IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v82y2020ics0966692319306799.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does low income translate into lower mobility? An investigation of activity space in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2011

Author

Listed:
  • Tao, Sui
  • He, Sylvia Y.
  • Kwan, Mei-Po
  • Luo, Shuli

Abstract

Daily mobility of disadvantaged social groups, particularly low-income people, has gained increasing interest since the daily life of these people may encounter significant constraints that lead to certain social issues such as social exclusion and segregation. The concept and measure of activity space have been applied to measure the spatial barriers and inequalities faced by the low-income group in their daily life. However, research on how the daily mobility of different social strata has evolved over a longer period in parallel with urban development has been very limited. This study aims to address these gaps by investigating the activity space of the low-income group in comparison with other income groups in Hong Kong from 2002 to 2011, a period when several subway lines were opened. Four indicators were employed to capture the spatial extent and diversity of activity space. Propensity score matching was used to compare the activity space and mobility of the low-income group with those of the below-average and higher-income groups, while controlling for several confounding factors. The findings indicate that the activity space of the low-income people has not improved over the decade, despite some marked expansion of public transport infrastructure and urban development. In addition, a persistent gap in activity space between the low-income group and other income groups has remained stark in both urban areas and the new towns. Policy recommendations are put forward with a view to improving the daily mobility of the low-income group, with avenues for future research identified as well.

