The Effectiveness of Behavioural Interventions on Residential Location Choices and Commute Behaviours: Experimental Evidence from China

This study used randomised controlled trials to test the effectiveness of three behavioural interventions, i.e., focalism, social norm, and visualisation, in changing people’s housing and commuting preferences. The experiment was conducted online via Credamo, one of the largest online panel data providers in China. It included only renters who needed to commute in the city of Xi’an, China, as participants in the study. The results show that behavioural interventions significantly increased respondents’ willingness to adopt more sustainable commute modes, such as walking or cycling, and reduced the tendency to use private cars. Among the three behavioural interventions, the social norm intervention had the largest and most significant impact. The findings shed light on the potential of applying behavioural interventions in sustainable urban transport management. More importantly, the results demonstrate the possibility of using behavioural interventions to incorporate sustainable urban development goals into housing decisions.