Urban Structure Matters
Residential Location, Car Dependence and Travel Behaviour
By Petter Naess
Routledge – 2006 – 344 pages
Series: RTPI Library Series
Going beyond previous investigations into urban land use and travel, Petter Næss presents new research from Denmark on residential location and travel to show how and why urban spatial structures affect people's travel behaviour.
In a comprehensive case study of the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Næss combines traditional quantitative travel surveys with qualitative interviews in order to identify the more detailed mechanisms through which urban structure affects travel behaviour. The case study findings are compared with those from other Nordic countries and analyzed and evaluated in the light of relevant theory and literature to provide solid, valuable conclusions for planning sustainable urban development.
With a broader range of statistics than previous studies and conclusions of international relevance, Urban Structure Matters provides well-grounded conclusions for how spatial planning of urban areas can be used to reduce car dependence and achieve a more sustainable development of cities.
Preface List of Figures List of Tables 1. Why is Knowledge about Urban Form and Travel Needed? 2. Urban Structures as Contributory Causes of Travel Behavior – A Theoretical Perspective 3. The Case of Copenhagen Metropolitan Area - Context and Research Methods 4. The "Car Tires" and the "Bike Hub": Typical Mobility Patterns in Different Parts of the Metropolitan Area 5. How does Urban Structure Motivate Daily-Life Travel Behavior? – Examples from Qualitative Interviews 6. Which Relationships Exist between Residential Location and Travel Behavior after Controlling for Demographic, Socioeconomic and Attitudinal Factors? 7. How does Residential Location Influence Location of Activities, Trip Lengths, Activity Participation and Travel Time? 8. Are there Additional, Indirect Effects of Residential Location on Travel? 9. Does Residential Location Influence Daily-Life Travel Differently among Different Population Groups? 10. Are Short Daily Trips Compensated by Higher Leisure Mobility? 11. Conclusions from the Copenhagen Metropolitan Area Study 12. Urban Form and Travel Behavior - A Wider Sustainability Perspective 13. Planning for a Sustainable and less Car-Dependent Urban Development References Appendix: The Independent Variables Included in Most of the Multivariate Analyses of the Main Survey Index Notes