Full Citation
Title: Transportation disadvantage among refugees in the Research Triangle
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2020
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Abstract: Limited transportation options constrain what employment, educational, and social opportunities refugees and other transport-disadvantaged populations can pursue. With a theoretical basis in transport exclusion theory, this study examined the transportation patterns of refugees in the Research Triangle of North Carolina using a multi-language survey that builds directly on the existing research of Bose (2014) and Farber et al (2018). Findings confirm that refugees’ travel behaviors differ significantly from that of the general population, with 67% using public transit as their primary mode of transport. In contrast, 90% of respondents identified private vehicles as their preferred mode of transportation. Mode use patterns shift as refugees’ time since arrival increases, confirming the findings of other studies regarding the travel behaviors of non-native residents over time. Household dependency ratios provide an additional mode-correlated variable, with higher dependency ratios (the ratio of household members under 18 and over 65 years to the number working-age adults) associated with transit use, and lower dependency ratios associated with private vehicle use. Mode usage was also directly related to earning capacity in both the refugee sample and the broader population in Durham and Orange counties of North Carolina. Based on these findings, refugee service providers and transportation researchers should use dependency ratios as a mechanism to identify households who may be transport disadvantaged. This pilot study should be replicated at a larger scale, using and expanding the multi-language survey tool to test the validity of these findings in other contexts.
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Authors: Heatwole, Kaitlin
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Department: City and Regional Planning
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Publisher Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Land Use/Urban Organization, Migration and Immigration
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