Updating and Expanding the Nation’s Most Comprehensive Database of Household Travel Survey Data and Related Built Environmental Data

For many years, the PIs of this study have been gathering household travel survey data from metropolitan planning organizations across the US. In addition to household sociodemographic data and trip purpose, length, mode and other variables, this unique database includes the precise XY coordinates of all households and trip ends. The current database consists of 36 regions, 107,949 households, and 1,059,678 trips, making it nearly as large as the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) of 2022 but more geographically detailed. The unique feature of this database is the precise geocodes it offers, unlike the NHTS, which only provides geocodes at the level of the census tract. These data have been provided by MPOs to the PIs in many cases through non-disclosure agreements. Thus, it has been possible to relate travel characteristics directly to the built environment at various geographic scales, including census block groups, traffic analysis zones, mixed-use developments, and buffers of different widths around households or trip ends. Another unique feature of this database is that travel data have been linked to built environmental data representing all the so-called ‘D’ variables: development density, land use diversity, street network design, destination accessibility, and distance to transit. These data have been used to study relationships between the built environment and travel in many peer-reviewed, published studies. Spanning nearly two decades of data collection, we have frequently had to update travel data, replacing older surveys with newer ones. Portland, for example, conducted a household travel survey in 1994, and another in 2011. The latter replaced the former in our master cross sectional database, and the two together were employed in one longitudinal study. The current database includes travel data as old as 2005. Travel patterns have doubtless changed since then, with new modes (ride hailing, for example), new travel behavior (extensive telecommuting), and new structural relationships to the built environment. In this project, we will first contact the MPOs of the 36 regions in our current database to determine if they have conducted household travel surveys more recently than the ones we already have. If so, we will acquire the more recent data (provided they are once again made available) and replace older datasets for these regions. We will link the newer datasets to shapefiles for built environmental variables as before. We will conduct both cross sectional and longitudinal studies to see how travel patterns and relationships between travel and the built environment have changed, updating earlier published studies. Time permitting, we will also contact additional MPOs, to see if they are now willing to release XY geocoded data when they weren’t previously. Outputs will include 1. Updated and expanded travel survey database with linked built environment shapefiles 2. Updates to previous studies based on the dataset 3. Contributions to future cross-sectional and longitudinal studies 4. Various travel demand models 5. Final research report.

• Record URL:
  https://www.uno.edu/cetoc
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Funding: $119,000 (USDOT) + $59,500 (matching funds) = $178,500 (total)

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $178500
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348337

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Equitable Transit-Oriented Communities (CETOC)

  University of New Orleans
  New Orleans, LA  United States 
• Project Managers:

  Kline, Robin

  Danton, Bob

• Performing Organizations:

  University of New Orleans

  Department of Planning and Urban Studies
  New Orleans, LA  United States  70148

  University of Utah, Salt Lake City

  City & Metropolitan Planning
  201 South Presidents Circle
  Salt Lake City, UT  United States  84112
• Principal Investigators:

  Tian, Guang

  Ewing, Reid

• Start Date: 20241001
• Expected Completion Date: 20240930
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Data collection; Land use planning; Planning; Transit oriented development; Travel surveys
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01928987
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Equitable Transit-Oriented Communities (CETOC)
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348337
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 27 2024 6:12PM