Martin Dijst

Urban Form and Travel Behaviour: Micro-level Household Attributes and Residential Context:

Many countries now have policies to reduce distances travelled by private car and to favour the use of public transport, cycling and walking. The development of compact urban forms and the design of urban communities which favour walking are seen as particularly effective strategies for reducing car dependency. The factors which determine travel behaviour are not fully understood, so that effective policies influencing travel patterns are difficult to formulate. Apart from urban form and design, personal attributes and circumstances have an impact on modal choice and distances travelled. People with higher incomes are more likely to own and use a private car than low-income households. Families with children use cars more often than one-person households. The purpose of a trip-work, shopping and leisure—also influences travel mode and distance. We used the Netherlands National Travel Survey (OVG) to explore some of these relationships in more depth. The relative importance of personal attributes and the characteristics of residential environments as determinants of modal choice and travel distance were explored. Both sets of factors maintain a clear, strong relationship with travel behaviour in multivariate models of travel behaviour.

Determinants of Land-Use Change Patterns in the Netherlands

Land-use-change patterns are the result of the complex interaction between the human and the physical environment. Case studies of the determinants of land-use change can help to analyse which theory is appropriate in a particular region and stimulate the development of new theoretic understandings. In this paper an empirical method is presented to analyse the pattern of land-use change that allows a wide range of factors, from different disciplines, to contribute to the explanation of land-use change. The method is applied to the Netherlands, based on an extensive database of land-use change and its potential determinants. Historic as well as recent land-use changes are studied. Historic land-use change is related mainly to the variation in the biophysical environment. Levels of explanation are low because of the inability to address the temporal variation in location factors. For the recent changes in land use high levels of explanation are obtained. The most important changes during this period are expansions of residential, industrial/commercial, and recreational areas. The location of these changes can be explained by a combination of accessibility measures, spatial policies, and neighbourhood interactions. On the basis of these results it is possible to define priority topics for in-depth analysis of land-use-change processes and suggest factors, relations, and processes that need to be included in dynamic land-use-change models that support land-use-planning policies.

Travel behaviour in Dutch monocentric and policentric urban systems

Abstract In this paper, we analyse how monocentric and policentric urban structures affect modal choice and travel distances for different travel purposes in the Netherlands. The analysis is based on data from the Dutch National Travel Survey 1998. Here we distinguish four kinds of urban systems: one monocentric and three types of policentric systems. The evidence on how the structure of urban regions affects travel behaviour is mixed. Regarding modal choice, deconcentration of urban land uses encourages driving and discourages the use of public transport as well as cycling and walking. However, in terms of distance travelled per person, the results of the relocation of jobs and residences to suburban locations are less commuting in some urban regions, and longer commuting distances in others. The longer commute may also be an effect of the strong spatial planning policies in the Netherlands.

Policies for Urban Form and their Impact on Travel: The Netherlands Experience

This paper documents an evaluation of the consequences of the Netherlands national physical planning policy for an individuals travel behaviour. Four components of this policy are considered: the concentrated decentralisation of the 1970s and 1980s; the strict compact-city policy of the 1980s and 1990s; the A-B-C location policy; and the spatial retailing policy. Using data from the 1998 Netherlands National Travel Survey, the article addresses the following questions. Did physical planning reduce the use of the private car and promote the use of public transport together with cycling and walking? Did physical planning lead to shorter travel distances and times? The analysis suggests that national spatial planning has been most effective in retaining high shares of cycling and walking in the large and medium-sized cities, in particular for shopping trips. In terms of travel time, however, spatial policy seems to have been less successful. The building of new towns and, more recently, the development of greenfield neighbourhoods close to cities do not appear to have reduced commuting times. Alternative strategies to promote the use of public transport, the bicycle and walking through the regulation of land use are discussed. Relaxing some of the present spatial planning controls is suggested to reduce car use and travel times.

Travel-time ratios for visits to the workplace: the relationship between commuting time and work duration

For a better understanding of commuting behavior, the home-to-work journey has to be addressed in the context of daily time use. Although many studies have analyzed commuting times, the influence of the time spent working on the home-to-work travel time has only been investigated indirectly. This paper uses the travel-time ratio concept to investigate the association between work duration and commuting. We describe the theoretical framework of the travel-time ratio and analyze realized travel-time ratios for work activities with data from the 1998 Dutch National Travel Survey. It is shown that workers, on average, spend 10.5% of the time available for work and travel on commuting, which corresponds to 28 min (single trip) for an 8-h workday. The travel-time ratio varies systematically with sociodemographic variables; urban form is of rather limited importance in the explanation of travel-time ratio values.

A microlevel analysis of residential context and travel time

The literature on the association between residential context and travel concentrates on distance traveled and modal choice, as these variables are the most important from an environmental perspective. Travel time has received less attention—an unfortunate oversight in our view, as peoples travel decisions are determined by time rather than by distance. By using data from the 1998 Netherlands National Travel Survey, we have considered travel time associated with trip purpose and transport mode, and have shown that sociodemographic factors and residential context influence daily travel time. Gender, number of workers in the household, age, and education all have a significant impact on travel time. The effects of car ownership and household income are only indirect, operating through mode choice and activity participation. Travel time for car drivers tends to rise with the degree of urbanisation of the residential environment. Further, in the polycentric metropolitan region of the Randstad, travel times by car are greater than in the monocentric regions of the country. It is also shown that in the Netherlands cycling and walking are still important travel modes, especially for shopping purposes. These results may be attributed to the long history of urbanisation and to planning policy in the Netherlands.