Suggested Citation

  • Tao, Sui & He, Sylvia Y. & Kwan, Mei-Po & Luo, Shuli, 2020. "Does low income translate into lower mobility? An investigation of activity space in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2011," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:82:y:2020:i:c:s0966692319306799
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2019.102583
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692319306799
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2019.102583?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cao, Xinyu (Jason) & Schoner, Jessica, 2014. "The influence of light rail transit on transit use: An exploration of station area residents along the Hiawatha line in Minneapolis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 134-143.
    2. Schönfelder, Stefan & Axhausen, Kay W., 2003. "Activity spaces: measures of social exclusion?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 273-286, October.
    3. Ron Buliung & Matthew Roorda & Tarmo Remmel, 2008. "Exploring spatial variety in patterns of activity-travel behaviour: initial results from the Toronto Travel-Activity Panel Survey (TTAPS)," Transportation, Springer, vol. 35(6), pages 697-722, November.
    4. David Wong & Shih-Lung Shaw, 2011. "Measuring segregation: an activity space approach," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 127-145, June.
    5. Kamruzzaman, Md. & Hine, Julian, 2011. "Participation index: a measure to identify rural transport disadvantage?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 882-899.
    6. He, Sylvia Y. & Cheung, Yannie H.Y. & Tao, Sui, 2018. "Travel mobility and social participation among older people in a transit metropolis: A socio-spatial-temporal perspective," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 608-626.
    7. Scott, Darren M. & He, Sylvia Y., 2012. "Modeling constrained destination choice for shopping: a GIS-based, time-geographic approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 60-71.
    8. Stanley, John K. & Hensher, David A. & Stanley, Janet R. & Vella-Brodrick, Dianne, 2011. "Mobility, social exclusion and well-being: Exploring the links," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 789-801, October.
    9. Ron N. Buliung & Pavlos S. Kanaroglou, 2006. "Urban Form and Household Activity‐Travel Behavior," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 172-199, June.
    10. Jessica Ferm, 2016. "Preventing the displacement of small businesses through commercial gentrification: are affordable workspace policies the solution?," Planning Practice & Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 402-419, August.
    11. Kamruzzaman, Md. & Hine, Julian & Gunay, Banihan & Blair, Neale, 2011. "Using GIS to visualise and evaluate student travel behaviour," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 13-32.
    12. Li, Ran & Tong, Daoqin, 2016. "Constructing human activity spaces: A new approach incorporating complex urban activity-travel," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 23-35.
    13. Mercado, Ruben & Páez, Antonio, 2009. "Determinants of distance traveled with a focus on the elderly: a multilevel analysis in the Hamilton CMA, Canada," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 65-76.
    14. Siiri Silm & Rein Ahas, 2014. "Ethnic Differences in Activity Spaces: A Study of Out-of-Home Nonemployment Activities with Mobile Phone Data," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 104(3), pages 542-559, May.
    15. Shen, Yue & Chai, Yanwei & Kwan, Mei-Po, 2015. "Space–time fixity and flexibility of daily activities and the built environment: A case study of different types of communities in Beijing suburbs," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 90-99.
    16. Morency, Catherine & Paez, Antonio & Roorda, Matthew J. & Mercado, Ruben & Farber, Steven, 2011. "Distance traveled in three Canadian cities: Spatial analysis from the perspective of vulnerable population segments," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 39-50.
    17. Muhammad Adeel & Anthony Gar-On Yeh & Feng Zhang, 2016. "Transportation disadvantage and activity participation in the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65025, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Currie, Grahama & Richardson, Tony & Smyth, Paul & Vella-Brodrick, Dianne & Hine, Julian & Lucas, Karen & Stanley, Janet & Morris, Jenny & Kinnear, Ray & Stanley, John, 2010. "Investigating links between transport disadvantage, social exclusion and well-being in Melbourne - Updated results," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 287-295.
    19. Adeel, Muhammad & Yeh, Anthony Gar-On & Zhang, Feng, 2016. "Transportation disadvantage and activity participation in the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-12.
    20. Schwanen, Tim & Lucas, Karen & Akyelken, Nihan & Cisternas Solsona, Diego & Carrasco, Juan-Antonio & Neutens, Tijs, 2015. "Rethinking the links between social exclusion and transport disadvantage through the lens of social capital," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 123-135.
    21. Dong, Hongwei, 2017. "Rail-transit-induced gentrification and the affordability paradox of TOD," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-10.
    22. Anne Power, 2001. "Social Exclusion and Urban Sprawl: Is the Rescue of Cities Possible?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(8), pages 731-742.
    23. Yang Xu & Shih-Lung Shaw & Ziliang Zhao & Ling Yin & Feng Lu & Jie Chen & Zhixiang Fang & Qingquan Li, 2016. "Another Tale of Two Cities: Understanding Human Activity Space Using Actively Tracked Cellphone Location Data," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 106(2), pages 489-502, March.
    24. Delbosc, Alexa & Currie, Graham, 2011. "Exploring the relative influences of transport disadvantage and social exclusion on well-being," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 555-562, August.
    25. Siman Tang & Hong Lo, 2010. "On the financial viability of mass transit development: the case of Hong Kong," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 299-316, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pan, Yu & He, Sylvia Y., 2023. "An investigation into the impact of the built environment on the travel mobility gap using mobile phone data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    2. Lu, Haiyan & Zhao, Pengjun & Hu, Haoyu & Zeng, Liangen & Wu, Kai Sheng & Lv, Di, 2022. "Transport infrastructure and urban-rural income disparity: A municipal-level analysis in China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Gang Cheng & Leishan Guo & Tao Zhang, 2022. "Spatial Equity Assessment of Bus Travel Behavior for Pilgrimage: Evidence from Lhasa, Tibet, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-15, August.
    4. Lowans, Christopher & Furszyfer Del Rio, Dylan & Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Rooney, David & Foley, Aoife M., 2021. "What is the state of the art in energy and transport poverty metrics? A critical and comprehensive review," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Tiziana Campisi & Socrates Basbas & Giovanni Tesoriere & Mirto Trouva & Thomas Papas & Iva Mrak, 2020. "How to Create Walking Friendly Cities. A Multi-Criteria Analysis of the Central Open Market Area of Rijeka," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-20, November.
