Land-Use and Travel Behaviour. A Survey of Some Analysis and Policy Perspectives

Abstract

This paper discusses interactions between land-use and travel behaviour in the light of recent developments on the policy arena, in particular the increasing emphasis on sustainable development of urban and regional systems. Schemes for integrated analyses of land-use and transport and for comparing urban structures in terms of land-use dispersion and travel behaviour are presented. The new national transport policy of Sweden has a strong emphasis on environmental and safety objectives. However, increasing vehicle kilometres of travel (VKT) and decreasing transit shares are characteristic for the projected development of Stockholm until the year 2030. Only very drastic integrated policies can reduce VKT to a level consistent with long-term environmental targets. Land-use policies play a small role in this context. A transit-oriented settlement structure on the sub-regional scale tends to be more important than increased density on the regional scale. Compact cities and local jobhousing balance may provide the potential for sustainable transport behaviour, but other policies and strong incentives are needed to reverse current urban development trends. With current trends other urban forms (e.g. “decentralised concentration” or “corridor development”) are likely to be more efficient in terms of VKT.