THE SCHOOL OF CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Under the provisions of the regulations for the degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

on Monday, July 23rd, 2018

2:00-4:00 PM (Eastern Time)

Architecture East Room 214

will be held the

DISSERTATION DEFENSE

for

Yongsung Lee

Will Millennials Stay in the City and Travel Without Cars? Understanding Heterogeneity in Modality Styles and Residential Preferences Within and Across Millennials and Members of Generation X

​​ The Examiners Are:

Dr. Subhrajit Guhathakurta (Chair)

Dr. Giovanni Circella 

Dr. Patricia L. Mokhtarian

Dr. Timothy Welch 

Dr. Ram Pendyala 

Faculty and students are invited to attend this examination.

Abstract:

Millennials, those who were born from 1981 to 1996, are reported to make different mobility choices, compared to preceding generations when they were young. Though academic research and industry and consulting reports have confirmed millennials travel differently than preceding generations, the factors underlying their behaviors and choices and their relative contribution to millennials have not well understood. In response, this study examines the travel behavior and location choice of millennials and members of Generation X (as a comparison group) in California with a unique data set that collected a rich set of their socioeconomic, demographic, and attitudinal, as well as their location information and typical travel patterns. In the attempt to fill the literature gaps, a lack of attitudinal variables, non-representative samples, simplistic approaches to the exploration of heterogeneity in the population, this study identifies latent classes of individuals with heterogeneous modality styles and residential preferences. In doing so, latent class cluster analysis and latent class choice model techniques are employed with active covariates which account for the probabilities of individuals belonging to one class or another and with inactive covariates which help illustrate distinctive characteristics of each class, but are excluded from the membership models because of endogeneity. Not surprisingly, compared to Gen Xers, millennials present higher probabilities of belong to latent classes whose members show multimodal travel patterns and prefer viable urban neighborhoods. However, substantial heterogeneity is present within each generation. While the majority of millennials still travel by cars, only to a slightly less extent compared to Gen Xers, millennials appear to much more prefer urban amenities (e.g., close proximity to restaurants, cafes, and bars) than Gen Xers because of their delays in life course events and distinctive preferences.