Built environment, travel behavior, and residential self-selection: a study based on panel data from Beijing, China

• Published in: Transportation (Dordrecht) Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 51 - 74
• Main Authors: Wang, Donggen, Lin, Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Attitudes; Behavior; Built environment; Construction; Data processing; Economic Geography; Economics; Economics and Finance; Engineering Economics; Households; Innovation/Technology Management; Logistics; Longitudinal studies; Marketing; Modelling; Organization; Panel data; Population density; Preferences; Public transportation; Regional/Spatial Science; Relocation; Residence; Residential location; Selfselection; Travel; Urban environments; Beijing China; China; Built environment; Travel behavior; Residential self-selection; Longitudinal study
• ISSN: 0049-4488; 1572-9435
• DOI: 10.1007/s11116-017-9783-1

The influence of the built environment on travel behavior has been the subject of considerable research attention in recent decades. Scholars have debated the role of residential self-selection in explaining the associations between the built environment and travel behavior. The purpose of this study is to make a contribution to the literature by adopting the cross-lagged panel modeling approach to analyze a panel data, which scholars have recommended as the ideal design for studying the influence of the built environment on travel behavior accounting for the residential self-selection. To that objective, we collected activity-travel diary data from a sample of 229 households in Beijing before and after they moved from one residential location to another. We developed a two-wave structural equation model linking the residential built environment to travel behavior and taking into consideration travel-related attitudes before and after residential change. The modeling results show that individuals’ travel attitudes may change after a home relocation. We found no evidence of residential self-selection, but significant influence of the built environment on travel preference. Nevertheless, the direct influence of travel preference on travel behavior seems to be stronger than that of the built environment. As one of the very few studies to use panel data, this research presents new insights into the relationship between the built environment and travel behavior and the role of residential self-selection.