Unpacking Preference: How Previous Experience Affects Auto Ownership in the United States

As environmental concerns mount alongside increasing auto dependence, research has been devoted to understanding the number of automobiles households own. The 2000 US census public use micro sample is used to demonstrate the importance of preference formation in auto ownership by studying auto owner...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban studies (Edinburgh, Scotland) Scotland), 2010-09, Vol.47 (10), p.2111-2128
Main Authors: Weinberger, Rachel, Goetzke, Frank
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
American culture
Automobile driving
Automobiles
Automotive engineering
Built environments
Census
Censuses
Children
Cities
Consumer behavior
Environmental Attitudes
Households
Knowledge
Metropolitan Areas
Motor cars
Motor vehicles
Ownership
Preferences
Proxy reporting
Proxy statements
Public transportation
Public use
Residents
Social research
Transit
Transportation
Transportation planning
United States
United States of America
Vehicle miles of travel
Vehicles
Young adults
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Summary:As environmental concerns mount alongside increasing auto dependence, research has been devoted to understanding the number of automobiles households own. The 2000 US census public use micro sample is used to demonstrate the importance of preference formation in auto ownership by studying auto ownership among recent movers. Using a multinomial probit model, the paper demonstrates that residents in the US transit cities who moved from major metropolitan areas are more likely to own fewer vehicles than counterparts who moved from smaller metropolitan areas and non-metropolitan areas. It is concluded that these results are due to learned preferences for levels of car ownership. Once the self-reinforcing 'Cultural knowledge' of living without cars is lost, it could be difficult to regain. A focus on children and young adults, familiarising them with alternatives to the car maybe an important approach to developing collective preferences for fewer cars.
ISSN:0042-0980
1360-063X
DOI:10.1177/0042098009357354