Commuting Mode Choice in a High-Density City: Do Land-Use Density and Diversity Matter in Hong Kong?

Yi Lu, Guibo Sun, Chinmoy Sarkar, Zhonghua Gou and Yang Xiao
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Yi Lu: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China
Guibo Sun: Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
Chinmoy Sarkar: Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
Zhonghua Gou: School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4215, Australia
Yang Xiao: Department of Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: Hong Kong is a densely populated and transit-oriented Chinese city, which provides an ideal urban environment with which to study the various successful facets of land use policy as a model for potential replication to curb increasing car use in other Chinese cities. We examine the commuting mode choice of 203,900 households living in 4768 street blocks in Hong Kong from 2011 census. A street block is the smallest planning unit, made up of one or more housing estates with a homogenous built environment and socioeconomic status. The built environment is measured using the five Ds framework, an international dimensioning framework for classifying and measuring attributes of the built environment for physical activity and travel behaviors. Generalized, multi-level mixed models were applied to detect the associations between travel choice and built environment characteristics, while adjusting for socioeconomic status. Design and destination accessibility had greater effects on the choices to walk and take public transport than on the choice to drive. Density and diversity had only marginal effects on mode choice. Unexpectedly, distance to the urban center had the opposite effect on automobile use to that found in Western studies. Hong Kong residents living close to the urban center were more likely to drive for commuting trips. The contrasting findings between our study and Western studies suggest that the associations between a high-density built environment and travel choice vary with urban context.

Keywords: travel choice; commuting trips; built environment; high density; land use policy; urban design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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