DRAFT

This paper examines the relationships between the built environment (BE) – both “neighborhood ” design characteristics and relative location – and motor vehicle ownership and use in a rapidly motorizing, developing city context: Santiago de Chile. The paper first attempts to answer the question, what role, if any, do factors such as dwelling unit density, land use mix, street design, and proximity to public transportation stations play in determining household motor vehicle ownership? A vehicle choice model suggests that income dominates the household vehicle ownership decision, but also detects a relationship between several built environment characteristics and a household’s likelihood of car ownership. The paper then turns to the question: what role does the built environment play on household automobile vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT)? A second model, directly linked to the ownership model to correct for selection bias and endogeneity, suggests a strong relationship with locational characteristics like distance to the central business district and Metro stations. Elasticities of VKT, calculated via the combined models, suggest that income plays the overall largest single role in determining VKT. In combination, however, a range of different design and relative location characteristics also display a relatively strong association with VKT