As travel originates from engaging in activities within the urban envelope, we essentially assume... more As travel originates from engaging in activities within the urban envelope, we essentially assume that there is an effect of this urban form on the resulting travel patterns. This role of urban form in influencing travel behaviour has been widely researched, but with the multitude of variables involved, there is still a lack of general consensus on the strength and nature of this relationship. Understanding the causality and direction of these interrelationships are of key interest to planners and policy makers as reduction in travel energy consumption is of priority. With increasing concern over climate change issues, policies to effectively target sustainable transport initiatives taking into account the nature and context of the local population is vital. Thus two specific issues are of concern to determine the inter-relationship patterns -firstly 'where we live' and secondly its impact on 'how we travel'. This paper addresses these two questions adopting both a substantive and methodological approach. The substantive approach is to warrant a holistic approach to answer the 'how' and 'why' of the relationship between urban form and travel behaviour. For this a two-prong approach involving both a qualitative exploration complimented with an exhaustive quantitative analysis is used. The methodological focus attempts to demonstrate the usefulness of partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in the research context. Covariance based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) is more commonly used in the travel behaviour research; however PLS-SEM has gained popularity in the more recent times in other behavioural research fields such as informations systems, management and marketing. The findings highlight the importance of the spatial context in terms of the distance from Belfast city centre as a strong predictor of travel behaviour. This is complimented by the car-oriented attitude and the socio-economic influence. In contrast 'where we live' is influenced by residential preferences, physical properties of the urban form and sustainable travel oriented attitudes.
THE EFFECT OF URBAN FORM ON TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR - A review of the Literature
This paper analyses the growing body of research on the relationship between urban form and trave... more This paper analyses the growing body of research on the relationship between urban form and travel behaviour. Continuing urbanization trends along with high car dependency calls for the need to assess the complex inter-relationships between urban form and travel behaviour to strike a balance for sustainable growth. As the existing body of literature on the influence of urban form on travel behaviour is continuously expanding, a major concern is the lack of general consensus in terms of the validity and strength of this relationship. Also the major emphasis in research in this area has been on the quantitative association of this relationship explaining “how” people travel while the qualitative dimension of “why” people travel remains less explored. More recently studies in travel behaviour research are now investigating the realms of qualitative research along with quantitative assessment to provide a deeper insight into understanding and predicting future growth trends; however these studies are still rare in the field of urban form and travel behaviour. Another observation is the complexity of these inter-relationships and the dynamics owing to the multitude of variables involved and their mechanism which result in interesting patterns of interdependencies. Variations in results are also found by the studies reflecting their high spatiotemporal dependency and contextual legacy. The socio-demographic composition, attitudes and preferences and above all the complexity of human nature involved lends to this diversity and the variations in the strength of this relationship. Finally research design and analysis techniques play a major role in assessing these inter-relationships as studies have shown diversity in findings owing to the level of analysis, type of data used and the type of analysis used. These observations reinforce the need for a re-assessment of this relationship using a more comprehensive approach including socio-demographic factors, urban form indicators, preference and attitudinal factors, as the existing body of research needs a new dimension. This paper thus concludes that although the vast body of literature does give an in-depth insight into the inter-relationships between the built form and travel behaviour, refinement in terms of data matching at the individual level, life trajectory considerations and extensive qualitative exploration within their contextual settings still require further research in this area. This paper aims to highlight these issues and point out at the key areas where further research can aid in a better understanding for policy information and addressing sustainability targets.
Background: This paper examines changing patterns in the utilisation and geographic access to hea... more Background: This paper examines changing patterns in the utilisation and geographic access to health services in Great Britain using National Travel Survey data . The National Travel Survey (NTS) is a series of household surveys designed to provide data on personal travel and monitor changes in travel behaviour over time. The utilisation rate was derived using the proportion of journeys made to access health services. Geographic access was analysed by separating the concept into its accessibility and mobility dimensions.
