Spatial Analysis of the Propensity to Escort Children to School in Southern California

Spatial distribution of children’s school commute behavior was analyzed from three perspectives that are: 1) commuting to school independently of parents, 2) commuting to school by active modes and 3) allocation of escorting tasks for children between mother and father.

  • Accessibility measures and population density were introduced in the propensity regression models to account for the impact of spatial characteristics at school locations and to identify the spatial distribution of behavioral patterns.
  • Each of the spatial patterns created a map combining the impact of all the significant spatial variables to display patterns of behavior and intra-household interaction. These patterns are able to identify, as examples, the negative impact of a park area in the middle of the City of Los Angeles on children’s independent and active commute to school and the significantly different intra-household interaction patterns at different locations in the region.
  • The results of this study show an opportunity to expand the microanalysis to a more comprehensive treatment of travel behavior in space and to contribute to the development of models integrating land use and transportation.

Yoon, S. Y., M. Doudnikoff, et al. (2011). Spatial Analysis of the Propensity to Escort Children to School in Southern California. TRB 2011 Annual Meeting.

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