia Mokhtarian & Susan Handy, 2007. "Do changes in neighborhood characteristics lead to changes in travel behavior? A structural equations modeling approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 34(5), pages 535-556, September.
    19. Van Acker, Veronique & Witlox, Frank, 2010. "Car ownership as a mediating variable in car travel behaviour research using a structural equation modelling approach to identify its dual relationship," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 65-74.
    20. Brand, Christian & Goodman, Anna & Rutter, Harry & Song, Yena & Ogilvie, David, 2013. "Associations of individual, household and environmental characteristics with carbon dioxide emissions from motorised passenger travel," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 158-169.
    21. Lu, Xuedong & Pas, Eric I., 1999. "Socio-demographics, activity participation and travel behavior," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 1-18, January.
    22. Handy, Susan & Cao, Xinyu & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2005. "Correlation or causality between the built environment and travel behavior? Evidence from Northern California," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt5b76c5kg, University of California Transportation Center.
    23. Brand, Christian & Tran, Martino & Anable, Jillian, 2012. "The UK transport carbon model: An integrated life cycle approach to explore low carbon futures," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 107-124.
    24. Marsden, Greg & Rye, Tom, 2010. "The governance of transport and climate change," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 669-678.
    25. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Shrestha, Ashish, 2009. "Why have CO2 emissions increased in the transport sector in Asia ? underlying factors and policy options," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5098, The World Bank.
    26. Wang, Shaojian & Liu, Xiaoping & Zhou, Chunshan & Hu, Jincan & Ou, Jinpei, 2017. "Examining the impacts of socioeconomic factors, urban form, and transportation networks on CO2 emissions in China’s megacities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P1), pages 189-200.
    27. Wang, W.W. & Zhang, M. & Zhou, M., 2011. "Using LMDI method to analyze transport sector CO2 emissions in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 5909-5915.
    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. Zhao, Chuyun & Tang, Jinjun & Gao, Wenyuan & Zeng, Yu & Li, Zhitao, 2024. "Many-objective optimization of multi-mode public transportation under carbon emission reduction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    2. Guanwei Zhao & Zeyu Pan & Muzhuang Yang, 2022. "Marginal Effects and Spatial Variations of the Impact of the Built Environment on Taxis’ Pollutant Emissions in Chengdu, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-19, December.

    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. Emine Coruh & Faruk Urak & Abdulbaki Bilgic & Steven T. Yen, 2022. "The role of household demographic factors in shaping transportation spending in Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 3485-3517, March.
    2. Ding, Yu & Lu, Huapu, 2016. "Activity participation as a mediating variable to analyze the effect of land use on travel behavior: A structural equation modeling approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 23-28.
    3. Zhong, Shaopeng & Bushell, Max, 2017. "Impact of the built environment on the vehicle emission effects of road pricing policies: A simulation case study," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 235-249.
    4. Jonas De Vos & Long Cheng & Frank Witlox, 2021. "Do changes in the residential location lead to changes in travel attitudes? A structural equation modeling approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 2011-2034, August.
    5. Ying Huang & Yongli Zhang & Feifan Deng & Daiqing Zhao & Rong Wu, 2022. "Impacts of Built-Environment on Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Traffic: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-17, December.
    6. Chen Cao & Feng Zhen & Xianjin Huang, 2022. "How Does Perceived Neighborhood Environment Affect Commuting Mode Choice and Commuting CO 2 Emissions? An Empirical Study of Nanjing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-17, June.
    7. Liu, Yan & Wang, Siqin & Xie, Bin, 2019. "Evaluating the effects of public transport fare policy change together with built and non-built environment features on ridership: The case in South East Queensland, Australia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 78-89.
    8. van de Coevering, Paul & Maat, Kees & van Wee, Bert, 2018. "Residential self-selection, reverse causality and residential dissonance. A latent class transition model of interactions between the built environment, travel attitudes and travel behavior," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 466-479.
    9. Guan, Xiaodong & Wang, Donggen, 2020. "The multiplicity of self-selection: What do travel attitudes influence first, residential location or work place?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    10. Cao, Xinyu Jason, 2019. "Examining the effect of the Hiawatha LRT on auto use in the Twin Cities," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 284-292.
    11. Huang, Fei & Zhou, Dequn & Wang, Qunwei & Hang, Ye, 2019. "Decomposition and attribution analysis of the transport sector’s carbon dioxide intensity change in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 343-358.
    12. Jing Li & Kevin Lo & Meng Guo, 2018. "Do Socio-Economic Characteristics Affect Travel Behavior? A Comparative Study of Low-Carbon and Non-Low-Carbon Shopping Travel in Shenyang City, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-11, June.
    13. Van Acker, Véronique & Mulley, Corinne & Ho, Loan, 2019. "Impact of childhood experiences on public transport travel behaviour," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 783-798.
    14. Huali Sun & Mengzhen Li & Yaofeng Xue, 2019. "Examining the Factors Influencing Transport Sector CO 2 Emissions and Their Efficiency in Central China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-15, August.
    15. Tae-Hyoung Tommy Gim, 2016. "Testing the Reciprocal Relationship between Attitudes and Land Use in Relation to Trip Frequencies," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 39(2), pages 203-227, April.
    16. De Vos, Jonas & Cheng, Long & Kamruzzaman, Md. & Witlox, Frank, 2021. "The indirect effect of the built environment on travel mode choice: A focus on recent movers," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    17. Li, Fangyi & Cai, Bofeng & Ye, Zhaoyang & Wang, Zheng & Zhang, Wei & Zhou, Pan & Chen, Jian, 2019. "Changing patterns and determinants of transportation carbon emissions in Chinese cities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 562-575.
    18. Yao, Mingzhu & Wang, Donggen, 2018. "Mobility and travel behavior in urban China: The role of institutional factors," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 122-131.
    19. Ding, Chuan & Wang, Donggen & Liu, Chao & Zhang, Yi & Yang, Jiawen, 2017. "Exploring the influence of built environment on travel mode choice considering the mediating effects of car ownership and travel distance," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 65-80.
    20. Van Acker, Veronique & Ho, Loan & Stevens, Larissa & Mulley, Corinne, 2020. "Quantifying the effects of childhood and previous residential experiences on the use of public transport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:5:p:1372-:d:143696. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.