Sustainable neighbourhoods and employment hubs: Toward shorter and less polluting commutes? An analysis of Montreal, 1998-2008
To what extent does urban form influence commuting behaviour? On the one hand, neighbourhood type (single-family homes, apartments, age of buildings, organization of roads...) can influence travel behaviour, and planning policies are often based on this working hypothesis. On the other hand, the location of neighbourhoods within metropolitan areas (central, suburban, access to transport services) also has a strong influence. In this paper we examine whether the nature of residential (and workplace) neighbourhoods affects commuting behaviour, and whether the effect is independent or merely a reflection of the distance between different types of neighbourhoods and the CBD. We show that neighbourhood morphology has very little independent effect on commuting behaviour. As a result, we suggest that, if sustainable changes in commuting behavior are the ultimate goal, broadscale planning initiatives such as the re-centering of housing and a slight de-centering of workplaces are the level at which policy intervention would be most effective.