Distinguishing Universal Truths from Country-specific Influences on Children's Sustainable Travel: A Comparison of Children in the UK and the Osaka Regional Area

Abstract

The analysis of children’s activity-travel patterns has gained increasing attention in a variety of research fields, including in transportation, health, and urban planning domains. Most of the previous studies suggested that more compact development promotes less car-dependent travel among children, but many questions regarding culture, car ownership, and wealth were left unanswered. A comparison between those studies highlighted interesting behavioural differences between children’s travel patterns in English developed countries and other developed countries such as Japan and Germany. Unfortunately comparisons through existing literature on children’s travel are hindered by different trips and models being examined. The aim of this paper is to help bridge this gap of knowledge. Using the UK National Travel Survey and the Osaka Regional Area person trip datasets, this paper compares children’s travel behaviour in a region of Japan and the UK. This paper discusses both consistencies and discrepancies of travel behaviours between the countries to highlight what factors are consistent despite cultural differences, and what may vary within cultures or different built environments.