Abstract
New information and communication technologies (ICT’s), gain importance
and are changing people’s daily lives. With the introduction of new ICT’s,
alternatives for face-to-face contacts and physical presence are provided. In
that sense, ICT may offer a substitute to physical travel. Other potential
relationships between telecommunication and travel are neutrality,
complementation or modification. The relationship between ICT and activitytravel
patterns has received a substantial amount of attention recently.
However, a link with the wider activity patterns of individuals and households
and environmental characteristics is missing in existing studies. The spatial
and mobility impacts of social networks are not well known either. However,
social networks are crucial to an understanding of travel behaviour. The most
important part of travel demand for non-work purposes in terms of distance
travelled is for socializing with network members. Hence, individuals’ social
network characteristics are relevant for their propensity to perform social
activities. The study of social networks can provide new insights to understand
the generation of social activities and travel involved. In order to increase our
understanding of the interrelationships between properties of the built
environment, ICT-use, social networks and activity-travel patterns, these links
should be the starting point for analysis. This paper presents a data collection
instrument that was developed to study these links and the results of an
application of the instrument in a survey among a large sample of households
in the Eindhoven region, and discusses the implications of the findings for
planning support models.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | DDSS, 9th International Conference on Design & Decision, 7-10 July 2008 - The Netherlands |
Pages | 1-16 |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |