Urban form and travel behavior: The interplay with residential self-selection and residential dissonance

Many studies have tried to quantify the impact of urban form on travel behavior by studying the influence of spatial characteristics such as density, land use mixing, and accessibility of the residential neighborhood. But researchers soon started to question causality in this relationship, given that sometimes people deliberately choose their residential neighborhood based on their travel preferences, known as “residential self-selection.” This chapter takes into account residential self-selection, and accounts for “residential dissonance” or the consequences of not being able to live in your preferred neighborhood. Using data from an online survey in Greater Sydney, Australia, results indicate that the urban form does have an impact on travel behavior, especially public transport use. Furthermore, different aspects of residential dissonance indicate how the urban form might have a more pronounced impact, especially for dissonant residents whose actual neighborhood is better than expected.