The ‘transportation disadvantaged’: Urban form, gender and automobile versus non-automobile travel in the Detroit region

Abstract

Urban decentralisation in the USA during the past five decades has created an automobile-dependent landscape characterised by low-densities, largely single-use zoning and disconnected street networks. Longer distances between dispersing destinations, resulting from urban decentralisation, negatively affects the mobility of socially disadvantaged groups, including women, minorities and lower-income populations. Furthermore, the urban poor and minorities in communities experiencing severe disinvestment and decline, as evident in Detroit, suffer from greater transportation burdens in accessing basic necessities, such as employment and shopping. This study explores gendered travel patterns in six neighbourhoods within the Detroit region, including neighbourhoods experiencing severe disinvestment and decline. This analysis into the gendered dimensions of travel, with a particular focus placed on women, involves a full array of trips, including work and non-work. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis and ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance) were used to further examine gender differences by childcare responsibility in an extensive array of disaggregated travel, including trips to work, shopping and personal services, restaurant visits and leisure destinations. This study reconfirms that the traditional gender role is reflected in women’s daily travel. It also reveals the burdens of travel placed on women living in racially segregated and socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods experiencing extreme disinvestment and decline. In addition, the research shows the importance of class and race in shaping travel behaviour.