Residential Choice Research Articles

Spatially correlated nested logit model for spatial location choice

Residential location choice is a key component of the models for predicting land-use and transport demand in urban planning. In general, it requires to consider correlation between spatial alternatives. The approach of nested alternatives of the nested logit model has proved highly efficient in this context. This approach incorporates into the nested logit model both spatial and non-spatial correlations due to unobserved variables. The approach of metric extensions to the spatially correlated logit model specifies models for capturing spatial correlations between alternatives without having to design a nested structure. A model combining both approaches is proposed in this research. The spatially correlated nested logit model proposed herein models the correlation between alternatives of the nests of a nested logit model using a metric of spatial correlation between pairs of alternatives. The proposed model improves the properties of the nested logit model without the need of increasing the number of unknown parameters. Our model also improves the properties of a spatially correlated model with the same spatial metric. When needing to incorporate preference heterogeneity into the model, the proposed model is compatible with a mixed specification with random coefficients. The spatially correlated nested logit model was empirically applied to the real case of residential location choice in the city of Santander in Spain. In this empirical context, this model improved the explanatory and predictive power of the models that it combines.

Factors influencing burnout in millennial medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic!

BackgroundBurnout among millennial medical students is an important health issue with a possibility of potential professional dissatisfaction. The reason for burnout is multifactorial. The gender of the medical student may play a significant role when choosing a residency specialty and making a career choice. Gender may also influence while establishing the burnout seen in students. Here we tested the association between burnout in medical students based on gender and residency specialty choice during COVID-19.MethodsA multicentric cross-sectional study, using a questionnaire-based survey on the items related to gender, educational interest, status, residency aspiration, changes to career aspiration based on gender, and COVID-19 and an indigenous burnout assessment tool that was administered to all the medical students in the study. Reliability and validity of the tool were assessed, and the burnout was calculated for emotional exhaustion, personal achievement, and depersonalization domain.ResultsA total of 487 medical students (42.5% males, 57.2% females) completed the survey. A higher number of female participants felt that COVID-19 affected their energy levels (68.9%), interest in education (53.2%), and developed reservations about residency specialty of choice (46%); emotional and physical exhaustion (2.88 ± 0.69 & 2.34 ± 0.76) was higher than the male participants (3.16 ± 0.67 & 2.75 ± 0.85).ConclusionMore female participants experienced emotional distress, depersonalization or professional disengagement, and psychological and physical stress and exhaustion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An important association observed in the study was between residency choice and burnout.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11845-022-03016-8.

Spatio-temporal evolution of Chinese migration in Melbourne, Australia

ABSTRACT This paper examines the changing spatial and temporal patterns of residential choices across different waves of migrants from the mainland China between 1941 and 2011. Moran’s I and GetisOrd Indices are computed to validate the spatial assimilation theory to identify the prevalence of spatial clustering of Chinese migrants at a local area level. The spatial autocorrelation indicates the spatial segregation of Chinese migrants during the first three migration waves. This segregation propensity, however, has marginally declined in the recent wave. Getis hotspot analysis nevertheless shows no significant locational shift in the spatial clusters of Chinese migrants. This indicates the existence of path dependency, whereby the recent wave of immigrants from China exhibits spatial segregation behaviour similar to those manifested by earlier waves. Key spatial migrant clustersaresustained over time. The mapped outputs show that Chinese migrants congregate at the higher end of the housing market, particularly in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The analysis, therefore, rejects the conventional wisdom that migrants tend to spatially assimilate over time and they create urban ghettos or refuge for sheltering disadvantaged communities.

Intrusion Route as an Analysis Unit for Residential Burglars’ Target Assessment

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a house's intrusion route is a more useful analysis unit for explaining residential burglars' choice than the house as a whole. Also, we investigated whether a predictive model derived separately from the selected intrusion route better describes burglary decisions than a model derived from the entire response at once. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess whether the participants' evaluations were influenced by the general state of the house or that of the chosen intrusion route. Additionally, two regression studies were undertaken to investigate the effect of the intrusion route chosen on the derivation of regression models. The results indicated that the targeted house is evaluated primarily on the basis of environmental factors associated with the selected intrusion route, rather than on the basis of all environmental elements throughout the house. This result infers that the intrusion route should be treated as an analysis unit to obtain more accurate results for environmental factors affecting burglar's target selection.

Burnout and Online Medical Education: Romanian Students in Lockdown and Their Residency Choices.

