Connections between Land Use and Driving Distance: Causal Investigation Using Directed Acyclic Graphs

Abstract

This paper examines the causal connections between land use and household driving distance in the Houston-Galveston metropolitan area by introducing the directed acyclic graphs. It is found that population density and roadway design measure have direct causal relationships with total household driving distance. In terms of elasticity estimates of driving distance with respect to land-use measures, the impacts of land use on household driving distance are found to be overrated in the conventional regression analyses compared with the results based on the directed acyclic graphs. Urban development and design strategies can play a significant role in reducing household driving distance, which then helps moderate air pollution and climate change.