Residential Choice Research Articles

Parent-Child Relationships, Intergenerational Transfers, and the Residential Mobility in Later Life: A Three-Generation Perspective

For older adults, internalized commitments through kinship may play a significant role in pooling resources for services from household chores to integrated care. If aging parents are asked to receive assistance from children or offer help to older parents, their mobility decisions are likely to be affected by the proximity to these family members. Despite the evidence of the link between parent-child relationships and residential choices, a few studies to date have examined kinship and financial support across three generations as determinants of the mobility of the elderly. Relying on data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), this study estimates panel logit models to explore how both kinship and financial support shape the residential trajectories of the elderly. We find that strong kinship tends to increase the likelihood of seniors’ moving toward older parents while financial help may substitute such effect. Our findings provide important implications for senior healthcare and housing policies.

Planning urban proximities: An empirical analysis of how residential preferences conflict with the urban morphologies and residential practices

Urban proximity planning is foreseen as a solution to foster a “sustainable” city, including economic viability, environmental soundness and social inclusivity. This paper focuses on the inclusivity aspects by questioning the adoption of urban proximities: how far planning for urban proximities resonates or conflicts with current residential preferences and practices? Based on functional, social, and sensitive attributes, five latent residential preferences have been identified: spatial proximity, tranquility, elitism, social proximity, and conviviality. These aspirations form the basis for a longitudinal, spatial, and clustering analysis. The results of the analysis, conducted on 2200+ respondents in Geneva, reveal characteristics in residential preferences. Firstly, preferences are stable over time, but malleable to changing circumstances. Secondly, some preferences show clear spatial distribution patterns when regressed with residential location choice. Thirdly, the gap between preferences and actual residential practices varies across morphological attributes. As a main result, the clustering analysis shows that 43 % of the population aspire more to tranquility than to functional proximity; and those aspiring for proximities (32 %) are the youngest and wealthiest. This questions the relevance of models of urban proximities as an inclusive solution – raising issues of generational divide, territorial segregation, and injunctive and targeted planning.

Subsidizing residents or companies? An equilibrium-based analysis of subsidy strategies for EV charging facilities

This study examines the charging location choice behavior of residents in relation to employer-provided charging facilities and investigates the impact of different government subsidy strategies for charging facility construction on urban spatial structure and traffic-related air pollution. Using a monocentric two-zone city model, we analyze the residential distribution and travel mode choice of urban residents under various subsidy strategies from the perspective of social planners. The government can optimize urban resource allocation through transport infrastructure investments and implementation of emission taxes to maximize the so-called residents’ utility. We observe that despite the distorting effect of employer-provided charging facilities on travel mode choice, residents still experience an enhanced utility due to the positive environmental impact resulting from reduced pollution levels associated with electric vehicles (EVs) compared to gasoline vehicles (GVs). We provide numerical evidence to show that government subsidies, whether directed towards companies or residents, can effectively enhance the adoption of EVs and improve utility. In low-density cities, it is advisable for the government to encourage and subsidize residents in building charging facilities. Conversely, in high-density cities, prioritizing subsidies for companies would be more beneficial in improving utility and expanding the coverage of charging facilities. Furthermore, in cities where resident environmental awareness is relatively low, it is recommended that the government increase subsidies to promote EV adoption.

Residents’ future residential preference and its affecting factors in the rapid urbanization zone of rural China from a family life cycle perspective

Understanding farmers’ future residential preferences and the factors affecting these choices is crucial for tackling the issues related to hollow village management and rural planning. Despite limited research on the role of the family life cycle, this study explores how the family life cycle, characteristics of the household head, livelihood strategies, and resource availability shape farmers’ future residential preferences. Data were collected from 777 households in China’s main grain-producing area. The findings reveal that 52.90% of households prefer to stay in their current rural residences. Other favored options are elderly care facilities (13.90%), living with children in the village (12.36%), and ancestral homes (11.68%). The family life cycle significantly affects these preferences (p < 0.01), with changes in family structure and age leading to different living choices. Specifically, households in the initial (71.29%), burden (70.32%), and stable stages (40.14%) prefer their current rural residences, while those in the maintenance and empty-nest stages opt for living with their children’s residences (22.22% and 16.96%, respectively) or in elderly care facilities (30.00% and 33.93%). Meanwhile, age, health, income, livelihood strategies, and land ownership also markedly influence the choice of residence. Recommendations include educational programs for elderly rural residents, improving older individuals’ adaptability to rural changes, creating more rural employment opportunities, and enhancing medical and infrastructural services for the sustainable rural development.