The primary aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of burnout in Romanian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey for Students (MBI-GS(S)). The presence of burnout was assessed based on Exhaustion (EX), Cynicism (CY) and Professional Efficacy (PE) subscales. The secondary aim of the study was to identify the presence of intentional shift in medical specialty compared to their initial pursued choice within the population investigated. Data was collected online at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 through a licensed, customized MBI-GS(S) questionnaire from a sample of 126 Romanian medical students at the two leading medical schools in the country, Iasi (N = 56) and Cluj Napoca (N = 70). Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations were also applied to describe the data set (age and gender of participants) and the relationship between variables (EX, CY, PE). Subsequently, the MBI-GS(S) group report revealed that 36.5% of the medical students in the sample (46) experienced burnout, with problematic results both in Exhaustion and Cynicism. Exhaustion and Cynicism, which contribute to burnout, showed high scores compared to the average scale (EX = 3.5/2.4; CY = 2.8/1.8), while the Professional Efficacy score was relatively high (PE = 3.8/4.4), showing a protective effect and burnout reduction. One of the main conclusions is that the consequences of burnout in medical students plays a significant role in shaping the future healthcare practitioners’ perception of the medical profession and of patients’ wellbeing. Exhaustion and Cynicism are mainly associated with depersonalization and disconnection from the patient. Another conclusion of the study is that about one third of the respondents (30% Cluj students and 37.5% Iasi students) considered changing residency options. The pandemic has also revealed the limitations of and challenges facing current medical education, and that further research is required to assess the trends in prevalence of burnout in medical students.

Travel attitudes, the built environment and travel behavior relationships: Causal insights from social psychology theories

The importance of travel attitudes and residential choice in the relationship between the built environment and travel behavior has long been debated in transportation literature. In this paper, we explore the complexity of this relationship drawing on causal insights from social-psychology theories. The paper highlights: 1) the role of attitudes in travel behavior and in residential choice; 2) the dynamics of attitude formation and change and of habit formation, and 3) the formation and expression of residential preferences. First, interactive effects between travel attitudes and the built environment suggest that one's type or degree of response to BE changes depends on the strength of their travel attitudes. Conversely, the impact of attitudes on travel can vary depending on BE context. Second, the built environment can indirectly affect travel behavior by triggering attitude changes and by inducing routine behavior or habit. Third, residential preferences can be influenced by one's prior experiences and lifestyle choices, and by the supply, availability and composition of the built environment in the wider city/region; the built environment can shape residential preferences, suggesting reverse causality. The paper presents a conceptual model that illustrates multiple causalities involved in the built environment and travel behavior relationship based on review of theories and empirical findings. Finally, the policy implications are discussed.

The narratives of new rural residents in the configuration of the peri‐urban area: From circumstancial constraints to openness

AbstractEuropean peri‐urban areas keep growing in terms of land, population and socio‐spatial complexity. This article looks at the role of new residents in the ongoing reconfiguration of peri‐urban space, by focusing on how their narratives make sense of their residential choices and experiences. The analysis is based on the case of the peri‐urban area of Pamplona, an intermediate city in northern Spain surrounded by a peri‐urban space characterised by a disperse habitat of single and collective rural‐like settlements in a clear process of population growth. The discussion is grounded in a series of semi‐structured interviews conducted with key informants and new residents. The results reinforce the relevance of the residential lure of these territories as well as of the housing policies adopted. They also show three key elements to understand better the complexity and internal heterogeneity of this process: the different motivations supporting the residential choice; the links established with the place and its population and the experiences within the territory. Finally, the article concludes by suggesting that the different profiles of the new residents and their different orientations regarding the way of residing and experiencing the residence generate different territorialities through which they form new and coexisting ruralities, as well as a hybrid identity construction with the place.

Rooted in earth, rooted in community: Aging in rural houses of northern China

Northern China has experienced unprecedented urbanization over the past several decades, with younger Chinese moving to cities while leaving the lion's share of the older population in rural areas. This study explores how this structural change creates unique opportunities and challenges for older adults living in rural houses, which informs their everyday practices, the meanings of homes, and their subsequent housing choices. We examined the housing experiences of rural older adults through a field study conducted in Heilongjiang province. The study employed qualitative in-depth interviews with thirty-two older adults who live or have lived in rural housing, along with systematic documentation of their houses through photography and hand drawings captured from the field. We analyzed the interview narratives and images using the Glaserian grounded theory method to allow a high level of flexibility and conceptualization. The study identified five core categories of residential experiences: (1) houses as sites of production; (2) the earth/dwelling relationship; (3) social life in interstitial spaces; (4) the house as a means to preserve agency in old age and; (5) the burdensome house. These features were directly linked to the older adults' senses of home and their subsequent housing choices. The rural houses offered a strong sense of agency and belonging to rural older adults, but the city's expansion, the changing household registration system, and their aging bodies forced rural older adults to engage in constant reevaluation of their houses, informing their residential choices. We discuss the study's theoretical contributions and offer insights into policies and future planning for residential areas in both rural and urban areas by comparing the spatial configurations of rural dwellings with their urban apartment counterparts.

