{"title":"Four common misconceptions in quantitative studies of the built environment and travel","authors":"Petter Næss","doi":"10.1016/j.trd.2025.104597","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper points at four common misconceptions in quantitative studies of the built environment and travel, all of which rooted in a lack of theoretical reflection on the causal mechanisms by which built environment characteristics could plausibly influence travel behavior. Based on a review of 62 published articles over the period 2017–2022, the following misconceptions are discussed: Omission of metropolitan and city-level built environment characteristics; ignoring internal causal relationships between different built environment characteristics; inclusion of control variables that are themselves heavily influenced by built environment characteristics; and misconception of the phenomenon of residential self-selection. The paper ends by pointing at remedies for avoiding these misconceptions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23277,"journal":{"name":"Transportation Research Part D-transport and Environment","volume":"139 ","pages":"Article 104597"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Transportation Research Part D-transport and Environment","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920925000070","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/10 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper points at four common misconceptions in quantitative studies of the built environment and travel, all of which rooted in a lack of theoretical reflection on the causal mechanisms by which built environment characteristics could plausibly influence travel behavior. Based on a review of 62 published articles over the period 2017–2022, the following misconceptions are discussed: Omission of metropolitan and city-level built environment characteristics; ignoring internal causal relationships between different built environment characteristics; inclusion of control variables that are themselves heavily influenced by built environment characteristics; and misconception of the phenomenon of residential self-selection. The paper ends by pointing at remedies for avoiding these misconceptions.
期刊介绍：
Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment focuses on original research exploring the environmental impacts of transportation, policy responses to these impacts, and their implications for transportation system design, planning, and management. The journal comprehensively covers the interaction between transportation and the environment, ranging from local effects on specific geographical areas to global implications such as natural resource depletion and atmospheric pollution.
We welcome research papers across all transportation modes, including maritime, air, and land transportation, assessing their environmental impacts broadly. Papers addressing both mobile aspects and transportation infrastructure are considered. The journal prioritizes empirical findings and policy responses of regulatory, planning, technical, or fiscal nature. Articles are policy-driven, accessible, and applicable to readers from diverse disciplines, emphasizing relevance and practicality. We encourage interdisciplinary submissions and welcome contributions from economically developing and advanced countries alike, reflecting our international orientation.
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