Studentification, youthification, and gentrification, all at once? New-builds, newcomers, and near-campus change in a post-industrial city

Higher education growth changes the neighbourhoods of university cities in multiple ways. The most evidenced way is studentification, although researchers also report youthification and gentrification. However, empirical studies on near-campus change through the tri-conceptual prism of studentification, youthification, and gentrification are recent and limited to North America. Therefore, we apply it to another context. In this paper, we look at Lodz, Poland, and its campus-adjacent, post-industrial area that is facing a housing boom. We describe the new-builds (their scale, types, and morphologies) and the newcomers (their demographics, residential choices, satisfaction and plans). As a result, we claim the change here is a gentrification-like hybrid of new-build youthification and studentification. Consequently, we suggest that boundaries between studentification, youthification, and gentrification can be fuzzy in particular locales. We also nuance previous findings about the near-campus change, especially the features of studentification and studentifiers, and the role of the campus itself in this process.

The impact of relocations on distances traveled for commuting and grocery shopping: structural equation models of panel data

AbstractResidential relocations open a window of opportunity to decrease distances to work and other important daily destinations, such as grocery stores. This study investigates changes in trip distances after residential relocation, using data from a panel survey of 435 movers in Germany. We estimate two structural equation models for changes in commute and shopping trip distance. These models additionally allow us to draw insights into the relationships between spatial structure, travel attitudes, satisfaction with the accessibility of the workplace or shopping facilities, and housing preferences in residential location search. We find that there is a weak indication of an association between residential location choice and changes in trip distances. However, the analysis suggests that especially long trip distances are shortened through relocation. While residents in urban areas travel on average shorter distances, both for working and grocery shopping, only the shopping distance decreases after a move to a more urban location. A preference for urban structures leads to an increase in urbanity after relocation only in the model for grocery shopping trips. Even though long trips before relocation lead to dissatisfaction with the commute, we do not observe a direct effect of dissatisfaction with trips or reasons for moving on trip distances after a move.

The effects of gender discrimination on medical students‘ choice of specialty for their (junior) residency – a survey among medical students in Germany

BackgroundGender discrimination is known to affect societies in many different settings. Medical education is no exception. This study focusses on the consequences, gender discrimination can have on medical students and their choice of (junior) residency specialty.MethodsAn online questionnaire was developed and distributed among the 40 medical faculties in Germany. The study population contained medical students in their fifth and sixth academic year.ResultsThe survey’s participants consisted of 759 students from 31 universities. Female medical students experienced significantly more gender discrimination compared to their male colleagues (f = 487, 87.9% vs. m = 76, 45.8%, p < 0.0001). The specialties with the most reported gender discrimination were family medicine (f = 180, 42.9% vs. m = 15, 23.8%, p < 0.05), followed by surgery (f = 369, 87.4% vs. m = 44, 69.8%, p < 0.05), internal medicine (f = 282, 67.3% vs. m = 37, 58.7%, ns), orthopaedics/casualty surgery (f = 270, 65.1% vs. m = 32, 50.8%, p < 0.05), and gynaecology (women (f = 142, 34.1% vs. m = 34, 54.0%, p < 0.05). Gynaecology was the only specialty, men experienced more discrimination compared to women. Among the students that ever changed their specialty of choice (f = 346 (73.3%) m = 95 (72%)), significantly more women than men claimed gender discrimination to be one of the main three reasons for their specialty choice (f = 42, 12.1% vs. m = 1, 1.1%, p < 0.05). In addition, 53 students (f = 50 (10.6%) m = 3 (2.3%)) stated to rule out a specialty from the beginning due to gender discrimination.ConclusionGender discrimination is frequently experienced by medical students in Germany. It influences their choice of medical specialty directly. Our data suggest a fundamental problem that proposes and implicates certain specialties to be attractive for only one gender.

