L1: 10-11-2020 An introduction to the course
Marco Helbich
• significance of transport; since beginning of human history there was an urge for mobility
↪ economic development, industrial development, social & cultural development
• Why do we travel? Theoretical perspectives
↪ travel as constrained behaviour (capability, authority, coupling constraints)
↪ travel as an outcome of personal decisions (utility maximization) (utility; how good/nice it is)
• Core components
↪ modes
↪ conveyances (vehicles) used to move passengers of freight
↪ mobile elements of transportation
↪ infrastructures
↪ physical support of transport modes (routes and terminals)
↪ fixed elements of transportation
↪ networks
↪ system of linked locations (nodes)
↪ functional and spatial organization of transportation
↪ flows
↪ movements of people, freight and information over their network
↪ flows have origins, intermediary locations and destinations
• What influences travel decisions
↪ Individual, household and trip characteristics / purposes
↪ Environmental characteristics (at the origin, en-route, destination)
↪ Personal experiences
• Transport and its societal and environmental impact
↪ positive effects
↪ access to services (hospital)
↪ freedom to move
↪ global space / time convergence; we spend less time to move faster
↪ negative effects
↪ noises (Schiphol), road safety → economic impact (house values) and healt impacts
↪ land-use patterns; people live outside the core city because of the increased mobility
↪ dominated by a single land use (no mixed land use → people need to travel longer
for other functions like shopping or working)
↪ car emissions, smog, accidents
Conclusion
• transport is one of the most important human activities
• significance of transportation is still growing
• changing travel patterns and choices
↪ increased complexity
↪ individualization and diversification
• Resulting challenges → Health impacts, climate change, congestion
1
,L2: 12-11-2020 Theoretical Perspectives on Travel and
Transportation
Dick Ettema
Part 1; effect of urban form on travel
• different travel patterns in different geographical contexts
↪ locations of facilities and options to get there are different per place / city / country
↪ options; time geography
↪ choices; random utility choice theory
• How urban forms influences travel
↪ Needs and opportunities (reasons for travel)
↪ Locations and resistance (constraints)
↪ Choices that people make
Needs and opportunities
• Chapin; to understand how cities and travel functions, you need to understand how activities take
place (the roles that we play in society)
↪ activities (and travel) driven by needs, motivations, roles, opportunities (may change over time)
↪ trips are derived from activities
↪ needs for activity change → travel changes
↪ trends that influence need for travel
↪ economic growth → increased car use
↪ (female) labour force participation (more income in the household)
↪ people get higher education → specialised jobs → moving to other places for job
↪ social networks scattered (because of moving to other cities for jobs)
↪ lifestyle differentiation
↪ ICT/technology, demographic transition, ethnic composition
↪ leisure travel because; more free time, increasing income levels, leisure consumption to define
your lifestyle (going to other cities for leisure), ‘experience economy’
Locations and options (constraints) (time geography)
• Hägerstrand 1970; time geography; individuals follow a path through space and time, but
someone’s needs and wants can be limited by constraints
↪ capacity constraints; sleep, eating, speed vehicles, you can only be at one place at a time)
↪ coupling constraints; e.g. you have to be at work, so you can’t be somewhere else)
↪ bundles of paths → people are interdependent (onderling afhankelijk)
↪ authority constraints; places not accessible, or only by invitation, payment ect. (hierarchy)
↪ fixed activities serve as anchors (you can’t leave home because you have to take care of your
family) (a walker can cover less distance then a driver)
• Kwan; collected data about activities from people on a day → defines areas that people cover in a
certain time
↪ people have access to certain facilities → place these layers of different persons on top of each
other (total of facilities people have access to) → access to facilities differ per person
• so: time geography
↪ helps to explain differences in travel behaviour
↪ is useful to investigate people’s options and limitations (focusses on the limitations, not much of
what a person can do)
Travel as decision (choices that people make) (random utility choice theory)
2
, • given capability, coupling and authority constraints, many options remain
↪ choices regarding locations, travel mode, time of day etc.
↪ understand people’s choices to understand travel
↪ micro economic choice models (random utility theory)
• discrete choices (how people get somewhere); knowing the choices, you can forecast the future
↪ mode choice
↪ destination choice
↪ departure time choice
• policy relevance influences choices
↪ stimulating public transport (to fight congestion an pollution)
↪ promoting active travel
↪ marketing
↪ forecasting: travel demand models
• random utility choice theory; THE way to conceptualize decision making in transport
↪ individuals expect to derive utility from choosing an alternative
↪ utility; how good / nice it is
↪ utility depends on characteristics (attributes) of alternatives and of the individual
↪ people choose the alternative with the highest utility. Depends on:
↪ personal (age, gender, income, eduction, household etc.)
