Built Environment, Travel Attitudes and Travel Behaviour: Quasi-Longitudinal Analysis of Links in the Case of Greeks Relocating from US to Greece

Dimitris Milakis,Constantinos Antoniou,Dimitrios Efthymiou

doi:10.3390/su9101774

Dimitris Milakis, Constantinos Antoniou + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101774

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Abstract

In this study, the possible causal links between the built environment, travel attitudes and travel behaviour of people that have moved between totally different urban and transportation contexts were investigated. A quasi-longitudinal design was developed to collect data about the perceived neighbourhood characteristics, neighbourhood preferences, travel attitudes and changes in car, walking and bicycle usage of 51 Greeks who relocated from the US to Greece. Variable reduction techniques were applied prior to developing our models because of the small sample size. The results of this study offer support for a causal relationship between the built environment and travel behaviour identified in the existing literature. For instance, longer travel time to city center was associated with higher car use, higher density neighbourhoods and increased accessibility to local amenities were associated with increased bike use and better access to a district shopping center was associated with more walking after relocation. Our results also showed that in contexts like Greece, where transport infrastructures are not adequately developed, lack of safe bike conditions and easy access to public transportation are important determinants of bicycle use and walking. Thus, according to our results, promoting sustainable mobility in contexts like Greece would require not only enhancing accessibility through relocation of activities, but also by improving infrastructures for public transport, bicycle and walking.

Highlights

Reducing road transport externalities such as greenhouse gases emissions, air pollution at local and regional level, energy consumption and creating social inclusive, healthy cities remain at the center of the debate for more sustainable urban futures [1]
The results demonstrated that accessibility and built environment contexts, in which participants of this survey have lived in the US and Greece, differ significantly
Respondents stated that the conditions for cycling and walking in Greece are not as safe as they were in the US, which may be connected with their statement that the residential green space and architectural environment, including street furniture, were better in the US than in their neighbourhood in Greece

Summary

Introduction

Reducing road transport externalities such as greenhouse gases emissions, air pollution at local and regional level, energy consumption and creating social inclusive, healthy cities remain at the center of the debate for more sustainable urban futures [1]. The effectiveness of the respective planning policies in promoting sustainable mobility could be lower than expected, albeit arguments that attitude induced self-selection cannot influence neither the causal mechanism, nor empirical estimates of the built environment and travel behaviour relationship exist as well (see [7] and the subsequent very interesting discussion: [8,9]). The extent of movers’ exposure to different built environments is possibly quite limited and the ‘treatment’ dose may be quite low. This in turn may lead to an underestimation of the built environment effects on travel behaviour in comparison to self-selection effects

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