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A nationwide look at the immigrant neighborhood effect on travel mode choice

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  • Michael Smart

Abstract

Immigrants to the United States walk, bicycle, and use transit and carpools more than U.S.-born residents do. These differences persist over time and across income groups. The differences appear strongest when immigrants reside in immigrant neighborhoods with high concentrations of other immigrants. This analysis uses a large, geocoded national dataset to analyze these differences and finds that living in an immigrant neighborhood has a strong influence on mode choice for immigrant residents and a much weaker effect on non-immigrant residents of immigrant neighborhoods. These effects are strongest for walking and bicycling, and particularly for shopping-related travel, and they persist after controlling for a number of variables. That these effects are considerably stronger for immigrants than for their U.S.-born neighbors suggests that social factors of the neighborhoods may play a role in structuring travel decisions. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Smart, 2015. "A nationwide look at the immigrant neighborhood effect on travel mode choice," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 189-209, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:42:y:2015:i:1:p:189-209
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-014-9543-4
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Hu, Lingqian, 2017. "Changing travel behavior of Asian immigrants in the U.S," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 248-260.
    2. Hsin-Ping Hsu, 2023. "Domestic burden in an unfamiliar new homeland: gender, immigration, and household-serving trip frequencies," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 2319-2337, December.
    3. Barajas, Jesus M., 2021. "The effects of driver licensing laws on immigrant travel," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 22-34.
    4. Miwa Matsuo, 2020. "Carpooling and drivers without household vehicles: gender disparity in automobility among Hispanics and non-Hispanics in the U.S," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1631-1663, August.
    5. Jesus M. Barajas, 2020. "Supplemental infrastructure: how community networks and immigrant identity influence cycling," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1251-1274, June.
    6. Farber, Steven & Mifsud, Anika & Allen, Jeff & Widener, Michael J. & Newbold, K. Bruce & Moniruzzaman, Md, 2018. "Transportation barriers to Syrian newcomer participation and settlement in Durham Region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 181-192.
    7. Hu, Lingqian & Klein, Nicholas J. & Smart, Michael J., 2021. "Comparing immigrant commute travel adaptation across and within racial/ethnic groups," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 112-122.
    8. Rahman Shafi & Alexa Delbosc & Geoffrey Rose, 2023. "The role of culture and evolving attitudes in travel behaviour assimilation among south asian immigrants in Melbourne, Australia," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 1261-1287, August.
    9. Klein, Nicholas J. & Smart, Michael J., 2016. "Travel mode choice among same-sex couples," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 1-13.
    10. Lingqian Hu, 2021. "Gender differences in commuting travel in the U.S.: interactive effects of race/ethnicity and household structure," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 909-929, April.
    11. Valerie Preston & Sara McLafferty & Monika Maciejewska, 2022. "Gender, Immigration and Commuting in Metropolitan Canada," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 113(4), pages 348-364, September.
    12. Liu, Jixiang & Xiao, Longzhu, 2023. "Non-linear relationships between built environment and commuting duration of migrants and locals," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    13. Allen, Jeff & Farber, Steven & Greaves, Stephen & Clifton, Geoffrey & Wu, Hao & Sarkar, Somwrita & Levinson, David M., 2021. "Immigrant settlement patterns, transit accessibility, and transit use," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    14. Shin, Eun Jin, 2017. "Ethnic neighborhoods, social networks, and inter-household carpooling: A comparison across ethnic minority groups," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 14-26.
    15. Barajas, Jesus, 2019. "The Effects of Driver Licensing Laws on Immigrant Travel," SocArXiv sw7rp, Center for Open Science.
    16. Tianyuan Luo & Cesar L. Escalante, 2024. "Driver's licences for undocumented immigrants and post‐mortem organ donation," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 91(361), pages 70-92, January.
    17. Jixiang Liu & Longzhu Xiao, 2024. "Socioeconomic differences in effect size: predicting commuting mode choice of migrants and locals using a light gradient boosting approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 1-24, February.

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