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Financial poverty, mobility and social participation are interrelated. This nexus makes old-age poverty a highly relevant issue in terms of transport-related social exclusion in an ageing society. To understand how financial poverty affects older people’s travel practices and how they cope with their limited financial resources, we conducted qualitative interviews with low-income older people (aged 60 and above) in Ronnenberg (Hanover region, Germany). Although all the respondents have comparably limited financial resources, using a practice theory perspective along the elements of materials, competences and meanings (Shove et al., 2012), we identified three different types of low-income older people by their travel practices: (i) active older people with multifaceted social interactions, (ii) neighbourhood-oriented older people with local interactions and (iii) home-centred older people with few social interactions. From our analysis, we conclude that financial poverty shapes each element of low-income older people’s travel practices and thereby increases the risk of transport-related social exclusion: (i) certain materials have to be financed, which is challenging or even impossible due to financial poverty; (ii) meanings of travel practices are strongly linked to other practices, thus, if (also for financial reasons) no or a limited range of destinations are mentioned, travel practices are restricted in their frequency and distance; and (iii) necessary competences to be mobile and engage in social activities despite low financial means seem to be differentially available or - more cautiously formulated – less often utilised by low-income older people, which may lead to them abandoning travel practices and related social activities.
Facing the challenges of motorised traffic, many cities around the globe started implementing measures to transform their urban transport systems. One of the major challenges for the success of adequate policies is not only their effectiveness but also whether they are accepted by city residents. With a quantitative case study in four neighbourhoods in Frankfurt am Main (N = 821), this article investigates the acceptability of three measures: (i) parking management, (ii) the conversion of car lanes into cycle lanes and (iii) the closure of an inner city arterial road to car traffic. The results show a surprisingly high acceptability for all measures if the benefits for local residents are tangible. Thus, successful policy packages may combine push measures with either pull measures, as suggested frequently in the literature, or with improvements for other land uses (e.g. re-using former car-parking spaces for non-transport purposes, such as greenery or seating areas). Furthermore, the perceived effectiveness, daily travel practices and intentions to reduce car use, the built environment and, to a lesser degree, socio-demographics explain differences in acceptability by population group.
In recent years, many European cities have developed strategies to improve the quality of urban life by reducing car traffic and increasing the attractiveness of alternative modes and the built environment for residents. Frequently, at least in German cities, improvements to the cycling infrastructures play a key role in this transformation of urban spaces. One of those transformative interventions took place in 2020 in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). The city redesigned an arterial road close to the city centre, the Friedberger Landstrasse, by converting two car lanes to bicycle lanes. It is the aim of this study to analyse the effects of this change on the quality of urban life of its residents using a quantitative before-and-after study. The results demonstrate the expected improvements in the perceived quality of urban life for residents after the intervention. A more detailed analysis, however, shows that the residents’ perceptions vary according to their own mode use on the Friedberger Landstrasse and other sociodemographic characteristics. Thus, better cycling infrastructure does not only improve conditions for cyclists, but also contributes to a higher quality of urban life for residents and, therefore, improves the liveability of a city in two ways. We conclude that local transport policies are not only relevant for a modal shift, but also for the quality of urban life and, thus, related urban development strategies.
Highlights:
• Evaluation of three cycle street designs by means of visualisation assessments.
• Shared space is evaluated as the safest and most attractive cycle street design.
• The conventional urban street design is perceived as the most clearly structured.
• Affinity towards walking and cycling favours a positive evaluation of shared space.
Abstract
Cycle streets have been implemented in many urban areas around the world in recent years to make cycling safer and more attractive. In these streets, cyclists have priority over motorised traffic. They are allowed to use the entire roadway and determine traffic speed. However, there have been no standardised design guidelines for cycle streets to date. Moreover, there is limited understanding of the individual perception of different cycle street designs. Yet, positive evaluations of safety and attractiveness are especially important for pleasant travel in public spaces. Therefore, this study examines the individual perceptions of three cycle street designs: conventional, flow and shared space. Visualisations of these designs were implemented in a written household survey conducted in the urban Rhine-Main metropolitan region in Germany (n = 701). Participants were asked to assess the different designs in terms of safety, clarity, attractiveness and fun. Furthermore, bivariate analyses and regression models were performed to investigate whether individual travel preferences and attitudes, regular mode use and socio-demographic characteristics affect assessments of the designs. The results show that the shared space design is rated as the safest, most attractive and most fun. The conventional cycle street is evaluated as the most clearly structured. Individual affinity towards cycling and walking favours a good evaluation of the shared space design, while a high car affinity and having a migrant background positively affect the assessment of the conventional design. In addition, younger participants and members of households without a car assess the flow design more favourably.
