Spatial self-selection in land-use–travel behavior interactions: accounting simultaneously for attitudes and socioeconomic characteristics

Spatial self-selection can be ascribed to two main factors: socioeconomic characteristics or attitudinal aspects towards travel and location choices. Several studies have investigated the influence of self-selection on the relations between travel behavior and land-use patterns. So far the results could be considered mixed. The model proposed herein uses data collected in 2009 for the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. A structural equations model was built to study the effects of spatial self-selection due to both socioeconomic and attitudinal effects. Three model specifications were considered: one treating attitudes toward travel as exogenous and two others considering them as endogenous. The preferred specification considered attitudes as exogenous. The land-use patterns are described by factors both at the residence and employment zones of each individual. The travel behavior variables included here are multidimensional and include commuting distance, car ownership, the number of trips by mode, and the total amount of time between the first and last trips. On account of the data characteristics and sample size, Bayesian estimation, as implemented in AMOSTM software, was used. The results obtained show that although the attitudinal variables significantly influence travel behavior, they do not annul the effects of land-use patterns in also contributing to shape the same behavior.