Role of Destinations in the Associations of Street Layouts With Adults' Travel Behaviours

Purpose. Street layout is consistently associated with travel behaviours, however the factors that influence this association are unclear. This study aimed to examine associations of street layout with adults’ walking for transport (WT) and car use; and, to identify the extent to which these relationships may be accounted for by the availability of destinations. Methods. A 24-hr travel behaviour diary was completed by 16,345 adult participants in the 2009 South-East Queensland House old Travel Survey. Three categorical travel behaviour outcome measures were derived from these data: any home-based WT, or not; accumulating over 30 min of home-based WT, or not; and, accumulating over 60 min of car use, or not. For street layout, a space syntax measure of integration was calculated for each Statistical Area 1 (SA1). An objective measure of availability of destinations – Walk Score – for each SA1 was also derived. Logistic regression models first examined associations of street integration with travel behaviours, which were then further adjusted by Walk Score. Results. About 12% of participants reported any WT, 4% reported 30 min or more of WT, and 35% reported 60 min or more of car use. There were significant associations of street integration with adults’ WT and car use. Each one-decile increment in street integration was associated with an 18% (95%CI: 1.15, 1.21) higher odds of any WT; with a 10% (95%CI: 1.06, 1.15) higher odds of over 30 min of WT; and, with a 5% (95%CI: 0.94, 0.96) low r odds of using a car over 60 min. These relationships became non-significant after adjusting for Walk Score. Conclusions. The findings show that higher street integration can be associated with more walking and less prolonged car use, in part because more destinations are available in areas with higher street integration.