Chasing Sustainability

Abstract

One of the solutions suggested for mitigating the detrimental effect of motor vehicles on society is to implement transit-oriented development (TOD). This type of development is intended to reduce automobile use and urban sprawl as well as to provide communities with more socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable neighborhoods that offer a variety of mobility choices. This study attempted to find out whether new residents adopted more sustainable modes of transportation after their relocation to a TOD. The analysis determined which factors influenced travel mode switching decisions by specifying a multilevel multinomial logistic regression model. Data for the analysis were drawn from a travel behavior survey conducted on residents in seven North American TODs in 2013. The results showed that newcomers adopted more sustainable travel modes for amenities and leisure trips after they relocated to a TOD but that they were less likely to do so for work and shopping trips. To encourage more sustainable travel modes, the study findings suggested that transit incentives coupled with workplace parking charges needed to be considered. Factors that were found to increase the probability that new TOD residents would switch to a more sustainable mode of transportation included their awareness of the environmental impact of each travel mode, the ease with which it was possible to walk through the neighborhood and to various destinations, and the proximity to transit stops. However, larger household size, homeownership, and the addition of a new car had negative impacts. The findings provided new insights into TOD planning and its link to travel behavior; these insights could benefit planners, engineers, and policy makers who have adopted the TOD approach to development with the goal of mitigating car usage.