An Analysis of Commuting Distance and Mode Changes of Recent to Housing Renewal Areas

Abstract

This research concerns preconditions for sustainable urban housing policy, which lead to a reduction of commuting distances and sustainable mode changes. Although there have been many empirical studies on residential and commuting behaviour, it is still not clear whether land use can contribute to achieving more sustainable urban form. This study has provided empirical evidence in relation to the Compact City through a case study of housing renewal in Seoul, Korea, and has examined changes of commuting distance and of modes for commuting and shopping of households who moved to renewed residential areas using multinomial logit model analyses. This study suggests that, ceteris paribus, compact city-type urban housing supply can be used as one of the options to achieve more sustainable urban form, though not to a great extent. Furthermore, reduction of commuting distance does not automatically result in shorter commuting time nor sustainable mode change.