Impact of autonomous vehicles on the choice of residential locality

ABSTRACT Introducing autonomous vehicles (AVs) reduces generalized transportation costs and encourages people to relocate. Understanding the subsequent changes in urban structure can help predict the future development of urban economies and policies. Transportation connects multiple zones in cities, and by improving traffic flow and ease directly impacts the economies of various markets. Each direct impact then also indirectly affects related markets. Therefore, a spatial computable general equilibrium model that connects multiple zones via a transportation network is suitable for analyzing the impact of a new transport system. This study constructs a model to simulate the effects of AVs on residential location choice. The results show that increased prevalence of AVs steers people toward suburbs with poor public transportation. Thus, high-income workers react more to technological progress, while low-income workers react more to lowered ownership costs. Consumers’ location choices and budgets also affect residential zones’ development. Therefore, regional policy goals must be clarified and appropriate target consumer groups set when introducing AVs.

Pathways from Built Environment to Health Care Costs: Linking Objectively Measured Built Environment with Physical Activity and Health Care Expenditures

Evidence connecting health care expenditures with physical activity and built environment is rare. We examined how detailed urban form relates to mode specific moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and health care costs—controlling for transit access, residential choices/preferences, sociodemographic factors. We harness high resolution data for 476 participants in the Rails and Health study on health care costs, mode specific MVPA, parcel-level built environment, and neighborhood perception surveys. To account for dependencies among outcomes, structural equation modeling framework is used. A 1% increase in bike, walk, and transit-related MVPA was associated with lower health care costs by −0.28%, −0.09%, and −0.27% respectively. A one-unit increase in neighborhood walkability index correlates with a 6.48% reduction in health care costs. Indirect associations between residential choices, attitudes, and health outcomes through MVPA were also observed. The results suggest the potential to alter behaviors and lower health care costs through retrofitting neighborhoods.

The role of residential choice on the travel behavior of young adults

Several studies have shown that the travel behavior of young adults in the United States in the past two decades differed from that of prior generations. On average, recent young adults drove fewer miles, owned fewer vehicles and made use of public transit more often. A higher share of young adults also chose to live in cities. This study examines the relationship between the location decision of young adults and their travel behavior. We examine how being a young adult and other socioeconomic variables are associated with residential location decisions, and how these in turn affect vehicle ownership, mode choice and travel distance. Our analysis uses household travel survey data from the Seattle regions collected in 2006 and 2017 and employs a recursive structural equation model to examine these questions. We find that young adult households were more likely to live closer to the city center and to have fewer vehicles than older ones. Fewer young adults also chose to own vehicles in 2017 than in 2006. While young adults made more use of non-automobile modes and had fewer person miles traveled, we find that these effects were more due to their residential location and vehicle ownership decisions than due to direct preferences about mode or distance traveled. These findings suggest that significant changes would be expected in the mode use and miles traveled among young adults if their residential location or vehicle ownership preferences change significantly due to life cycle or other factors.

How far to live and with whom? Role of modal accessibility on living arrangement and distance

This study investigates the factors influencing university student’s living arrangement choice, the distance between home and the university, and mode choice. A closed-form probabilistic choice modelling formulation is developed to model three choices jointly: student’s living arrangement choice, the distance between home and the university, and student’s typical commuting mode choice to campus. The proposed joint model harnesses the power of both Random Utility Maximisation (RUM) and Cobb–Douglas direct utility maximisation principle. This study identifies the nature and extent of various systematic and random factors influencing university student’s residence and mode choice behaviour to provide evidence for the planners and policymakers to act upon. Walk and cycling accessibility appear to be the most influential factor in the distance between home and the university. The results suggest that affordable housing choices by university campuses can significantly increase the number of active mode users among the student population in Toronto.

Intelligent Decision Support System for Modeling Transport and Passenger Flows in Human-Centric Urban Transport Systems

Engineering human-centric urban transport systems should be carried out using information technology in forecasting traffic and passenger flows. One of the most important objects of urban transport systems’ progress is modeling patterns of transport flows and their distribution on the road network. These patterns are determined by the subjective choice of city residents of traffic routes using public and private transport. This study aimed to form a sequence of stages of modeling transport and passenger flows in human-centric urban transport systems and passenger flows in the human-centric urban intelligent transport systems and to determine the patterns of change to the gravity function of employees of municipal services. It was revealed that the trip distribution function of workers of urban service enterprises can be described by the attributes of the structure of the city, socio-economic data, and attributes characterizing the zones and its residents.

