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In this paper we investigate the functional form of distance decay for commuting flows between municipalities in Denmark. Our inference is based on a single equation that includes variables to capture the effect of spatial structure. Special attention is given to a proper estimation method: we estimate the distance-decay parameters by nonlinear weighted least-squares with balancing factors. It appears that neither an exponential nor a power distance-decay function fits the data well. Using a spline regression we find a cost elasticity of – 4 for distances around 20 km and a much smaller value for shorter and longer distances. It appears that the logarithm of distance decay can be described adequately as a (downward) logistic function of log cost.

Studies on cities in Europe and the United States have demonstrated that travel behaviour is influenced by urban form. Based on these findings policies steering the shape of cities have been proposed to reduce urban transport emissions and limit congestion. Such policies can also be relevant for the rapidly growing and motorising Chinese cities. Yet, empirical evidence on the relationships between urban form and car usage is scarce for the specific Chinese context that is characterised by high densities, fast development and strong government steering. Using novel crowd-sourced datasets we study the impact of several urban form variables (city size, urban density, land-use mix, polycentricity and spatial clustering) on the cost of commuting expressed in time and distance. The results show that city size and spatial clustering are important determinants of commuting: large cities without clear clusters of businesses and other facilities have longer average commuting times and distances. Increased prosperity also adds to longer and lengthier commutes. Spatial planning measures that maintain or reinforce high-density clusters can help limiting commuting distance and time. Current sprawled urban development may have long-term, negative consequences for the accessibility and liveability of Chinese cities and could hamper their economic potential.

There is a large consensus among international institutions and national governments to favor urban-containment policies –the compact city– as a way to improve the ecological performance of the urban system. This approach overlooks a fundamental fact: what matters for the ecological outcome of cities is the mix between the level of population density and the global pattern of activities. As expected, when both the intercity and intra-urban distributions of activities are given, a higher population density makes cities more environmentally friendly. However, once we account for the fact that cities may be either monocentric or polycentric as well as for the possible relocation of activities between cities, the relationship between population density and the ecological performance of cities appears to be much more involved. Indeed, because changes in population density affect land rents and wages, firms and workers are incited to relocate, thus leading to new commuting and shipping patterns. We show that policies favoring the decentralization of jobs in big cities may be more desirable because they both reduce pollution and improve welfare.

There is a large consensus among international institutions and national governments to favor urban-containment policies –the compact city– as a way to improve the ecological performance of the urban system. This approach overlooks a fundamental fact: what matters for the ecological outcome of cities is the mix between the level of population density and the global pattern of activities. As expected, when both the intercity and intra-urban distributions of activities are given, a higher population density makes cities more environmentally friendly. However, once we account for the fact that cities may be either monocentric or polycentric as well as for the possible relocation of activities between cities, the relationship between population density and the ecological performance of cities appears to be much more involved. Indeed, because changes in population density affect land rents and wages, firms and workers are incited to relocate, thus leading to new commuting and shipping patterns. We show that policies favoring the decentralization of jobs in big cities may be more desirable because they both reduce pollution and improve welfare.

There is a large consensus among international institutions and national governments to favor urban-containment policies –the compact city– as a way to improve the ecological performance of the urban system. This approach overlooks a fundamental fact: what matters for the ecological outcome of cities is the mix between the level of population density and the global pattern of activities. As expected, when both the intercity and intra-urban distributions of activities are given, a higher population density makes cities more environmentally friendly. However, once we account for the fact that cities may be either monocentric or polycentric as well as for the possible relocation of activities between cities, the relationship between population density and the ecological performance of cities appears to be much more involved. Indeed, because changes in population density affect land rents and wages, firms and workers are incited to relocate, thus leading to new commuting and shipping patterns. We show that policies favoring the decentralization of jobs in big cities may be more desirable because they both reduce pollution and improve welfare.

