Neighborhood and regional effects on trip dispersal: A case study using data from the 9 largest metropolitan regions in Switzerland

Abstract

Using the 2010 Swiss Microcensus, the effect of neighborhood and regional-level urban form variables on travel dispersal is explored by way of activity spaces, origin-destination data on 60,000 residents living in metropolitan areas of varying size, density and population enabling us to distinguish the respective roles played by local and regional variations in land use. This is carried out using ordinary least squares (OLS) and simultaneous equation model (SEM) regression analysis, with the area of the activity space as dependent variable. Our results indicate that neighborhood type has a large effect on the overall dispersal of travel by residents, whereas regional effects, found elsewhere to be very large, were found to be quite small. Distance from the core, for residents of inner-urban areas, also has a significant impact on dispersal; after approximately 8 km however, this effect is no longer significant. Very few of the other regional land use variables tested were found to be significant predictors of dispersal; only proportion population within the inner metro area, employment center access and metropolitan area shape were found to affect dispersal in a statistically significant way. Metropolitan area and population, which were hypothesized to have a significant impact on dispersal, were not found to be significant predictors when estimated using multiple regression. Finally, the hypothesis of endogeneity in explanatory variables was investigated and rejected. These results indicate that policies aimed at developing dense and mixed urban settlements carry with them the beneficial effect of reducing travel dispersal, even if not built within blocks of the central business district.