Full Citation

Title: Immigrant Ethnic Neighborhoods, Inward Focus, and Travel Mode Choice

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2011

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Abstract: This dissertation examines the travel mode choices of residents of ethnic enclaves, a subject that has received scholarly attention only recently. Previous studies of ethnic neighborhoods have not differentiated between ethnic neighborhood types, though the scholarship on these neighborhoods themselves suggests considerable diversity in neighborhood type, primarily as a function of the ethnic economic niches in which residents participate. This dissertation seeks to tie together disparate literatures on ethnic neighborhoods and mode choice by explicitly modeling one aspect hypothesized to differentiate ethnic neighborhoods: the co-ethnic boundedness, or inward focus, of these neighborhoods.I hypothesize that this inward focus, in addition to other known influences, helps to explain the increased propensity of residents of ethnic neighborhoods to use alternative modes of transportation, such as public transit, walking, and bicycling. Using national data and a nested logistic mode choice model, I first validate prior findings on the independent effect of ethnic neighborhoods on the choice of these modes. The analysis suggests that the neighborhood-level effect on travel mode choice associated with immigrant neighborhoods is prevalent across the United States, and that the effect is considerably stronger for immigrants living in immigrant neighborhoods than for nonimmigrants living in the same neighborhoods. The effect associated with immigrants living in immigrant neighborhoods on the choice to use non-motorized (walking, bicycling) modes for all trip purposes is particularly strong. The estimated effects on the use of public transportation and carpools are also considerable for immigrants. For nonimmigrants, the carpooling effect is present, though weak, and there is no effect associated with the use of transit. Next, I turn my focus to the Los Angeles Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA), in order to focus on specific (and often well-documented) immigrant/ethnic neighborhoods. I differentiate these neighborhoods by the degree to which one may consider them inwardly focused. In this section, I develop new measures of co-ethnic geographic boundedness and co-ethnic affinity using commute data as a proxy for the connection between local residents and local activity sites. Using concepts of ethnic economic geography delineated by Kaplan (1998) and others, I hypothesize that a significant number of ethnic neighborhoods in the Los Angeles region are inwardly focused, and that this inward focus contributes to the use of modes of transportation other than the single-occupant vehicle (SOV). Contrary to this expectation, I find in my analysis that most ethnic neighborhoods in the Los Angeles region are considerably more outwardly focused than the region-wide average, with residents commute destinations significantly more distant and more diffuse than is typical for the region. A small number of exceptions exist; in particular, ethnic neighborhoods that are geographically distant from the regions core tend to be considerably more inwardly focused. I find a number of other (non-ethnic) neighborhoods to be highly inwardly focused, including neighborhoods near universities and other large institutions. Finally, I use the measures of inward focus in conjunction with regional travel diary data to help differentiate the neighborhood effect on travel mode choice. I hypothesize that, among the various ethnic neighborhood types, those that are more inwardly focused will exhibit greater use of transit and non-motorized modes, resulting from more proximate trip ends and denser trip chains. The analysis suggests that, while neighborhood inward focus does have an independent effect on the use of non-auto and carpool travel modes, it does not explain any of the observed effect associated with living in an ethnic neighborhood.

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Authors: Smart, Michael

Institution: University of California - Los Angeles

Department: Urban Planning

Advisor: Evelyn Blumenberg

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Publisher Location: Los Angeles, CA

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Housing and Segregation, Migration and Immigration, Other, Poverty and Welfare, Race and Ethnicity

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