IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ris/jtralu/0099.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why people use their cars while the built environment imposes cycling

Author

Listed:

Abstract

Residing in a high-density, diverse, and accessible neighborhood tends to be associated with less car use, more public transport, and more cycling and walking. However, this does not hold for all people because of differences in personal perceptions and preferences. This paper, therefore, analyzes spatial (mis)match, or the correspondence between perceptions of someone’s residence and the objectively measured spatial characteristics of that residence. Based on a sample for Flanders, Belgium, we found that people tend to overrate the urbanized character of their residence. Among urbanites, (mis)matched spatial perceptions do not influence mode choice. Mode choices remain mainly influenced by urban characteristics and not by personal perceptions as such. However, the influence of spatial (mis)match becomes more important among rural dwellers and, especially, suburbanites. The travel consequences of (mis)matched spatial perceptions thus clearly depend on the residential neighborhood type.

Suggested Citation

  • Van Acker, Veronique & Derudder, Ben & Witlox, Frank, 2013. "Why people use their cars while the built environment imposes cycling," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 6(1), pages 53-62.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:jtralu:0099
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.jtlu.org/index.php/jtlu/article/view/288/302
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Schwanen, Tim & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2005. "What if You Live in the Wrong Neighborhood? The Impact of Residential Neighborhood Type Dissonance on Distance Traveled," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt5hh713d6, University of California Transportation Center.
    3. Thøgersen, John, 2006. "Understanding repetitive travel mode choices in a stable context: A panel study approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 621-638, October.
    4. 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.
    5. Joachim Scheiner & Christian Holz-Rau, 2007. "Travel mode choice: affected by objective or subjective determinants?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 487-511, July.
    6. Veronique Van Acker & Frank Witlox, 2005. "Exploring the relationship between land-use system and travel behaviour - some first findings," ERSA conference papers ersa05p601, European Regional Science Association.
    7. Veronique Acker & Frank Witlox, 2011. "Commuting trips within tours: how is commuting related to land use?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 465-486, May.
    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. Feng, Jianxi & Dijst, Martin & Wissink, Bart & Prillwitz, Jan, 2017. "Changing travel behaviour in urban China: Evidence from Nanjing 2008–2011," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1-10.
    2. Bhat, Chandra R. & Astroza, Sebastian & Hamdi, Amin S., 2017. "A spatial generalized ordered-response model with skew normal kernel error terms with an application to bicycling frequency," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 126-148.
    3. 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.
    4. Nasri, Arefeh & Zhang, Lei, 2019. "Multi-level urban form and commuting mode share in rail station areas across the United States; a seemingly unrelated regression approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 311-319.
    5. Guo, Yuanyuan & He, Sylvia Y., 2021. "The role of objective and perceived built environments in affecting dockless bike-sharing as a feeder mode choice of metro commuting," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 377-396.
    6. Rahul, T.M. & Manoj, M., 2020. "Categorization of pedestrian level of service perceptions and accounting its response heterogeneity and latent correlation on travel decisions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 40-55.
    7. Xiang Li & Qipeng Yan & Yafeng Ma & Chen Luo, 2023. "Spatially Varying Impacts of Built Environment on Transfer Ridership of Metro and Bus Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-24, May.
    8. Liu, Xintao & Wu, Jiawei & Huang, Jianwei & Zhang, Junwei & Chen, Bi Yu & Chen, Anthony, 2021. "Spatial-interaction network analysis of built environmental influence on daily public transport demand," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    9. Ma, Liang & Ettema, Dick & Ye, Runing, 2021. "Determinants of bicycling for transportation in disadvantaged neighbourhoods: Evidence from Xi’an, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 103-117.
    10. Liang Ma & Jason Cao, 2019. "How perceptions mediate the effects of the built environment on travel behavior?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 175-197, February.
    11. Hui Bi & Zhirui Ye & He Zhu, 2024. "Mining bike sharing trip record data: a closer examination of the operating performance at station level," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 1015-1041, June.
    12. Eldeeb, Gamal & Mohamed, Moataz & Páez, Antonio, 2021. "Built for active travel? Investigating the contextual effects of the built environment on transportation mode choice," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    13. Chen, Tzu-Ying & Jou, Rong-Chang, 2019. "Using HLM to investigate the relationship between traffic accident risk of private vehicles and public transportation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 148-161.
    14. Dimitris Milakis & Dimitrios Efthymiou & Constantinos Antoniou, 2017. "Built Environment, Travel Attitudes and Travel Behaviour: Quasi-Longitudinal Analysis of Links in the Case of Greeks Relocating from US to Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-17, September.
    15. Marquet, Oriol & Miralles-Guasch, Carme, 2016. "City of Motorcycles. On how objective and subjective factors are behind the rise of two-wheeled mobility in Barcelona," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 37-45.
    16. Yan Wang & Yibin Ao & Yuting Zhang & Yan Liu & Lei Zhao & Yunfeng Chen, 2019. "Impact of the Built Environment and Bicycling Psychological Factors on the Acceptable Bicycling Distance of Rural Residents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-19, August.
    17. Zhang, Ying & Thomas, Tom & Brussel, Mark & van Maarseveen, Martin, 2017. "Exploring the impact of built environment factors on the use of public bikes at bike stations: Case study in Zhongshan, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 59-70.