    6. Zhao, Pengjun & Yu, Zhao, 2021. "Rural poverty and mobility in China: A national-level survey," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    7. Tao, Sui & Cheng, Long & He, Sylvia & Witlox, Frank, 2023. "Examining the non-linear effects of transit accessibility on daily trip duration: A focus on the low-income population," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    8. Duan, Zhengyu & Zhao, Haoran & Li, Zhenming, 2023. "Non-linear effects of built environment and socio-demographics on activity space," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    9. Lachapelle, Ugo & Boisjoly, Geneviève, 2023. "Breaking down public transit travel time for more accurate transport equity policies: A trip component approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    10. Sultan Kocaman & Nadire Ozdemir, 2020. "Improvement of Disability Rights via Geographic Information Science," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-17, July.
    11. Hui Zheng & Baohong He & Mingwei He & Jinghui Guo, 2022. "Impact of Urban Spatial Transformation on the Mobility of Commuters with Different Transportation Modes in China: Evidence from Kunming 2011–2016," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Zhang, Shanqi & Yang, Yu & Zhen, Feng & Lobsang, Tashi & Li, Zhixuan, 2021. "Understanding the travel behaviors and activity patterns of the vulnerable population using smart card data: An activity space-based approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    13. Deng, Yiling & Zhao, Pengjun, 2022. "The impact of new metro on travel behavior: Panel analysis using mobile phone data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 46-57.
    14. Pan, Yu & He, Sylvia Y., 2022. "Analyzing COVID-19’s impact on the travel mobility of various social groups in China’s Greater Bay Area via mobile phone big data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 263-281.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Md. Kamruzzaman & Tan Yigitcanlar & Jay Yang & Mohd Afzan Mohamed, 2016. "Measures of Transport-Related Social Exclusion: A Critical Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-30, July.
    2. Abbasi, Sorath & Ko, Joonho & Min, Jaehong, 2021. "Measuring destination-based segregation through mobility patterns: Application of transport card data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Duvarci, Yavuz & Yigitcanlar, Tan & Mizokami, Shoshi, 2015. "Transportation disadvantage impedance indexing: A methodological approach to reduce policy shortcomings," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 61-75.
    4. Lo, A. W.-T. & Houston, D., 2018. "How do compact, accessible, and walkable communities promote gender equality in spatial behavior?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 42-54.
    5. Fei Li & Donggen Wang, 2017. "Measuring urban segregation based on individuals’ daily activity patterns: A multidimensional approach," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(2), pages 467-486, February.
    6. Pyrialakou, V. Dimitra & Gkritza, Konstantina & Fricker, Jon D., 2016. "Accessibility, mobility, and realized travel behavior: Assessing transport disadvantage from a policy perspective," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 252-269.
    7. Fuyo (Jenny) Yamamoto & Junyi Zhang, 2017. "The Kindness of Strangers: Exploring Interdependencies and Shared Mobilities of Elderly People in Rural Japan," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 183-195.
    8. Pan, Yu & He, Sylvia Y., 2023. "An investigation into the impact of the built environment on the travel mobility gap using mobile phone data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    9. Zhang, Shanqi & Yang, Yu & Zhen, Feng & Lobsang, Tashi & Li, Zhixuan, 2021. "Understanding the travel behaviors and activity patterns of the vulnerable population using smart card data: An activity space-based approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    10. Morris, Eric A. & Blumenberg, Evelyn & Guerra, Erick, 2020. "Does lacking a car put the brakes on activity participation? Private vehicle access and access to opportunities among low-income adults," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 375-397.
    11. Julian Hine & Md. Kamruzzaman & Neale Blair, 2012. "Weekly activity-travel behaviour in rural Northern Ireland: differences by context and socio-demographic," Transportation, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 175-195, January.
    12. Tana & Mei-Po Kwan & Yanwei Chai, 2016. "Urban form, car ownership and activity space in inner suburbs: A comparison between Beijing (China) and Chicago (United States)," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(9), pages 1784-1802, July.
    13. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Koomson, Isaac & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim, 2023. "Transport poverty and obesity: The mediating roles of social capital and physical activity," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 155-166.
    14. Duan, Zhengyu & Zhao, Haoran & Li, Zhenming, 2023. "Non-linear effects of built environment and socio-demographics on activity space," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    15. Lucas, Karen & Philips, Ian & Mulley, Corinne & Ma, Liang, 2018. "Is transport poverty socially or environmentally driven? Comparing the travel behaviours of two low-income populations living in central and peripheral locations in the same city," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 622-634.
    16. Xia, Jianhong(Cecilia) & Nesbitt, Joshua & Daley, Rebekah & Najnin, Arfanara & Litman, Todd & Tiwari, Surya Prasad, 2016. "A multi-dimensional view of transport-related social exclusion: A comparative study of Greater Perth and Sydney," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 205-221.
    17. Olle Järv & Kerli Müürisepp & Rein Ahas & Ben Derudder & Frank Witlox, 2015. "Ethnic differences in activity spaces as a characteristic of segregation: A study based on mobile phone usage in Tallinn, Estonia," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(14), pages 2680-2698, November.
    18. Perchoux, Camille & Kestens, Yan & Thomas, Frédérique & Hulst, Andraea Van & Thierry, Benoit & Chaix, Basile, 2014. "Assessing patterns of spatial behavior in health studies: Their socio-demographic determinants and associations with transportation modes (the RECORD Cohort Study)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 64-73.
    19. Biranchi Adhikari & Ajay Kumar Behera & Rabindra Narayan Mahapatra & Harish Chandra Das, 2022. "Retracted: An empirical model for Indian senior citizens in traffic management," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 35-56, March.
    20. Kamyar Hasanzadeh & Tiina Laatikainen & Marketta Kyttä, 2018. "A place-based model of local activity spaces: individual place exposure and characteristics," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 227-252, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:82:y:2020:i:c:s0966692319306799. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.