Pediatric Hospital Medicine Resident Elective: A Novel Resident Curriculum for an Evolving Field.

BackgroundAlthough 8-10% of pediatric residents pursue a career in Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM), many report an incomplete understanding of PHM careers and would benefit from a PHM elective.MethodologyWe followed Kern’s six-step curriculum development framework. A general needs assessment via literature review revealed a lack of published PHM elective curricula. A targeted needs assessment was conducted by surveying national PHM fellowship program directors, national PHM fellows, local junior PHM attendings, and local pediatric residents. Content analysis from these surveys was used to develop a PHM resident elective curriculum. The curriculum was implemented and evaluated through an experience log and written reflections.ResultsNeeds assessment surveys were completed by fellowship directors (22/61, 36%), fellows (36/103, 35%), attendings (10/26, 38%), and residents (15/98, 15%). Common themes included the importance of academic experiences, mentorship, non-teaching and non-inpatient clinical experiences, community hospital experience, and the desire to address knowledge gaps. Significant variability in survey responses suggested the importance of an individualized curriculum. Goals, objectives, and aligned educational strategies were developed to provide a breadth of clinical experiences, mentorship, and PHM-focused academic activities, with an emphasis on individualization. Implementation of the curriculum began in July 2021 and four residents enrolled in 2021-2022. The curricular evaluation demonstrated the achievement of objectives and improved resident awareness of PHM opportunities, clinical skill development, ancillary shadowing, and academic opportunities.ConclusionsA PHM resident elective was developed using Kern’s six-step approach with input from national fellows and fellowship program directors to address educational gaps and increase exposure to PHM careers. The next steps include the evaluation of the impact of the PHM elective on career choice and preparedness of residents.

Medical student residency preferences and motivational factors: a longitudinal, single-institution perspective

BackgroundA high proportion of medical school graduates pursue specialties different from those declared at matriculation. While these choices influence the career paths, satisfaction, and potential regret students will experience, they also impact the supply and demand ratio of the shorthanded physician workforce across many specialties. In this study, we investigate how the choice of medical specialty and the factors motivating those choices change between the beginning and end of medical school training.MethodsA questionnaire was administered annually from 2017 to 2020 to a cohort of medical students at the University of Connecticut to determine longitudinal preferences regarding residency choice, motivational factors influencing residency choice, future career path, and demographic information.ResultsThe questionnaire respondent totals were as follows: n = 76 (Year 1), n = 54 (Year 2), n = 31 (Year 3), and n = 65 (Year 4). Amongst newly matriculated students, 25.0% were interested in primary care, which increased ~ 1.4-fold to 35.4% in the final year of medical school. In contrast, 38.2% of matriculated students expressed interest in surgical specialties, which decreased ~ 2.5-fold to 15.4% in the final year. Specialty choices in the final year that exhibited the largest absolute change from matriculation were orthopedic surgery (− 9.9%), family medicine (+ 8.1%), radiology (+ 7.9%), general surgery (− 7.2%), and anesthesiology (+ 6.2%). Newly matriculated students interested in primary care demonstrated no differences in their ranking of motivational factors compared to students interested in surgery, but many of these factors significantly deviated between the two career paths in the final year. Specifically, students interested in surgical specialties were more motivated by the rewards of salary and prestige compared to primary care students, who more highly ranked match confidence and family/location factors.ConclusionsWe identified how residency choices change from the beginning to the end of medical school, how certain motivational factors change with time, how these results diverge between primary care and surgery specialty choice, and propose a new theory based on risk-reward balance regarding residency choice. Our study promotes awareness of student preferences and may help guide school curricula in developing more student-tailored training approaches. This could foster positive long-term changes regarding career satisfaction and the physician workforce.

Labour or lifestyle? Understanding urban incorporation of European middling migrants

AbstractIn this paper, I examine the urban incorporation of British middling migrants in Berlin, expressed through residential choice, local belonging and local networks. So far, urban incorporation has rarely been studied systematically, as European migrants have often been viewed as free floaters who are not invested in their new place of residence. Based on interviews with British nationals in Berlin, the contribution advances the literature on intra‐European migration by bringing together labour‐ and lifestyle‐related migration research to fully account for the respondents’ migration experience and urban incorporation. Lifestyle‐related reasons figure strongly in the respondents’ decision to move to Berlin, as many were seeking a better way of life. For these migrants, characterized by high cultural capital, but less economic capital, the project of self‐realization is strongly tied to their professional careers. Their urban incorporation can only be fully understood when considering the entanglement of labour‐ and lifestyle‐related motives for migration.