    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. Van Acker, Veronique & Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Witlox, Frank, 2014. "Car availability explained by the structural relationships between lifestyles, residential location, and underlying residential and travel attitudes," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 88-99.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Scheiner, Joachim, 2014. "Residential self-selection in travel behavior: Towards an integration into mobility biographies," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 7(3), pages 15-28.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Scheiner, Joachim & Holz-Rau, Christian, 2013. "A comprehensive study of life course, cohort, and period effects on changes in travel mode use," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 167-181.
    8. Scheiner, Joachim, 2010. "Social inequalities in travel behaviour: trip distances in the context of residential self-selection and lifestyles," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 679-690.
    9. 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.
    10. Schmid, Basil & Becker, Felix & Axhausen, Kay W. & Widmer, Paul & Stein, Petra, 2023. "A simultaneous model of residential location, mobility tool ownership and mode choice using latent variables," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    11. Mitra, Suman & Yao, Mingqi & Ritchie, Stephen G., 2021. "Gender differences in elderly mobility in the United States," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 203-226.
    12. Silva, Joao de Abreu e, 2014. "Spatial self-selection in land-use–travel behavior interactions: accounting simultaneously for attitudes and socioeconomic characteristics," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 7(2), pages 63-84.
    13. Cao, Xinyu & Mokhtarian, Patricia & Handy, Susan, 2008. "Examining The Impacts of Residential Self-Selection on Travel Behavior: Methodologies and Empirical Findings," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt08x1k476, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    14. 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.
    15. Silva, João de Abreu e, 2014. "Spatial self-selection in land-use–travel behavior interactions: accounting simultaneously for attitudes and socioeconomic characteristics," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 7(2), pages 63-84.
    16. Zhao, Pengjun & Bai, Yu, 2019. "The gap between and determinants of growth in car ownership in urban and rural areas of China: A longitudinal data case study," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-1.
    17. 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.
    18. Kamruzzaman, Md. & Baker, Douglas & Washington, Simon & Turrell, Gavin, 2013. "Residential dissonance and mode choice," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 12-28.
    19. Li, Jingjing & Kim, Changjoo & Sang, Sunhee, 2018. "Exploring impacts of land use characteristics in residential neighborhood and activity space on non-work travel behaviors," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 141-147.
    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).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    perceptions; (mis)match; built environment; mode choice; Belgium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ris:jtralu:0099. 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: Arlene Mathison (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ctumnus.html .

    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.