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Car Use: Intentional, Habitual, or Both? Insights from Anscombe and the Mobility Biography Literature

Author

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  • Edmond Daramy-Williams

    (Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Jillian Anable

    (Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Susan Grant-Muller

    (Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

Abstract

Policy-makers have recognized that changing travel behavior is important. People, however, do not change their behavior so readily, particularly the use of the car. A central concept that has been invoked to account for this has been the concept of habit. However, various studies also present people as having concrete reasons for driving: Their choices are intentional. This interdisciplinary study attempts to reconcile these two understandings of travel behavior by drawing on insights from the philosopher Anscombe and a growing body of travel research termed the mobility biography literature. It applies some of Anscombe’s insights from Intention to the act of driving. With regard to the mobility biography literature, it draws out conceptual implications both from theoretical and empirical aspects: In particular, the characterization of travel decisions as nested in a hierarchy of life decisions and the association of life events with changes in travel decisions. It concludes that a broader conceptualization of human behavior leads to a broader view as to what policy-makers can do. It reminds us that transport is ‘special’, that transport and policy are inextricable, and that the importance of infrastructure provision should not be ignored.

Suggested Citation

  • Edmond Daramy-Williams & Jillian Anable & Susan Grant-Muller, 2019. "Car Use: Intentional, Habitual, or Both? Insights from Anscombe and the Mobility Biography Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:24:p:7122-:d:297113
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    1. Philippe Gerber & Sébastien Lord & Kevin Manaugh & Veronique Van Acker & Samuel Carpentier-Postel, 2021. "Sustainability Issues of Micro and Macro-Scale Changes in Daily and Residential Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-6, April.
    2. Jorge Ubirajara Pedreira Junior & Antônio Nélson Rodrigues da Silva & Cira Souza Pitombo, 2022. "Car-Free Day on a University Campus: Determinants of Participation and Potential Impacts on Sustainable Travel Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-20, March.
    3. George, Sarah & Salomo, Katja & Pfaff, Theresa, 2025. "Socio-spatial inequalities in urban mobility: the immigrant-native travel time gap in German cities – a mixed method study," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar, pages 1-25.

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