Where Sustainable Transport and Social Exclusion Meet: Households Without Cars and Car Dependence in Great Britain

A secondary analysis of the British National Travel Survey for the years 2002–2010 shows that the composition of the group of carless households is a good indicator of the level of car dependence in a local area: indeed, while non-car ownership in peripheral and rural areas very often correspond to a marginal socio-demographic situation, this is less and less true as one moves towards larger urban areas. Similarly, while in sparse areas most households without cars are either virtually immobile or reliant on car lifts, in large urban areas the ‘mobility gap’ between car-owning and carless households is considerably smaller, as the latter are able to use modal alternatives to the car. These findings are interpreted with reference to an integrated theoretical framework, showing how changes in land use and the environmental and social impacts of increasing motorization are intimately linked. Notably, the consequences of the self-reinforcing cycle of car dependence on two forms of car-related transport disadvantage (car deprivation and forced car ownership) are highlighted. Overall, the article highlights how the socio-demographic composition and the travel behaviour of carless households vary systematically across different types of area: this has interesting implications for sustainable transport policy and research.

本研究针对2002至2010年的英国全国出行调查（British National Travel Survey）开展二次分析，结果显示：无车家庭群体的构成结构，可作为局域汽车依赖程度的优质预测指标。具体而言，郊区与乡村地区的无车家庭往往处于社会人口学维度的边缘境况，但这一规律在向更大规模都市区迈进时愈发不再成立。同理，在人口稀疏地区，多数无车家庭要么几乎无法出行，要么依赖他人搭载车辆；而在大型都市区，有车家庭与无车家庭之间的「出行缺口」显著收窄，因为后者可借助汽车之外的其他出行方式。本研究借助一套整合性理论框架对上述发现展开解读，阐明了土地利用变化、机动车保有量增长所带来的环境与社会影响之间存在紧密关联。尤为值得关注的是，本研究着重阐释了汽车依赖的自我强化循环，对两类与汽车相关的出行劣势（无车剥夺与被迫购车）所造成的影响。整体而言，本文揭示了无车家庭的社会人口学构成与出行行为，会随区域类型的不同呈现系统性差异——这一结论对可持续交通政策制定与相关研究具有重要参考价值。