Exploring Land Use and Transport Interaction through Structural Equation Modelling

Transport systems and land use are two mutually interconnected elements: the location of the activities and their need for interactions produce transport demand; on the other hand, transport supply system supporting transport demand and performance levels of transport services affect the activity locations. In this paper the relationship among the factors affecting transportation and land-use systems interactions was investigated and a GIS was used for exploring the relationship among some spatial variables regarding geographical features, activity location, demographic and economic characteristics, and transportation variables such as trip production and attraction, and accessibility. Analysing the relationship among the variables, unobserved or “latent” variables affecting land-use and transport interactions were identified and introduced in a structural equation model. This approach allows the modelling of a phenomenon by considering both unobserved “latent” constructs and observed indicators describing the phenomenon. The results show that travel behaviour is more influenced by the economic characteristics of population. These analyses allow identifying the relationships among variables related to land use and transportation system, and can provide some findings for transportation planners as well as assisting the complex process of urban planning decision-making.