Travel behavior in neo-traditional neighborhood developments: A case study in USA

Although previous research has supported the view that neo-traditional or new urbanist designs result in more walking activity, several questions remain: Do residents of these neighborhoods substitute walking for driving trips, or do they make more trips overall? What is the role of self-selection of residents in these developments? This paper aims to address these questions by examining differences in travel behavior in a matched pair of neighborhoods (one conventional and one neo-traditional) in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina. A detailed behavioral survey of 453 households and two-stage regression models suggest that single-family households in the neo-traditional development make a similar number of total trips, but significantly fewer automobile trips and fewer external trips, and they travel fewer miles, than households in the conventional neighborhood, even after controlling for demographic characteristics of the households and for resident self-selection. The findings suggest that households in the neo-traditional development substitute driving trips with walking trips.