Do future land-use policies increase sustainable travel?

Abstract

Land-use policies are argued by both researchers and policy makers to be a strategy for reducing negative impacts on the environment through reduced motorized-vehicle travel. But does research support this argument? In this context we discuss whether land-use policies make sense as a strategy for reducing motorized travel and lessening environmental impacts. We focus on the following propositions with respect to daily household travel: (1) Land-use policies can have a significant effect on travel behaviour depending on the scope and scale of the policies and on the particular context of the effort; (2) Even when land-use policies have a minimal effect on travel behaviour they confer benefits in the form of accessibility improvements, and; (3) Land-use policies should be evaluated for a much broader range of benefits rather than changes in travel behaviour alone.