Heightening Walking above its Pedestrian Status: Walking and Travel Behavior in California

Report
Evelyn Blumenberg
June 2016

In this study we draw on data from the last two California Household Travel Surveys to examine walking behavior in four major California regions—the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego. The study includes four components; analyses of (a) the change in walking over time (b) the relationship between walking and the built environment (c) the determinants of change in walking over time and (d) the relationship between changes in neighborhood characteristics and changes in walking. In each of the analyses, we pay particular attention to differences across these four metropolitan regions. We pair our statistical analysis with a set of interviews intended to understand whether and how walking trips are included in regional travel demand models.