The changes on the Dutch housing market and the overloaded transport network require a policy that accounts for both sides of the coin. In order to make projections of possible policies, models are being developed to study the mechanisms of the transport system, the housing market and its interaction. The residential choice behavior of households is an essential element in these models. In this paper we present the results of an analysis on the regional differences in the residential choice behavior of five types of households. Within this model we used a large number of independent variables, focusing on the influence of accessibility. We distinguished three regions: The Randstad, an intermediate zone and the periphery of the Netherlands. The results indicate that in particular regional differences in the housing and labor market cause longer migration distances and shorter commuting distances outside the Randstad. Furthermore leads the absence of a car in a household to a large preference for neighborhoods with good public transport and/or a train station nearby, especially outside of the Randstad. We also found significant differences for other groups of residential features, like ethnical composition, social state and dwelling characteristics. (Author/publisher)
Abstract