The influence of built environment on travel behavior of the elderly in urban China

Along with the aging trend of the world population, the status and determinants of the travel behavior of the elderly have been gaining more attention in planning and research. Most of the existing research has focused on the influence of socio-demographics and built environments, while the impact of socio-cultural backgrounds has attracted less attention. Regarding the influence of built environments, previous studies have mainly focused on general elements such as density, and land use mixture, while specifics about how built environments influence the elderly have largely been ignored. This paper, therefore, attempts to investigate how socio-cultural settings, interacting with built environments, affect the travel behavior of the elderly in urban China. Particularly, the authors will examine the impacts of a set of built environment attributes on daily activity participation and the travel distance of the elderly in Nanjing. Based on quantitative and qualitative data, the authors found that special social and cultural contexts make the travel pattern of Chinese elderly and the determinants of that pattern different from those of their western counterparts. Specifically, it was found that public transportation accessibility instead of auto transportation accessibility, vegetable markets instead of supermarkets and convenience stores, open spaces and parks along with chess and card rooms instead of gyms and sports centers are more decisive in affecting the travel behavior of the elderly. These findings offer insights for policy making on distributing appropriate public facilities for the elderly in urban areas, especially in new towns in urban China.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2016.11.003
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136192091530225X
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13619209
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Feng, Jianxi
• Publication Date: 2017-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 619-633
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
  • Volume: 52, Part B
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 1361-9209
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13619209

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; Activity choices; Aged; Built environment; Social factors; Travel behavior; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Cultural influences
• Geographic Terms: China; Nanjing (China)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01636805
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 30 2017 3:27PM