Modeling the long-term regional impacts of autonomous vehicles: A case study of Victoria, Australia

Driverless vehicles are expected to revolutionize existing transportation systems by improving safety, mobility, and sustainability. This study provides a framework that incorporates autonomous vehicles (AVs) into the transportation demand analysis and planning process of regional areas. To this end, we apply a nested logit model based on the probability distributions of the trip destination and mode choice, and formulate a multiclass traffic assignment to differentiate between AV and HV modes of transport. The proposed model is implemented in a conventional 4-step model developed for the state of Victoria, Australia. We study two different future scenarios in the year 2051 using various parameters including the value of travel time, vehicle operating cost, and toll rates to evaluate the impacts of different assumptions of AVs on Victoria’s future mobility. Our results show that travelers prefer to traverse longer distances with little to no difference in their associated general travel costs. This indicates that AVs provide users with more flexible residential, work, and school location choices. Choosing AVs for long distances rather than short distances is another finding of this study. Furthermore, as a result of the AVs deployment, up to 10% of new trips from public transport and active modes will be shifted to car trips. Empty vehicle travels by AV add around 20 percent to the vehicle kilometers traveled on Victoria’s roadway network which leads to a major reduction in the average speed and an increase in travel time delay.

Relationship of Residential Location Choice with Commute Travels and Socioeconomics in the Small Towns of South Asia: The Case of Hafizabad, Pakistan

The existing literature of emerging markets fails to provide evidence to clarify if people choose their residential location based on commuting to work or other socioeconomic or household factors. The present paper seeks to provide such evidence in South Asia using the case study of a small city in Pakistan. This exploratory study was facilitated by primary data collected from 365 adults in Hafizabad, Pakistan, using face-to-face interviews in 2018. Two research questions were answered: (1) with what socioeconomic or mobility-related variables are the residential self-selections correlated? (2) how strong is the possible association of commuting to work to residential location choices compared to other factors, including social, economic, and family-related issues? The results of Chi-square tests and Proportional Reduction in Error analyses show that the three variables of neighborhood place, gender, and housing tenure type are associated with residential location choices. These findings are partly in line with studies on high-income countries, but gender and housing tenure are more specific to developing countries. Moreover, results of a Binary Logistic model show that marital status and house ownership of other household members define whether people choose their living place based on commuting rather than other socioeconomic and household issues. The finding of the latter variable contrasts with behaviors in high-income countries, whereas the former variable has some similarities. These findings highlight some contextual differences between house location selection in South Asia and other regions.

Linguistic landscape as a way to reflect the tension between mandated language policies and residents’ language preferences: the case of Kashgar in China

ABSTRACT Recent linguistic landscape (LL) research has witnessed a change in focus to untypical, peripheral and fluid signs. Compared to typical (or permanent, fixed, etc.) signs which tend to be subject to strong policy intervention, language use on untypical signs is often more autonomous, thus could better reflect the de facto language choice and preferences of local residents. Comparing the linguistic patterns between typical and untypical signs therefore provides a way to investigate the tension between mandated language policies and residents’ language choice. In this study, we adopted the dichotomous terms proposed by Shang, G., and X. Zhou. 2020. “非典型语言景观的类型、特征及研究视角 [Peripheral Linguistic Landscape: Sign Types, Features and Research Perspectives].” 语言战略研究 5 (4): 37–47., namely ‘typical’ and ‘peripheral’, to explore the language use on public signs in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. By comparing typical and peripheral signs in Kashgar, the study found a significant discrepancy: Chinese is prioritised on typical signs due to top-down policy promotion, while Uyghur is used extensively on peripheral signs by local residents. This study demonstrates the importance of analysing peripheral linguistic landscape in strong-policy nations/regions.

On Place Safety

AbstractFor a long time, social factors have been identified as a set of crucial determinants of residential location choice and property value. Here, safety and security issues constitute a significant issue. Inhabitants are traditionally concerned about their neighborhoods and housing locations, and, considering current problems in big Western cities, this concern is by no means lessening. The study presents a social innovation for assisting the search for safe housing environments. A list of quantifiable key features regarding negative externalities and actual criminality provides the basis for constructing a checklist for the comparison of safe places within a city, or comparing cities with respect to their safety for housing occupants, investors, developers and other stakeholders. The controversial nature of the argumentation notwithstanding, this method is suggested to prove valuable in circumstances marred by increasing social hazards and turmoil.