Four common misconceptions in quantitative studies of the built environment and travel

Abstract

This paper points at five common misconceptions in quantitative studies of the built environment and travel, all of which rooted in a lack of theoretical reflection on the causal mechanisms by which built environment characteristics could plausibly influence travel behavior. Based on a review of 62 published articles over the period 2017-2022 and 17 manuscripts peer-reviewed by the author, the following misconceptions are discussed: Omission of metropolitan and city-level built environment characteristics; ignoring internal causal relationships between different built environment characteristics; inclusion of control variables that are themselves heavily influenced by built environment characteristics; and misconception of the phenomenon of residential self-selection. The paper ends by pointing at remedies for avoiding these misconceptions.

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