Constrained Destination Choice Set Generation: Comparison of GIS-Based Approaches

Abstract

This paper describes how spatio-temporal constraints help circumscribe individual activity-travel behavior. One aspect of such behavior is the choice of destinations for engaging in discretionary activities. In recent years, several Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approaches have been proposed and implemented, which incorporate such constraints in the definition of destination choice sets. These approaches are based on either overlay analysis or shortest path algorithms, as implemented within a GIS. This paper compares the outcomes generated by two such algorithms: one relying on overlays and the other, shortest paths. The overlay approach is well-known to researchers, whereas the shortest path approach described is new to the literature. The algorithms are implemented within a realistic travel environment developed for seven counties of the Louisville, KY-IN MSA. For each approach, constrained destination choice sets are delineated using the same 85 observations. A statistical comparison of the approaches using the size of the choice sets (i.e., buffered area and number of destinations) suggests that the overlay approach fails to account for many potential destinations. In other words, constrained destination choice sets generated by the overlay approach will be much smaller than those generated by the shortest path approach.

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