Access and Outcomes: Transportation, Location, and Subjective Well-Being

This research examines how tools that promote access—monetary means, transportation resources, information, and physical proximity to opportunities— relate to individuals’ subjective well-being (SWB), a self-reported rating of their happiness. The data were analyzed with correlation, ordinary least squares regression, robust regression, weighted OLS regression, and ordered logit regression. Due to issues such as the direction of causality and self-selection by subjects, interpretation of these findings must be nuanced, and policy recommendations must be made with caution. Findings suggest that economic development programs could be a powerful factor promoting SWB, and that fostering access to transportation resources is worthwhile. On the other hand, land use policies designed to promote proximity to opportunities through densification are less promising at increasing SWB.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.uctc.net/research/UCTC-DISS-2011-07.pdf
• Record URL:
  • https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3a%2f13030%2fm57h1pc9/1/UCTC-DISS-2011-07.pdf
• 
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/781742382
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program. Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of California Transportation Center (UCTC)

  University of California, Berkeley
  2614 Dwight Way, 2nd Floor
  Berkeley, CA  United States  94720-1782

  California Department of Transportation

  1120 N Street
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95814

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Morris, Eric Andrew
• Publication Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 501p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Access; Automobile ownership; City planning; Location; Psychological aspects; Walking
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Public Transportation; Society; I70: Traffic and Transport;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01485753
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Report/Paper Numbers: UCTC-DISS-2011-07
• Files: CALTRANS, UTC, TRIS, RITA, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 8 2013 10:17AM