Highlights
• Typology of low-income families by their daily travel practices.
• The competence to finance, organise or borrow materials needed for travel enhance low-income families' mobility options.
• Low-income families' social networks can compensate transport disadvantages through direct and indirect financial support.
• Low-income families experience transport-related social exclusion.
Abstract
Being mobile is essential to participate in social life. However, as transport involves costs, this is a particular challenge for people on low incomes. Households with children are, especially, at an increased risk of poverty. To provide a deeper understanding of how financial poverty affects the daily travel practices of low-income families and how they cope with their limited financial resources, we conducted 16 qualitative problem-centred interviews with low-income families in Ronnenberg (Hanover Region, Germany). Although all the interviewees have to cope with limited financial resources, their daily travel practices differ. We identify four types of daily travel practices for these families: (1) car-centred, (2) car-reduced, (3) public transport oriented and (4) non-motorised. For a more detailed analysis on how poverty affects transport and participation, we use the practice theory perspective (Shove et al., 2012). Our analysis highlights that the car plays a significant role despite poverty for some families. However, other low-income families manage their daily life with public transport and non-motorised modes only. Our results show that low-income households with children have several strategies for organising and financing their daily travel practices. One strategy is direct and indirect support for travel from their social network. Furthermore, some families forgo leisure activities with entrance fees or higher travel costs.
Highlights
• Applies a biographically inspired practice-theoretical approach to understand everyday mobility from car-reduced neighborhoods.
• Investigates various ‘contexts’ and ‘practice bundles’ that shape car-(in)dependent mobility practices.
• Material, personal-temporal, and socio-cultural contexts of residents’ travel behavior in car-reduced neighborhoods stabilize and support car-independent mobility.
• The meanings (including emotions and feelings) of mobility practices determine their performance type.
• Calls for more car-reduced planning for the transition to low-carbon mobility.
Abstract
Lately, transport researchers and practitioners are showing renewed interest in car-reduced neighborhoods and their residents’ mobility to investigate possible factors influencing sustainable transport. With a biographically inspired practice-theoretical approach, this study considers the ‘context of travel behavior’ and, thus, focuses on mobility as a ‘practice’ in order to improve the understanding of everyday mobility as well as the potential and limitations of implementing car-reduced housing. Based on qualitative interviews with residents of two German car-reduced neighborhoods, we first identify different compositions of materials, competences, and meanings (including the feelings and emotions) of car-(in)dependent mobility practices. Second, we discover the personal, social, temporal, and socio-structural circumstances of the residents’ travel behavior alongside ‘practice bundles’ that interact with car-(in)dependent mobility. Finally, our findings indicate, on the one hand, that the car-centric material context outside car-reduced neighborhoods, the incorporation of private car driving with the practice of everyday life, and the affective satisfaction with car use and ownership negatively influence car independence. On the other hand, our results highlight that residential location and its materiality in the case of car-reduced housing developments, as well as the personal-temporal and socio-cultural contexts of their residents’ mobility practices stabilize and support car independence and low-carbon mobility.
Highlights
- Cost-free ticket increases public transport use even when the share was high beforehand
- Free tickets are more effective than just a price reduction (zero-price effect)
- Low income, female and older employees benefit the most
- Not only travel behaviour but also attitudes change
- Cost-free public transport is one component in a set of travel demand management tools
Abstract
To increase its attractiveness for employees, to save costs regarding parking supply and to foster modal shift away from the car, employers can offer sharply cost-reduced public transport tickets. In the state of Hesse/Germany, public authorities have gone one step further by introducing a cost-free public transport ticket for all state employees. We argue that the step from sharply cost-reduced to cost-free is more than just a monetary difference. The aim of this study is to assess whether the ticket is actually affecting employees and what changed their travel behaviour. Therefore, we have analysed a two-wave survey conducted at Goethe University in Frankfurt: one from before and one from after the introduction of the new ticket. The results show a substantial increase in the use of public transport (pt) for commuting and other trip purposes. Car use and availability, however, did not decrease. In particular, those who had no cost-reduced jobticket beforehand switched to public transport after the introduction. Furthermore, we identified increasing public transport use for low-income employees (inclusion hypothesis) and several indicators pointing towards a more multimodal behaviour (multimodal hypothesis).
