Cars as a status symbol: Youth attitudes toward sustainable transport in a post-socialist city

This article discusses the mobility intentions of adolescents in Tirana, Albania – one of the least studied areas of Central and Eastern Europe. The main research question - explored through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) - is whether now, nearly three decades after the demise of state socialism, cars are still considered as a necessity and/or a status symbol among adolescents This group never experienced socialism and its extreme restrictions on car ownership and use. Although Tirana is a very compact city with work, services, and social contacts typically within walking distance, the findings indicate that most adolescents in Tirana, including those who do not particularly like cars and driving, intend to purchase cars and drive in the future. Cars remain a strong status symbol. This does do not bode well for transport sustainability. If unchecked, adolescents’ intentions might directly translate into car-dependent travel behavior in the future.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.06.003
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847817302930
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13698478
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Pojani, Elona
  • 0000-0002-3140-6148
  • Van Acker, Veronique
  • Pojani, Dorina
• Publication Date: 2018-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 210-227
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
  • Volume: 58
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 1369-8478
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13698478

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adolescents; Attitudes; Automobile travel; Mobility; Structural equation modeling; Sustainable transportation
• Geographic Terms: Tirana (Albania)
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01675341
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 19 2018 2:45PM