01333825

Component

Research investigating travel behavior differences between immigrants and US-born residents has established that immigrants are much more likely to use alternative modes than the US-born population. However, this research has not established why there remain persistent differences between immigrants and the US-born when controlling for demographic characteristics such as income and age, nor has it explained why immigrants rapidly abandon alternative modes for cars. These questions are critical for sustainable urban growth in the US since most urban growth will be driven by immigration in the decades to come. In this paper we describe focus groups that we conducted in New Jersey with immigrants from the Philippines, India, and Latin America. We explored reasons for changes in habitual daily travel over time, and in particular how immigrants decided where to live and where to work when first coming to the US and in subsequent moves. Unlike almost all previous quantitative or qualitative work on immigrants and travel, we focused on residential location decision making and the roles of occupational and family changes. We suggest ten novel hypotheses warranting further research, based on findings from the focus groups. We found little support for cultural explanations for transit persistence, home country habitual travel patterns, or culturally based spatial assimilation within the US.

01329018

11-3681

English

38p

2011

Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting

DVD

Appendices; Figures (1) ; References; Tables (1)

Accessibility; Decision making; Employment; Focus groups; Immigrants; Mode choice; Public transit; Residential location; Social factors; Travel behavior; Travel patterns

New Jersey

Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2011 Paper #11-3681

TRIS, TRB

Feb 17 2011 6:36PM