01116563

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2067-02

http://scholar.google.com...tell&publication_year=2008

Since the publication of Robert Putnam’s influential "Bowling Alone," the concept of social capital has captured the attention of researchers in many disciplines. Policy makers and community advocates have pressed to include social capital in discussions about public policy, including transportation policy and planning. Using data from a national survey conducted in 2000, the study described in this paper investigated whether inadequate transportation is a barrier to people’s involvement in their communities. The analysis uses a binary logistical model and finds that respondents who were female, who were nonwhite, who had household incomes less than $30,000, and who had long commutes to work had increased odds of citing transportation as a barrier. However, only 17% of the sample analyzed reported that transportation was a barrier. Most respondents cited other barriers along with transportation, most commonly, inflexible work schedules or inadequate child care. Although some types of improvements to transportation systems and transit service could improve access to community activities, the overall results suggest that if transportation improvements seek to dismantle barriers to community involvement, they will need to be combined with policies and programs that address other types of barriers to achieve a measurable positive effect. Travel demand management programs and better-coordinated transit service programs are two approaches to dismantling transportation barriers to community involvement.

01116567

English

pp 11-16

2008

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309113397

Print

Figures (3) ; References (18) ; Tables (1)

City planning; Public participation; Transportation planning; Transportation policy; Travel demand management

Barriers to participation; Social capital; Transit services

Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 3 2008 10:53AM

• Analysis of Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Hurricane Disaster Relief Plans
• Comparing Rail Transit Capitalization Benefits for Single-Family and Condominium Units in San Diego, California
• Critical Steps for Enacting Cultural Change
• Diesel Truck Traffic in Low-Income and Minority Communities Adjacent to Ports: Environmental Justice Implications of Near-Roadway Land Use Conflicts
• Does Urban Road Pricing Cause Hardship to Low-Income Car Drivers? An Affordability-Based Approach
• Economic Impact of Traffic Incidents on Businesses
• Endogenous Regional Economic Growth Through Transportation Investment
• Gender and Travel Behavior in Two Arab Communities in Israel
• Geographic and Demographic Profiles of Morning Peak-Hour Commuters on Highways in North Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia
• Highway-Induced Development: Research Results for Metropolitan Areas
• Indicators for Sustainable Transportation Planning
• Market Segmentation Analysis Using Attitudes Toward Transportation: Exploring the Differences Between Men and Women
• Partnerships for Progress: Toward Sustainable Road Systems
• Sharing Fast-Speed and Slow-Speed Roads with Bicyclists and Pedestrians: A Source of Female and Male Driver Frustration?
• Simulation Model for Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Transportation and the Economy in Canada
• Sociodemographic Groups and Mode Choice in a Middle-Sized European City
• Sustainable Urban Policies for Developing Countries by Integrating Center-Based Telecommuting with Transit and Road Pricing: Case Study of Bangkok, Thailand, Metropolitan Region