Support for innovative on-street parking policies: empirical evidence from an urban neighborhood
(2020)
Municipalities and planners often hesitate to implement restrictive parking policies because residents regularly oppose any changes to on-street parking space. Residential parking is one key factor of parking management because its location and availability influence a household's car ownership and use. Moreover, as more residents regularly use other means of transportation that need space and infrastructure in the urban realm, and as parking takes up a vast amount of land, municipalities are considering the reuse of on-street parking space for other purposes. As public acceptability is a precondition for the successful implementation of a proposed policy, our empirical analysis investigates to what extent residents support restrictive and demand-oriented on-street parking policies in the dense, highly urbanized neighborhood of Frankfurt-Bornheim, Germany (N = 1027). Surprisingly, despite some variations, the majority of the residents in our survey are in favor of the policy options suggested. Support for the demand-oriented policies (extension of bicycle infrastructure, improved sharing supply and mobility hubs, neighborhood garages, and improved public transit supply) is higher than the acceptance of the restrictive policies, and of policies that are a combination of restrictive and demand-oriented policies. However, surprisingly, a majority is still in favor of many of these (extension of parking fees and parking restrictions, and reuse of parking space for better livability). Furthermore, we classify residents who live in a household with private cars into the stage model of self-regulated behavior change to analyze their intention towards a reduction in private car use. Results from linear regression analyses indicate that residents who have intentions to change their behavior towards car use reduction assess the policy options more similarly to car-free households and regular bike users, and not like the other car-owning households. The findings suggest that while the residents support financial-related policies the least, they are more receptive towards parking policies than policy makers and planners assume if the reuse of parking lots creates space for other users or if it increases the quality of life, for instance, by adding bike lanes, wider sidewalks or greenery. Hence, a combination of restrictive and demand-oriented on-street parking policies results in high acceptance among residents, and the communication from municipalities regarding the implementation of the different policies needs to vary depending on the kind of household.
Highlights
• Explanation of mobility design and its practical, aesthetic and emblematic effects on travel behaviour.
• Review of recent studies on mobility design elements and the promotion of non-motorised travel.
• Discussion of research gaps and methodological challenges of data collection and comparability.
Abstract
To promote non-motorised travel, many travel behaviour studies acknowledge the importance of the built environment to modal choice, for example with its density or mix of uses. From a mobility design theory perspective, however, objects and environments affect human perceptions, assessments and behaviour in at least three different ways: by their practical, aesthetic and emblematic functions. This review of existing evidence will argue that travel behaviour research has so far mainly focused on the practical function of the built environment. For that purpose, we systematically identified 56 relevant studies on the impacts of the built environment on non-motorised travel behaviour in the Web of Science database. The focus of research on the practical design function primary involves land use distribution, street network connectivity and the presence of walking and cycling facilities. Only a small number of papers address the aesthetic and emblematic functions. These show that the perceived attractiveness of an environment and evoked feelings of traffic safety increase the likelihood of walking and cycling. However, from a mobility design perspective, the results of the review indicate a gap regarding comprehensive research on the effects of the aesthetic and emblematic functions of the built environment. Further research involving these functions might contribute to a better understanding of how to promote non-motorised travel more effectively. Moreover, limitations related to survey techniques, regional distribution and the comparability of results were identified.
In order to encourage a shift from the car to the more sustainable transport mode of cycling, cycle streets have been implemented in cities all over the world in the last few years. In these shared streets, the entire carriageway is designated for cyclists, while motorized traffic is subordinated. However, evidence on the impact of cycle street interventions related to travel behavior change has been limited until now. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate whether cycle streets are an effective measure to facilitate bicycle use and discourage car use, thus contributing to the aim of promoting sustainable travel. For this purpose, we conducted a written household survey in the German city of Offenbach am Main involving participants affected by a cycle street intervention (n = 701). Based on two stage models of self-regulated behavioral change (SSBC), we identified the participants’ level of willingness to use a bicycle frequently and to reduce car use. By means of bivariate and multivariate statistical methods, we analyzed the influence of awareness, use, and perceptions of the cycle street on the willingness to change behavior towards more sustainable travel. The results show that the intervention has a positive impact on frequent bicycle use, while we observed only a limited effect on car use reduction. Traffic conflicts and car speeding within the cycle street adversely affect the acceptance of the intervention. The study’s findings provide new insights into the actual effects of a cycle street and its potential to encourage sustainable travel behavior.