Investigating the impact of Sense of Place on site visit frequency with non-motorized travel modes

Abstract

This paper examines the relationships between: (i) Sense of Place (SOP); (ii) non-motorized travel; and (iii) the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). A guiding principle in built environment design for sustainability and livability is a latent construct termed Sense of Place (SOP), which leads visitors to perceive and associate a strong identity or character with a particular location. We hypothesize that visitors' SOP affects their access of sites via walking/biking or other non-motorized travel modes. Furthermore, we also hypothesize their ICT use shapes their SOP. In an information era, mobile ICT provide ubiquitous information and communication across multiple geographies, expanding interaction with locations to include both the physical and virtual. Visitors can engage with a location pre and post-trip through online reviews or virtual visualizations, such as Google Street View. To investigate these interrelationships, we conduct a visitor intercept survey and analyze the responses to investigate the direction and magnitude SOP impacts on non-motorized site visit frequency. The estimation results indicate that SOP statistically impacts non-motorized visits; ICT use for learning about the site was found to positively impact visitors' estimated SOP.