Gender differences in commute time and accessibility in Sofia, Bulgaria

A study using 3D geovisualisation

Bibliographic Data

ID4705541
AuthorsMei-Po Kwan (0000-0001-8602-9258, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Mei‐po Kwan (Department of Geography and Geographic Information Science University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign Computing Applications Building, 605 E Springfield Ave. Champaign IL 61820 USA), Alex Kotsev (0000-0003-0411-741X, Joint Research Centre), Alexander Kotsev (Joint Research Centre The European Commission Via Enrico Fermi 2749 I‐21027 Ispra (VA) Italy)
Year2015
Volume181
Issue1
Pages83-96
Publication date2015-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographical Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7398 • E-ISSN: 1475-4959
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/geoj.12080
OpenAlexW1574007591
LanguageEN
Citations received34
References cited43

Much research on human mobility patterns and accessibility to date has been conducted largely in Western European and North American countries, where the private vehicle is the main means for commuting. As a result, most studies focused largely on car-based mobility (automobility) and accessibility, and relatively little is known about countries in other regions of the world. Based on an activity-travel dataset collected in Sofia, Bulgaria and using 3D geovisualisation, this study attempts to fill this gap through examining gender differences in commute time and potential access to urban opportunities. The results reveal important gender differences in commute time and individual accessibility. Among the surveyed participants, women tend to spend more time on their commute trips and have more restrictive spatial reach to urban opportunities compared with men, largely as a result of their reliance on public transit as their primary mode of transport. Further, women have lower accessibility compared with men who used the same travel mode. This case study adds important new knowledge about a geographical area that has been under-studied by Anglophone geographers. It also shows that GIS-based geovisualisation and analysis are powerful tools for uncovering gender differences in the geographical distribution of commute time, which conventional quantitative methods cannot reveal

Advertising · Business · Economic geography · Geography · Public transport · Transport engineering · Travel behavior · Travel time · TRIPS architecture · Engineering · Human Mobility and Location-Based Analysis · Marketing · Urban and Freight Transport Logistics · Urban Transport and Accessibility

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