A joint model of residential mobility and location choice decisions

ABSTRACT Residential relocation is a process involving the interdependent decisions of mobility (i.e. the decision to move) and location choice. Location choice is a discrete choice decision, whereas mobility has a continuous time dimension. Since households relocate along their life course for different reasons such as the birth of a child, these reasons could influence the duration of stay as competing events. This paper develops a joint model for mobility and location choice decisions. Data come from a retrospective survey conducted in the Central Okanagan of British Columbia, Canada. A reason-based competing hazard model is developed for the mobility component of the joint model. For the location choice component, a latent segmentation-based logit model is developed to capture unobserved heterogeneity. The influence of location utility on mobility is addressed through log sum parameters. The model confirms the effects of life-cycle events, parcel, socio-demographic, land use, transportation, neighbourhood and accessibility characteristics. The findings reveal that households relocating for the occurrence of life-cycle events are active in the housing market following the birth of a child, marriage and vehicle purchase. Relocation to live in a desirable neighbourhood is found to delay the move for the reason of living closer to activity points. Results also indicate that duration is likely to be shorter with the increase in expected utility from the following location. Regarding the location choice, preferences for dwellings closer to schools are evident. In the case of heterogeneity, it is observed that urban dwellers are more likely to prefer locations closer to the workplace with the addition of jobs in the household. In contrast, suburban dwellers are more likely to prefer residing far from the workplace. The developed joint model has been included in an integrated urban model, currently under development at the University of British Columbia.

Residential location choices and commuting patterns considering telecommuting

The COVID-19 pandemic has initiated more telecommuting (or working from home) than ever. This paper provides an economic analysis of the impacts of telecommuting on the residential location choice equilibrium. In particular, this paper employs a simplified monocentric city model of urban spatial structure to analytically examine the impacts of telecommuting on residential location choices and the associated commuting pattern in a city, considering that telecommuting may have positive, zero, or negative impact on individual income level. We found that the income effect of telecommuting and its relative magnitude against the commuting cost govern whether telecommuting will attract more to live in the suburb or the downtown. Moreover, the impacts of housing supply and commuting costs on the residential location choice equilibrium are dependent on the level of telecommuting, where such impacts diminish when the level of telecommuting increases. Furthermore, this paper derives and examines analytical solutions for the optimal level of telecommuting, the optimal housing supply and the optimal transport investment (that reduces commuting cost) in order to improve social welfare or the housing operator’s profit in the context of telecommuting. How these optimal solutions are related to the level of telecommuting is also analyzed. This study provides understanding on how telecommuting may affect the joint equilibrium of residential location choice and commuting and how housing supply and transport investment should be adjusted in response to telecommuting.

Quality of Life of Non-Self-Sufficient Immigrants: A Neighborhood Perspective

This paper explores the quality of life of non-self-sufficient immigrants in Sweden, focusing on their residential patterns while controlling for individual characteristics. We find large differences in both individual and locational attributes across income levels and ethnic backgrounds, illustrating that the status of ‘immigrant’ is far from being a homogenous group. The results show that non-self-sufficient individuals, especially those from Africa and the Middle East, may face limitations in their life satisfaction as these groups are most likely to reside in socioeconomically weak neighborhoods. Additionally, the results show that the motivation for residential choices varies across ethnic backgrounds. For example, ethnicity rather than income level determines the neighborhood patterns of African immigrants, while non-self-sufficiency is the major determinant for Nordic immigrants residing in poor, ethnic neighborhoods. We thus argue that the location of residence and differences across ethnic backgrounds deserve more attention in research and policy discussions on quality-of-life issues.

