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Title:

Public Transit and Walking: What Role for Immigrant Neighborhoods?

Accession Number:

01658134

Record Type:

Component

Abstract:

With their mix of ethnic residents and ethnic-specific businesses, services, and community institutions, immigrant neighborhoods can function as cities-within-cities. For some residents, a significant share of their daily activities may be satisfied within the neighborhood. Because short trips are conducive to travel by modes other than automobile, the authors hypothesize that residents of immigrant neighborhoods will be more likely to travel by public transit or walk than residents of other neighborhoods. To test this proposition, the authors construct a set of models drawing on census-tract level data from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey and microdata from the 2012 California Household Travel Survey for Southern California. With respect to transit, the authors find a positive relationship between immigrant neighborhoods and transit travel; however, this relationship is no stronger for immigrants living in immigrant neighborhoods. The walking models are consistent, showing a negative relationship between immigrant neighborhoods and walking. However, immigrants living in immigrant neighborhoods are more likely to walk than U.S.-born residents, perhaps indicating the importance of the match between immigrants and the character of local opportunities. Finally, the authors find that the results are heavily influenced by Hispanic immigrants, 57 percent of all immigrants in the region. The findings have implications for the relationship between the built environment and travel behavior. Moreover, the results suggest the importance of carefully matching neighborhood opportunities with the specific needs and interests of local residents, as one strategy to increase walking.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ABE30 Standing Committee on Transportation Issues in Major Cities.

Report/Paper Numbers:

18-05069

Language:

English

Authors:

Blumenberg, Evelyn
Smart, Michael J
Schouten, Andrew

Pagination:

9p

Publication Date:

2018

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; References; Tables

Identifier Terms:

American Community Survey

Subject Areas:

Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2018 Paper #18-05069

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Jan 8 2018 11:16AM