Commuting, the daily link between residences and workplaces, sets up the complex interaction between the two most important land uses (residential and employment) in a city, and dictates the configuration of urban structure. In addition to prolonged time and stress for individual commuters on traffic, commuting comes with additional societal costs including elevated crash risks, worsening air quality, and louder traffic noise, etc. These issues are important to city planners, policy researchers, and decision makers. GIS-Based Simulation and Analysis of Intra-Urban Commuting, presents GIS-based simulation, optimization and statistical approaches to measure, map, analyze, and explain commuting patterns including commuting length and efficiency. Several GIS-automated easy-to-use tools will be available, along with sample data, for readers to download and apply to their own studies. This book recognizes that reporting errors from survey data and use of aggregated zonal data are two sources of bias in estimation of wasteful commuting, it studies the temporal trend of intraurban commuting pattern based on the most recent period newly-available 2006-2010, and it focuses on commuting, and especially wasteful commuting within US cities. It includes ready-to-download GIS-based simulation tools and sample data, and an explanation of optimization and statistical techniques of how to measure commuting, as well as presenting a methodology that can be applicable to other studies. This book is an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and practitioners in geography, urban planning, public policy, transportation engineering, and other related disciplines.

Die steuerliche Abzugsfähigkeit der Fahrtenkosten zwischen Wohnung und Arbeitsstätte ist ein häufig und sehr konträr diskutierter Bereich in der Finanzwissenschaft, der Betriebswirtschaftlichen Steuerlehre und den Juristen. Die vorliegenden empirischen Befunde verdeutlichen, dass der berufliche Veranlassungsgrund die Wohnortwahl umso stärker prägt, je weniger Verpflichtungen gegenüber einem Partner, Kindern oder aber Angehörigen existieren. Als lenkungspolitische Maßnahme zur Realisierung von verkehrs-, siedlungs-, umwelt- und finanzpolitischen Zielen sind die Fahrtkosten auf Grund der vielfältigen Einflussgrößen ungeeignet. Aus diesem Grunde ist eine Rückkehr zum System des Abzugs der tatsächlichen Wegekosten bei Nutzung des Öffentlichen Personenverkehrs sowie einer an den Kosten für einen Mittelklassewagen orientierten Kilometerpauschale als typisierende Vereinfachung geboten. ; The deductibility of commuting costs in Germany is discussed permanently. The paper ad-dresses the question, whether the taxpayers do react to the commuting allowances (Entfer-nungspauschale). It is shown that individual mobility depends on the responsibilities for com-panion, children and relatives. The commuting allowances are unsuitable to realize aims of urban, traffic and regional planning. Hence a return back to the system of full deductibility of work-related expenses is necessary if they choose public transportation. Furthermore a tax-deductible flat-rate per kilometer is required if they go by car.

ABSTRACT  This paper discusses various aspects of the economic analysis of commuting behavior. It starts with a review of two difficulties associated with urban economics models: the empirically falsified prediction of the relation between commuting time and income, and the presence of substantial excess commuting. Notwithstanding these anomalies, research that focuses directly on the value of travel time provides evidence that there is substantial resistance against commuting among large groups of workers. However, commuting costs are just one among many other explanatory variables for actual commuting behavior, and commuting itself has become much less onerous over time. This suggests that commuting costs play a much more limited role than has been assumed in the past. On the other hand, empirical evidence suggests that space is more important than one would be inclined to think on the basis of the considerations just given. These empirical regularities suggest that other space‐related aspects of the functioning of urban labor and housing markets are more important than was previously thought.