A data-driven agent-based model of primary school segregation in Amsterdam

ABSTRACT Theoretical agent-based models of residential and school choice have shown that substantial segregation can emerge as an (unintended) consequence of interactions between individual households and feedback mechanisms, despite households being relatively tolerant. However, for school choice, existing models have mostly been highly stylized, leaving open whether they are relevant for understanding school segregation in concrete empirical settings. To bridge this gap, this study develops an empirically calibrated agent-based model focusing on primary school choice in Amsterdam. Consistent with existing models, results show that substantial school segregation emerges when schools are chosen based on a trade-off between composition and distance, and also when households are relatively tolerant. Additionally, findings of (hypothetical) policy simulations suggest that it is important to understand which preferences for school composition and distance households have and how these interact. We find that the effects of policies aiming to reduce school segregation through geographical restricting mechanisms are highly dependent on those interacting preferences. Also, we assessed the contribution of residential segregation to school segregation. Our findings may have implications for methodologies aiming to estimate school choice preferences, such as discrete choice models, as these methodologies do not explicitly control for implications of these interactions and feedback mechanisms, which might lead to incorrect inference.

Improving Quality of Life and Reducing Behavioral Problems of People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Through Deinstitutionalization.

People with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) with extensive support needs are more likely to live in segregated and highly institutionalized environments. The aim of this study was to analyze changes in functioning and quality of life for people with IDD and extensive support needs after transitioning to ordinary homes in the community. The sample included 54 adults with IDD and extensive support needs, who were assessed at three time points: before transition, six months later, and one year after transition. The Resident Choice Scale, San Martin Quality of Life Scale, Active Support Participation Measure, and the Behavior Problem section of the Inventory for Client and Agency Planning were administered. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and t-tests for repeated measures were carried out. There were significant improvements in decision-making, participation and independence in daily activities and quality of life, as well as a reduction in the presence and intensity of behavioral problems. The benefits found in this study support transformation processes towards more inclusive services and professional practices that foster people's rights and feeling of belonging to the community.

Are young adults’ choices temporary or permanent? Navigating economic recession with residential location and household expenditure

ABSTRACT This study started from changes in young adults’ choices of residential location and travel behavior since the 2010s, which differ from the prior generations. This study aimed to determine whether the observed choices represent permanent shifts in preference changes or temporary responses to specific circumstances. Using longitudinal data and statistical models, this study analyzed the impact of the economic recession on the residential choices of young adults and their household expenditure. The analysis results indicate that young adults’ choices are likely temporary responses to economic hardship. Young adults showed different choices in relocation and household expenditure during the recession, compared to before and after the recession, and reduced their housing and transportation expenditures during the recession, whereas the older age group did not. The young adult model indicated that increasing the location distance from cities increased their housing and transportation expenditure, which differed from the older adult model. Lastly, lower-income young adults chose to relocate, and the lowest-income group moved to areas closer to city centers. These findings have implications for urban development and smart growth policies, namely, providing various housing options in cities, including more affordable housing, and improving public transit systems for more young adults to use.

Residential differentiation characteristics based on “socio-spatial” coupling: A case study of Zhengzhou

Residential differentiation transcends its physical aspect, necessitating attention to deeper issues such as group-based disparities underlying spatial configurations. This paper based on multiple data sources, utilizes indicator dimensionality reduction, spatial clustering, and indices of dissimilarity to conducts clustering and matching analysis of social groups and residential spaces. It summarizes and distills the social-spatial coupling types of residential differentiation in Zhengzhou city under a layered model, focusing on social spatial polarization and solidification phenomena in China, and proposing optimization and control recommendations. Findings include: (1) Residential space differences primarily manifest in pricing, while social group distinctions focus on consumption capacity and age. Residential differentiation is a process of continuous differentiation and interaction between two dimensions; (2) Urban housing types do not strictly align with socio-economic attributes, with six typical coupling types observed within the “inner city - new city - outskirts” framework; (3) The “filtering” effect of high housing prices in Zhengzhou leads to wealthy clustering in new city outskirts, while low-income groups aggregate in peripheral and declining inner-city areas, resulting in pronounced spatial segregation; (4) Urban residential differentiation reflects the interaction between macro-controls in the housing market and individual residential choices, serving as a spatial representation of social stratification outcomes.

