Veronique Van Acker

Key research themes on travel behavior, lifestyle, and sustainable urban mobility

abstract The concept of lifestyle adds a behavioral component to travel models that used to be dominated by engineering and econometric traditions. This article presents an overview of how lifestyle is defined and measured in transport studies, and how travel behavior is influenced by lifestyles. Lifestyles are often used pragmatically rather than theoretically in the behavior studies. Nevertheless, some important theoretical contributions have been made, especially in sociology by scholars such as Weber, Bourdieu, Ganzeboom, and Schulze who agree on the communicative character of lifestyles: individuals express their social position through specific patterns of behavior, consumption, and leisure. These behavioral patterns are shaped by underlying opinions and orientations, including beliefs, interests, and attitudes. Thus, travel behavior is not simply determined by price, speed, and comfort but is also related to attitudes, status, and preferences. Because lifestyle has many different dimensions, a variety of measurement approaches exists. Nevertheless, most studies suggest that travel behavior is conditioned by specific lifestyles. How lifestyles themselves can be modified to promote more sustainable patterns of transport has not received much attention to date. This article argues that lifestyles need to be considered as dynamic rather than as static and given, and that future research could delve more deeply into this area.

Urban sprawl: neighbourhood dissatisfaction and urban preferences. Some evidence from Flanders

ABSTRACT Early studies suggest that people living in rural neighbourhoods are more satisfied with their residential location than people living in cities. Consequently, most individuals seem to prefer low-density environments to reside in. More recent studies, however, state that rural residents are no more likely to be satisfied with their residential neighbourhood than their urban counterparts. In addition, a considerable, growing part of the population seems to have a clear preference for urban neighbourhoods. The results of our research, conducted in Flanders, Belgium, suggest that urbanites are more satisfied with their neighbourhood than rural residents are. Neighbourhood preferences differ less between urbanites and rural residents. However, there are differences indicating that urbanites have a preference for rural neighbourhoods and rural residents a preference for urban neighbourhoods. In sum, it seems that people, once they have selected their residential location, are not satisfied with the neighbourhood characteristics and tend to develop a preference for a different neighbourhood type. This mismatch can be partly explained by the strongly developed urban sprawl in Flanders, reducing the residential qualities of urban and especially rural environments. Restricting further urban sprawl, with the help of a more active spatial planning policy, seems necessary to increase neighbourhood satisfaction.

Defining, Measuring, and Using the Lifestyle Concept in Modal Choice Research

Although there is not a formally stated, agreed-upon definition of “lifestyle,” interest in this concept has been growing in travel behavior research. Some studies analyze what might be called lifestyles, but in fact various objective socioeconomic characteristics are combined and referred to as stage of life or household composition. This paper, therefore, provides a structured overview of the lifestyle concept (definitions, measurement methods) and illustrates the usefulness of three lifestyle approaches: (a) the socioeconomic and demographic lifestyle approach, based on socioeconomics and demographics; (b) the socio-graphic approach, based on attitudes toward the family–work balance and leisure time; and (c) the mechanistic approach, based on holiday and leisure activities. Data from an Internet survey organized in 2007 in Flanders, Belgium, were used in this analysis to indicate how lifestyles were associated with car use and active travel for active leisure activities. Adding lifestyles to the analysis increased the explained variances in modal choices, but other predictors—having a drivers license, car ownership, and the built environment—were more important. With respect to car use, a mechanistic approach that used behavioral data seemed more appropriate. With respect to active travel, no striking differences were found between the three lifestyle approaches.Although there is not a formally stated, agreed-upon definition of “lifestyle,” interest in this concept has been growing in travel behavior research. Some studies analyze what might be called lifestyles, but in fact various objective socioeconomic characteristics are combined and referred to as stage of life or household composition. This paper, therefore, provides a structured overview of the lifestyle concept (definitions, measurement methods) and illustrates the usefulness of three lifestyle approaches: (a) the socioeconomic and demographic lifestyle approach, based on socioeconomics and demographics; (b) the sociographic approach, based on attitudes toward the family–work balance and leisure time; and (c) the mechanistic approach, based on holiday and leisure activities. Data from an Internet survey organized in 2007 in Flanders, Belgium, were used in this analysis to indicate how lifestyles were associated with car use and active travel for active leisure activities. Adding lifestyles to the analysi...

Lifestyles and Life Choices

This chapter focuses on lifestyles and life choices. Although there is not a formally agreed definition of it, the ‘lifestyle’ concept—derived from sociology—might be useful in life choice studies. It highlights the importance of ‘soft’ factors next to the traditional ‘hard’ factors (e.g., demographic, socioeconomic and spatial characteristics) while explaining life choices. This chapter first provides a structured overview of the ‘lifestyle’ concept in terms of definitions and measurement methods. Two broad perspectives exists: (1) a mechanistic lifestyle approach considering a behavioral typology of activity and time use patterns, and (2) a sociographic lifestyle approach focusing on a behavioral orientations—values, attitudes and preferences—and a latent factor motivating behavior patterns. The second part of this chapter reviews how the ‘lifestyle’ concept has been used in life choice studies so far. It specifically focuses on applications in the research domains of demography and family studies, geography and urban studies, and transportation. Both perspectives are used interchangeably without little evaluation of the usefulness of various formal lifestyle classification systems. Moreover, most life choice studies consider ‘lifestyles’ as static and given, and not as something dynamic that might change over time. This calls for a more longitudinal perspective on the interaction between lifestyles and life choices. Other avenues for further research include the integration with a social network and a geographical perspective.