Date of Award

1-1-2013

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Organizational Unit

Geography and the Environment

First Advisor

E. Eric Boschmann, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Andrew Goetz

Third Advisor

Donald G. Sullivan

Fourth Advisor

Markus Schneider

Keywords

Commute, Denver, Colorado, Geographic information system, Transit oriented development, Travel behavior, Workers

Abstract

To combat unsustainable transportation systems characterized by reliance on petroleum, polluting emissions, traffic congestion and suburban sprawl, planners encourage mixed use, densely populated areas that provide individuals with opportunities to live, work, eat and shop without necessarily having to drive private automobiles to accommodate their needs. Despite these attempts, the frequency and duration of automobile trips has consistently increased in the United States throughout past decades. While many studies have focused on how residential proximity to transit influences travel behavior, the effect of workplace location has largely been ignored.

This paper asks, does working near a TOD influence the travel behaviors of workers differently than workers living near a TOD? We examine the non-work travel behaviors of workers based upon their commuting mode and proximity to TODs. The data came from a 2009 travel behavior survey by the Denver Regional Council of Governments, which contains 8,000 households, 16,000 individuals, and nearly 80,000 trips. We measure sustainable travel behaviors as reduced mileage, reduced number of trips, and increased use of non-automobile transportation. The results of this study indicate that closer proximity of both households and workplaces to TODs decrease levels of car commuting and that non-car commuting leads to more sustainable personal travel behaviors characterized by more trips made with alternative modes.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Gregory J. Kwoka

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

83 p.

Discipline

Geography, Transportation Planning, Urban Planning

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