Spatial patterns of intra-urban mobility and urban residential choices in Makurdi town, Benue State, Nigeria

Spatial patterns of intra-urban mobility and urban residential choices in Makurdi town, Benue State, Nigeria

Two-worker Households, Decentralized Employment, and Residential Segregation

AbstractThe last century was marked by a remarkable improvement in the economic position of women, as reflected in higher labor force participation and wages. This paper extends the Hybrid Tiebout models of residential choice to allow for two-worker households. Our model incorporates both residential choice and labor market choices of households simultaneously and, thus, gives us a unique opportunity to study the impact of changes in the labor market conditions for workers on residential segregation. We develop a general equilibrium model of residential choice with decentralized workplaces in which households face a trade-off among accessibility, space and a public good (education). Education is financed through property taxes, which are determined by majority voting. The quality of education is determined by the spending and the peer group effects. The model is interesting in the sense that (i) households consider the work locations of both male and female working members of the household while making residential choice decisions; (ii) the presence of decentralized workplaces offers an alternative job location to workers; and (iii) the endogenous labor supply decisions for workers. We find that the increase in educational attainment for women and the changes in wages for men and women have had a substantial impact on the spatial distribution of households across metropolitan areas and hence, segregation by income.

Analysis of Consumer Considerations Regarding Disaster Risk in Making Residential Choice Decisions in Padang City

Considering that the city of Padang is the capital city of West Sumatra province which apart from being the center of government, is also the center for economic activities, education, trade and other informal sectors, the need for housing for the community needs attention. Because proper housing is a basic need for humans to carry out life and daily activities. The geographical condition of the city of Padang is in the area along the earthquake path following the 6,500 km subduction zone to the west of Sumatra Island. Apart from earthquakes, there are many disasters that have the potential to occur in the city of Padang such as tsunamis, landslides, floods, flash floods, tornadoes, and others. These potential disasters must be considered by consumers in making decisions in choosing housing that is appropriate and has a small disaster risk. The purpose of this research is to identify the reasons for consumers in making decisions about choosing housing in the city of Padang and also to analyze consumer considerations regarding disaster risk in making decisions about choosing housing in the city of Padang. The study was conducted on 60 respondents with 33 indicators which were divided into six general variables, namely price, location, building architecture, ease of transportation, environmental facilities and infrastructure and psychology then two disaster risk variables, namely disaster-free locations and building structures. In this study, the most influential variables in consumer decision making in choosing housing in the city of Padang sequentially were disaster-free locations, building structures, building architecture, environmental facilities and infrastructure, psychology, price, location and ease of transportation. And also the six general variables regarding consumer considerations in making decisions on choosing housing in Padang City simultaneously or as a whole have an influence on the two disaster risk variables studied, namely disaster-free locations and building structures.

Effects of autonomous driving on residential location choice behavior: A travel-based multitasking perspective

Fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) allow users to engage in multitasking behavior while traveling, potentially inducing longer travel because multitasking in AVs would generate a positive utility. Eventually, this may further induce residential relocation, as positive utility virtually reduces the value of time. Such influence may vary depending on whether the AV is used individually or with others (i.e., ride-sharing), as well as the type and amount of multitasking activities carried out in the vehicle. This study examines the influence of the type of AV (ride-sharing or individually used) and the type and amount of in-vehicle multitasking activities on residential location choice behavior through a pivoted stated preference survey. Residential location choice behavior is represented by a panel binary mixed logit model. The model estimation results indicate that the willingness to pay for monthly rent to shorten commuting time is significantly lower when individually used AVs are introduced, compared to non-AVs (i.e., existing automobiles) and ride-shared AVs. Hence, further urban sprawl could occur if individually used AVs become prevalent. Such negative impacts on urban form, however, would be substantially small when AV is introduced under the ride-sharing scheme. It was also found that individuals who can engage in more multitasking behavior in an AV will accept longer travel regardless of the type of AV (ride-sharing or individually used), while individuals who can hardly perform in-car activities tend to resist additional commuting travel time. Moreover, the impact of automated driving at the city scale was examined by running simulations of residential choice in Hiroshima City as a case study. The results suggest that multitasking behaviors in AVs would have modest impacts on urban structure.

