In this chapter, previous research on the urban land use and mobility nexus have been reviewed. The review showed that research in the field is multidisciplinary and hence draws on theories and concepts from disciplines such as urban economics, urban geography, planning, social-physics and the complexity sciences. These theories, the review showed, have inspired a wide range of empirical research and simulation model development over the past six decades.
The literature review also showed that two major modelling approaches namely; aggregate and disaggregate modelling have evolved over the years. From each of these approaches, specific techniques and methods have also emerged. Urban economics and entropy maximization theory have underpinned the development of aggregate gravity-based spatial interaction models of urban location and spatial interaction. The development of random-utility and discrete choice theory made it possible for the development of utility-based econometric models that capture complex choice behaviour at the level of the individual who exercise choice with respect to finite number of discrete alternatives. Inspired by systems and complexity theories, microscopic modelling approaches such as agent-based modelling, have also been adopted in simulation model development.
The discussion of current research directions and areas of further research was framed around five main thematic areas. The first thematic issue being methodological, pointed to a general shift from applying aggregate modelling techniques towards the adoption of more innovative disaggregate modelling approaches. The need for empirical research from different contexts examining the residential and job location choice behaviour of households and individuals, and the interdependence between these choice sets was also highlighted. Moreover, the need to represent real-world property market dynamics to improve model realism; relax the exogenous work-place assumption in existing location choice models by explicitly simulating job location choice; and to expand the scope and coverage of future research beyond the confines of cities in Europe and North American contexts, by studying previously less explored contexts, were emphasized.
Following from the review of previous research and discussion of the research trends and gaps in the literature, the objectives and questions of this research were formulated. Two main research objectives, which reflect both the empirical and simulation model development focus of this thesis were formulated. Under each broad objective, specific research questions were also outlined.
In the next chapter, the overall methodology to that will be adopted to address the empirical objectives of this thesis will be discussed.
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR
EMPIRICAL STUDIES—CASE STUDY SELECTION, DATA
COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS METHODS
3.1 Introduction
In chapter two, an account of previous research relevant to this thesis was presented. In addition to providing an overview of the general direction of research, the literature review identified and discussed the research gaps that will be addressed in this thesis. Based on the current direction of research and the gaps identified, two key objectives were formulated. Reflected in the two objectives, in broad terms, were the empirical aspects of the current research which would examine the urban location choice and mobility nexus in a specific urban context as well as the development of an urban simulation model to simulate how urban location choice co- evolves with mobility patterns.
To reiterate, the main objective of the empirical aspect of the research as stated in chapter two was to:
examine empirically, the location choice behaviour of households and individuals with respect to their residential and job locations, and the mobility patterns associated with the observed home-work location combinations.
In relation to the above research objective, four fundamental research questions were derived to be pursued in this thesis. The key empirical research questions identified were:
i. What are the factors and underlying processes of residential location choice behaviour of heterogeneous households in urban areas?
ii. What are the factors and underlying processes of job location choice behaviour of individual working members of the heterogeneous urban households?
iii. What are the interdependence between the residential location choice and job location choice of the households? and;
iv. What are the mobility patterns associated with the emergent residential-job location combinations?
The focus of this chapter therefore is to set out the overall methodology adopted to address the empirical research objective and the accompanying research questions outlined above. To this end, this chapter discusses the case study design adopted and introduces the geographical scope—the case study metropolis for the empirical research. Anchoring the empirical investigation to this context, methodological issues including the delineation of the units of observation and analysis of the empirical research, the translation of the research questions into specific variables, research instrument design, sampling techniques, data collection, data analysis themes and statistical analysis methods are discussed.
3.2 Chapter organization
The rest of this chapter is organized into eight sections. The first section introduces the case study design and outlines the criteria and considerations for the selection of a suitable case study area for the empirical research. Following from this, the selected case study area would be introduced, highlighting its suitability using the established selection criteria. A detailed description of the case study area is then provided focusing on its location, size and historical growth process. In the fourth section, the rationale as well as the approach adopted to divide the case study area into broad urban-zones are presented. A programme to obtain the relevant data is presented in the fifth section, focusing on methodological issues including identification of study variables, data types and sources, description of sampling techniques adopted, design of research instruments and the administration of questionnaires. The penultimate section outlines the analytical themes derived from the data and specifies the corresponding statistical analysis methods that will be adopted. The chapter concludes with a summary of the methodological issues addressed in this chapter and opens a window into the subsequent chapters of the thesis.