↪ travel (time (capability and coupling constraints), costs, comfort, safety, reliability)
↪ psychological (attitudes towards environment / health, habit, social norms)
Summary
↪ people travel to fulfil needs, which change over time due to societal and economic developments
↪ urban form (land use) limits the options for visiting locations, depending on travel mode
↪ given remaining options, people make choices based on personal characteristics, transport
characteristics, attitudes and lifestyle
Part 2; effect of travel / transport on urban form ( urban development)
• how does travel affect urban environment
↪ transport options for people and goods determine spatial development
↪ technological developments in transportation co-evaluated with urban development
• urban development phase 1; steam powered cities (phases by Badcock 2014)
↪ spatial dependence on steam power
↪ transportation over materials and products by water/rail cheaper then over land
↪ land transportation of people cheaper than goods transport
↪ workforce within distance of walking / horsecar
↪ competition for scarce commercial inner city areas → housing became expelled
↪ concerns about public health and working class
↪ escape bad conditions → suburbanisation; life outside the city
3
Marco Helbich
• significance of transport; since beginning of human history there was an urge for mobility
↪ economic development, industrial development, social & cultural development
• Why do we travel? Theoretical perspectives
↪ travel as constrained behaviour (capability, authority, coupling constraints)
↪ travel as an outcome of personal decisions (utility maximization) (utility; how good/nice it is)
• Core components
↪ modes
↪ conveyances (vehicles) used to move passengers of freight
↪ mobile elements of transportation
↪ infrastructures
↪ physical support of transport modes (routes and terminals)
↪ fixed elements of transportation
↪ networks
↪ system of linked locations (nodes)
↪ functional and spatial organization of transportation
↪ flows
↪ movements of people, freight and information over their network
↪ flows have origins, intermediary locations and destinations
• What influences travel decisions
↪ Individual, household and trip characteristics / purposes
↪ Environmental characteristics (at the origin, en-route, destination)
↪ Personal experiences
• Transport and its societal and environmental impact
↪ positive effects
↪ access to services (hospital)
↪ freedom to move
↪ global space / time convergence; we spend less time to move faster
↪ negative effects
↪ noises (Schiphol), road safety → economic impact (house values) and healt impacts
↪ land-use patterns; people live outside the core city because of the increased mobility
↪ dominated by a single land use (no mixed land use → people need to travel longer
for other functions like shopping or working)
↪ car emissions, smog, accidents
Conclusion
• transport is one of the most important human activities
• significance of transportation is still growing
• changing travel patterns and choices
↪ increased complexity
↪ individualization and diversification
• Resulting challenges → Health impacts, climate change, congestion
1
,L2: 12-11-2020 Theoretical Perspectives on Travel and
Transportation
Dick Ettema
Part 1; effect of urban form on travel
• different travel patterns in different geographical contexts
↪ locations of facilities and options to get there are different per place / city / country
↪ options; time geography
↪ choices; random utility choice theory
• How urban forms influences travel
↪ Needs and opportunities (reasons for travel)
↪ Locations and resistance (constraints)
↪ Choices that people make
Needs and opportunities
• Chapin; to understand how cities and travel functions, you need to understand how activities take
place (the roles that we play in society)
↪ activities (and travel) driven by needs, motivations, roles, opportunities (may change over time)
↪ trips are derived from activities
↪ needs for activity change → travel changes
↪ trends that influence need for travel
↪ economic growth → increased car use
↪ (female) labour force participation (more income in the household)
↪ people get higher education → specialised jobs → moving to other places for job
↪ social networks scattered (because of moving to other cities for jobs)
↪ lifestyle differentiation
↪ ICT/technology, demographic transition, ethnic composition
↪ leisure travel because; more free time, increasing income levels, leisure consumption to define
your lifestyle (going to other cities for leisure), ‘experience economy’
Locations and options (constraints) (time geography)
• Hägerstrand 1970; time geography; individuals follow a path through space and time, but
someone’s needs and wants can be limited by constraints
↪ capacity constraints; sleep, eating, speed vehicles, you can only be at one place at a time)
↪ coupling constraints; e.g. you have to be at work, so you can’t be somewhere else)
↪ bundles of paths → people are interdependent (onderling afhankelijk)
↪ authority constraints; places not accessible, or only by invitation, payment ect. (hierarchy)
↪ fixed activities serve as anchors (you can’t leave home because you have to take care of your
family) (a walker can cover less distance then a driver)
• Kwan; collected data about activities from people on a day → defines areas that people cover in a
certain time
↪ people have access to certain facilities → place these layers of different persons on top of each
other (total of facilities people have access to) → access to facilities differ per person
• so: time geography
↪ helps to explain differences in travel behaviour
↪ is useful to investigate people’s options and limitations (focusses on the limitations, not much of
what a person can do)
Travel as decision (choices that people make) (random utility choice theory)
2
, • given capability, coupling and authority constraints, many options remain
↪ choices regarding locations, travel mode, time of day etc.
↪ understand people’s choices to understand travel
↪ micro economic choice models (random utility theory)
• discrete choices (how people get somewhere); knowing the choices, you can forecast the future
↪ mode choice
↪ destination choice
↪ departure time choice
• policy relevance influences choices
↪ stimulating public transport (to fight congestion an pollution)
↪ promoting active travel
↪ marketing
↪ forecasting: travel demand models
• random utility choice theory; THE way to conceptualize decision making in transport
↪ individuals expect to derive utility from choosing an alternative
↪ utility; how good / nice it is
↪ utility depends on characteristics (attributes) of alternatives and of the individual
↪ people choose the alternative with the highest utility. Depends on:
↪ personal (age, gender, income, eduction, household etc.)
↪ travel (time (capability and coupling constraints), costs, comfort, safety, reliability)
↪ psychological (attitudes towards environment / health, habit, social norms)
Summary
↪ people travel to fulfil needs, which change over time due to societal and economic developments
↪ urban form (land use) limits the options for visiting locations, depending on travel mode
↪ given remaining options, people make choices based on personal characteristics, transport
characteristics, attitudes and lifestyle
Part 2; effect of travel / transport on urban form ( urban development)
• how does travel affect urban environment
↪ transport options for people and goods determine spatial development
↪ technological developments in transportation co-evaluated with urban development
• urban development phase 1; steam powered cities (phases by Badcock 2014)
↪ spatial dependence on steam power
↪ transportation over materials and products by water/rail cheaper then over land
↪ land transportation of people cheaper than goods transport
↪ workforce within distance of walking / horsecar
↪ competition for scarce commercial inner city areas → housing became expelled
↪ concerns about public health and working class
↪ escape bad conditions → suburbanisation; life outside the city
3