Research on the mechanism involved in urban social inclusiveness and resident entrepreneurship: Evidence from China

During the urbanization process in China, issues such as the widening wealth gap, class stratification, and social exclusion influenced residents' decisions to pursue entrepreneurship. Inclusiveness is an inevitable trend in new urbanization, and it is also a key factor in promoting residents' entrepreneurship and stimulating the potential for social innovation. Based on three key principles, “fairness, openness, and sharing, “ this paper assesses the relationship, and the internal mechanism driving the relationship, between urban social inclusiveness and resident entrepreneurship. This includes constructing an urban social inclusiveness index, and analyzing data from the 2018 China General Social Survey (CGSS). The key results indicate that urban social inclusiveness has a significant positive effect on resident entrepreneurship. The mechanism analysis shows that urban social inclusiveness can improve the probability of residents being entrepreneurial, by improving risk attitude, promoting class mobility, and expanding social networks. Heterogeneity analysis shows that urban social inclusiveness has a significant impact on the entrepreneurial of local residents, and low-class and high-class residents; urban social inclusiveness has no significant impact on the entrepreneurial choice of transient residents and middle-class residents. Besides, urban social inclusiveness plays a more significant role in promoting residents' choice of survival entrepreneurship, compared with opportunistic entrepreneurship.

Exploring the medical decision-making patterns and influencing factors among the general Chinese public: a binary logistic regression analysis

ObjectiveWith the ongoing evolution of the healthcare system and shifts in cultural paradigms, there is a pressing need to delve into the medical decision-making behaviors of general Chinese public and understand their underlying motivations. This research seeks to elucidate the prevailing tendencies in these decision-making processes and to empirically validate the pivotal factors that shape their choices, offering valuable insights for healthcare policymakers and institutions.MethodA comprehensive survey was administered to 2,696 Chinese residents to examine their medical decision-making patterns. These patterns were classified into two primary categories: Unilateral Decision-making (Doctor-dominant, Family-centric, and Patient-driven subtypes) and Collaborative Decision-making (Doctor-led, Doctor-Patient, Patient-Family, and Doctor-Patient-Family subtypes). Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to empirically pinpoint the significant factors influencing these decision-making frameworks.ResultsThe study's analysis reveals distinct preferences in medical decision-making among Chinese residents. In the Collaborative Decision-making category, chosen by 70.81% of participants, the subtypes are as follows: Doctor-led (29.90%), Doctor-Patient (13.54%), Patient-Family (2.93%), and Doctor-Patient-Family (24.44%). The Unilateral Decision-making, preferred by 29.19%, includes Doctor-dominant (23.22%), Family-centric (1.74%), and Patient-driven (4.23%) models. The preference for Collaborative Decision-making is associated with higher educational levels, specific marital statuses (particularly married but childless), and choices of rural residents' basic medical insurance or occupational basic medical insurance. In contrast, Unilateral Decision-making correlates with males, individuals with religious beliefs, certain occupational roles (like civil servants), and holders of commercial or publicly funded medical insurance.ConclusionThis study elucidates the complex interplay of socio-cultural and individual determinants shaping medical decision-making in China. The findings reveal a marked inclination towards collaborative models, closely linked to educational level, marital status, and specific insurance types, reflecting an evolving trend towards participatory healthcare. Simultaneously, the persistence of unilateral models, influenced by gender, religious beliefs, and occupational roles, highlights the heterogeneity within Chinese healthcare preferences. These insights are crucial for policymakers and healthcare practitioners, underscoring the need for adaptable, culturally attuned healthcare frameworks that cater to this diversity, thereby enhancing patient engagement and healthcare efficacy.