AbstractOver the past three decades, China's cities have undergone massive spatial restructuring in the wake of market reforms and economic growth. One consequence has been a rapid migration of urban residents to the periphery. Some movers have been forced out either by rising urban rents or government reclamation of their residences. Others have relocated willingly to modernized housing or for other lifestyle reasons. This article examines the effects of relocation to the urban edge on household well‐being. It explores the factors underlying changes in housing and transportation costs as households move to the periphery. The research also examines whether those who moved involuntarily are affected differently from those who moved by choice. Results show that, relative to those who moved by choice, involuntary movers are disproportionately and adversely affected in terms of job accessibility, commute time, housing consumption and disposable income. The findings also show that, compared with higher‐income households, lower‐income groups are disproportionately affected in relation to housing costs, accessibility losses, disposable income and household worker composition. These results indicate that relocation compensation for involuntarily relocated households should be expanded to include more than just housing value: it should encompass urban location changes, household needs and relocation costs.Résumé Au cours des trois dernières décennies, les grandes villes chinoises ont connu une vaste restructuration spatiale à la suite des réformes du marché et de l'essor économique. Il en a résulté notamment une rapide migration des habitants des villes vers la périphérie. Certains y ont été forcés à cause de l'augmentation des loyers urbains ou de la récupération de leur logement par le gouvernement. D'autres ont déménagé volontairement dans des logements modernisés ou pour d'autres motifs liés au mode de vie. L'article examine les incidences des relogements en limite urbaine sur le bien‐être du foyer. Il s'intéresse aux facteurs à la base des évolutions des frais de logement et de transport lors d'un déménagement à la périphérie. De plus, l'étude cherche si les conséquences sont différentes selon que les habitants ont déménagé par obligation ou par choix: par rapport à ceux qui en ont fait le choix, les habitants contraints de partir sont affectés de manière disproportionnée et défavorable en termes d'accessibilité au travail, de temps de trajet, de consommation propre au logement et de revenu disponible. Les résultats montrent aussi que, comparés aux ménages aux revenus supérieurs, les groupes à plus faible revenu subissent un impact non proportionnel pour ce qui est des frais de logement, des pertes d'accessibilité, du revenu disponible et du nombre d'actifs dans le ménage. L'indemnité de relogement attribuée aux ménages obligés de partir devrait donc être augmentée afin de dépasser la seule valeur du logement: elle devrait couvrir le changement d'implantation urbaine, les besoins du ménage et les coûts de relogement.

This paper investigates historical changes in economic structure and the spatial distribution of jobs and commuting patterns during a period of consolidating suburban decentralisation in US cities. The analysis of selected US metropolitan areas is based on data drawn from the 1980 and 1990 PUMS (public use microdata samples). First, the paper compares changes in employment composition between regions and between two geographical subdivisions in each of the metropolitan areas: the suburb and the central city. A diversity index is then measured for suburbs and central cities and an intertemporal comparison is made. Finally, changes in travel characteristics are discussed and analysed by industrial sector and geographical sub-division. The analysis shows a strong growth of suburban cities compared with central cities in each region, increased urbanisation economies in suburban cities and the dominance of suburb-to-suburb commuting. The historical pattern gives urban analysts and planners in Europe and elsewhere much to think about: in particular, the self-reinforcing nature of suburban agglomeration economies, the influence of growing suburban employment centres on commute patterns, the growth of centre-to-suburb commutes and the dominance of suburb-to-suburb commutes; and the ability of cities to reshape themselves as individual firms and households adopt strategies that lower the costs of transacting labour, services and all manner of commodities.

Recent empirical studies indicated that using autonomous vehicles (AVs) can reduce commuters' value of time. In this context, this paper investigates how variation in value of time for AVs will reshape the commuting dynamics in the short-run and the implication on AV-related policies in the long run. We find that in the short run, the adoption of AV can create more congestion delays since delay becomes cheaper for commuters. In the long run, a number of external factors such as ownership cost and safety concerns may affect commuters' preference for AVs as against to traditional vehicles (TVs). This will influence the AV penetration, which in turn affects the daily commuting equilibrium. Multiple long-run equilibria with different AV penetrations may exist, depending on the additional cost/benefit of AVs with respect to TVs. Government subsidies may be needed to drive the system from inefficient long-run equilibrium to a more efficient one.

The classical monocentric city model suggests that property prices decrease and transport costs rise with distance to the urban centre, implying that employees face a trade-off between long commutes and high housing costs when making location decisions. Accordingly, some commuters might be forced to take on longer commutes due to rising rents in central locations. In this study, we investigate empirically whether the rental differential between employment centres and residential areas predicts changes in average commuting times. To this end, we consider a gravity model of commuting flows for Ireland over 2011–2016. We present results for Ireland and the metropolitan area of Dublin, which constitutes the largest commuting region in Ireland. The results imply that a 10% rise in rents in employment centres is associated with an up to 0.6 minute rise in one-way daily average commuting times nationally (about 2.2% of the average commute duration).