Background: This paper examines changing patterns in the utilisation and geographic access to hea... more Background: This paper examines changing patterns in the utilisation and geographic access to health services in Great Britain using National Travel Survey data . The National Travel Survey (NTS) is a series of household surveys designed to provide data on personal travel and monitor changes in travel behaviour over time. The utilisation rate was derived using the proportion of journeys made to access health services. Geographic access was analysed by separating the concept into its accessibility and mobility dimensions.
Background: This paper examines changing patterns in the utilisation and geographic access to hea... more Background: This paper examines changing patterns in the utilisation and geographic access to health services in Great Britain using National Travel Survey data . The National Travel Survey (NTS) is a series of household surveys designed to provide data on personal travel and monitor changes in travel behaviour over time. The utilisation rate was derived using the proportion of journeys made to access health services. Geographic access was analysed by separating the concept into its accessibility and mobility dimensions.
THE EFFECT OF URBAN FORM ON TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR - A review of the Literature
This paper analyses the growing body of research on the relationship between urban form and trave... more This paper analyses the growing body of research on the relationship between urban form and travel behaviour. Continuing urbanization trends along with high car dependency calls for the need to assess the complex inter-relationships between urban form and travel behaviour to strike a balance for sustainable growth. As the existing body of literature on the influence of urban form on travel behaviour is continuously expanding, a major concern is the lack of general consensus in terms of the validity and strength of this relationship. Also the major emphasis in research in this area has been on the quantitative association of this relationship explaining “how” people travel while the qualitative dimension of “why” people travel remains less explored. More recently studies in travel behaviour research are now investigating the realms of qualitative research along with quantitative assessment to provide a deeper insight into understanding and predicting future growth trends; however the...
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2014
The role of urban form in influencing travel behaviour has gained particular interest to scholars... more The role of urban form in influencing travel behaviour has gained particular interest to scholars and policy makers to achieve a broader goal of sustainability despite varied scholastic opinion on the effectiveness of this relationship. While transportation forms the nexus of any urban environment, it also accounts for about thirty-six per cent of the total energy consumption in the UK [Department of Energy and Climate Change, UK, 2013]. Thus, an emphasis to reduce greenhouse emissions in this sector remains a key policy objective to achieve sustainability. Also there is an overemphasis of research in this area on quantitative association between key variables as opposed to qualitative exploration in order to understand complex human behaviour. The study reported in this paper has been designed to address this gap. Using a grounded theory analysis, this paper reports findings from 6 focus group discussions and 17 in-depth interviews. Fifty-three participants were recruited from three case study areas across Northern Ireland to represent the urban continuum. Seven overarching categories have been identified explaining the interrelationships between urban form and travel behaviour in the Northern Ireland context. However, at a macro-scale, land-use policies have played a dominant role in shaping the travel patterns and this has translated in the form of car dependency and residential immobility over the years in Northern Ireland. Although current policy now adopts a more integrated approach to curb urban sprawl and achieve modal split, soft policy measures have proved useful in increasing the effectiveness of these policy interventions.
THE EFFECT OF URBAN FORM ON TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR - Initial findings from In-depth Interviews and Focus Groups
Despite the continuing efforts of integrating transportation and land-use planning to promote sus... more Despite the continuing efforts of integrating transportation and land-use planning to promote sustainable growth, research findings remain divided in terms of the degree of influence of urban form on travel behaviour. While the success of land-use planning intervention lies in the direct influence the urban form on travel patterns, contextual legacy show variations in terms of the strength of this influence. Due to complex inter-relationships between urban form, socio-economic conditions, demographic influences, personal preferences and travel behaviour involving a multitude of variables, their mechanism result in unique interdependency patterns in every individual context which needs to be addressed specifically. Whilst major emphasis of research in this field has been on the quantitative association, this study uses a two prong approach using extensive qualitative exploration to generate a theory explaining the reasons for these particular travel patterns in the study context whic...
Interpreting the influence of urban form on household car travel using partial least squares structural equation modelling: some evidence from Northern Ireland
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Papers by Urbi Banerjee