Impact of Everyday Weather on Individual Daily Travel Behaviours in Perspective: A Literature Review

In the light of growing societal interest for climate change adaptation and mitigation, insights into the meaning of weather conditions for travel behaviours—particularly walking and cycling—have become very important. Recently, various studies from transport, health and biometeorological disciplines have touched upon the relevance of weather for daily activities and travel, yet a review and critical assessment of the existing knowledge are lacking. Hence, the aim of this review is first to bring together these contributions and provide a systematic and comprehensive overview concerning the impact of weather conditions on daily travel activities. Second, the methodological, contextual and behavioural backgrounds of the studies will be discussed. The major conclusion is that the existing studies present an incomplete and fragmented picture of the impact of weather on travel behaviour, which makes effective planning for climate change a harsh job. In the conclusions, some lines for future research will be recommended.

Planning the compact city: The randstad Holland experience

Abstract All over the world compact urban development is a topic of debate. However, practitioners and academics in many countries seem slow to synthesize suitable policies. Therefore, in this paper 30 years of experience with compact urban development is projected against the backdrop of the international discussion on this issue. The Dutch experience confirms the legitimacy of many arguments and findings presented in the international literature. Yet, Dutch practices put the policys success into perspective. It appears to be less successful when related to mobility effects and the spatial consequences of urban growth. The relative success of compact urban development was mainly owing to the specific conditions under which the policy was implemented. As these conditions are now changing, it remains to be seen whether this policy will be seriously jeopardized. In the event that planners elsewhere pursue compact urban development within their territory, cognizance of the Dutch experience may help them to ...

Travel time ratio: the key factor of spatial reach

An important aspect of reach and accessibility is the time people are willing to spend on reaching activity places. In this paper we see the issue of travel time in an alternative way. Instead of looking at travel time separated from time spent on activities, we examine the relation between travel time and stay time. We operationalize this relation with the concept “travel time ratio”. A hypothetical framework underlying these travel time ratios is displayed. We show that for similar types of activity places the value of travel time ratio are in accordance with each other. We find large differences between trips for mandatory activities and trips for discretionary activities. The results indicate the stability of the travel time ratios. Finally, some implications for future research and policy will be mentioned.

Two-earner families and their action spaces: A case study of two dutch communities

In the European Community (EC), womens labour market participation lags behind the rate of mens participation. In Sweden and Finland, labour participation of women was almost as large as that of men in 1995; the ratio between womens and mens labour participation was almost one. In the Netherlands, in contrast, this ratio was approximately 0.7. Countries like Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Portugal lie somewhere in the middle (Jaarboek Emancipane, 1997). Despite the general employment situation of women, the Netherlands is a front runner with regard to part-time work. Almost 70% of working women in The Netherlands work less than 12 h a week! In Sweden and the United Kingdom, this figure is respectively 40 and 45%. Of all Dutch working men, almost one-fifth work part-time. Denmark and Sweden come in second and third place, with more than 10% of the men working part-time (Jaarboek Emancipane, 1997). In the coming years, womens labour participation is expected to rise, especially in The Netherlands. By 2010, the labour participation of Dutch women will be up from 49% to 61% (Commissie THOA, 1995). An increase in professional child-care facilities and other institutional arrangements, along with a growing acceptance of women and men combining paid work with child-care and housekeeping, will stimulate this development. In this respect, the National Commission for Day Scheduling, which was inaugurated in 1997 by the Dutch Minister of Labour, was an important player. The commission was focused on reducing the constraints on combining paid labour with housekeeping and child care (Commissie Dagindeling, 1997). How will these developments affect the labour market with respect to transportation? So far, studies shows that the commuting distance of women is smaller than that of men (Madden, 1981; Knippenberg et al., 1990; Singell and Lillydahl, 1986; Pickup, 1981; Pratt and Hanson, 1991). One of the reasons for this difference between the sexes is the inequal distribution of housekeeping and child care over the spouses. A short commuting distance makes it easy to combine these activities. As a consequence of reducing the constraints on combining different activities, the daily journey to work of women can increase. This will be more likely if part-time jobs are exchanged for full-time jobs. Working women are less dependent on the automobile and more on public transport and walking (Pazy et al., 1996). In spite of this general observation, two-earner families are characterized by the highest car ownership and car use (Vijgen, 1993). The car offers them the opportunity to combine in a relatively short time paid labour with housekeeping and child care. Thus, an increase in womens labour market paricipation may be expected to stimulate use of the private car (Jansen, 1993; Van Schendelen and Quist, 1990). According to Pazy et al. (1996), the gap between the sexes with respect to travel patterns is already narrowing! It is no exaggeration to say that the increase in womens labour market participation will lead to an increase in the number of miles traveled by private car. This development can be a threat to the policies which aim at creating a sustainable environment. With regard to transport, these policies ncourage the use of public transport, bicycling, and walking at the expense of the automobile. In what way can the expected developments in travel patterns of two-earner households be modified to meet the demands of a sustainable environment?