University of California, Davis
Graduate Group in Transportation Technology and Policy
TTP 289B-007 (CRN: 53367)
Spatial Behavior: A Geographic Perspective on Travel Behavior and Travel Modeling
Number of Units: 2
Grading: S/U
Instructor:
Gil Tal, gtal@ucdavis.edu
PH&EV Research Center
Institute of Transportation Studies
Office 1115, Building 1590 Tilia, West Village, Davis CA, USA
530-754-4408
Course Description:
This course will focus on the geographic perspectives of travel behavior. The course will focus on
four behavioral frameworks and four case studies. The frameworks will include, spatial cognition
(cognitive maps), activities in time and space (time-space geography), spatial utility maximization
(Transportation modeling approaches) and location decisions. The case studies will include,
Information and communications technology, gender and minorities, tourism, alternative fuel
vehicles driving and charging and other topics suggested by the students.
Goals:
To introduce students to a variety of approaches to human spatial behavior and in doing so, to put
the most widely implemented behavioral approach in transportation research, i.e., spatial utility
maximization, into context. The goal of this class is to explore the implications for research and
policy of different approaches to special behavior.
Requirements

Attending class and participating in discussion.

Leading discussion one week.

Submitting a research note at the end of the quarter.
The note may, for example, state a research question within at least two different approaches or
frameworks, compare and contrast appropriate research designs including data collection and
analysis, and discuss the impact of the research approach on possible policy implications.
Readings
Circella, G., Mokhtarian, P. L., & Poff, L. K. (2012). A conceptual typology of multitasking
behavior and polychronicity preferences. electronic International Journal of Time Use Research
(eIJTUR), 9(1), 59-107.
Golledge, R. G. (1997). Spatial behavior: A geographic perspective. Guilford Press.
Golledge, R. G., & Garling, T. (2001). Spatial behavior in transportation modeling and planning.
University of California Transportation Center. http://www.uctc.net/papers/602.pdf
Hannes, E., Janssens, D., & Wets, G. (2008). Destination choice in daily activity travel: mental
map's repertoire. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board,
2054(1), 20-27
Joachim Scheiner, (2014), The gendered complexity of daily life: Effects of life-course events on
changes in activity entropy and tour complexity over time, Travel Behaviour and Society, Volume
1, Issue 3, September 2014, Pages 91-105
Levinson, D. M., & Kumar, A. (1994). The rational locator: why travel times have remained stable.
Journal of the American Planning Association, 60(3), 319-332.
Mokhtarian, P. (2009). If telecommunication is such a good substitute for travel, why does
congestion continue to get worse? Transportation Letters, 1(1), 1-17.
Mokhtarian, P. L. (2005). Travel as a desired end, not just a means. Transportation Research Part A:
Policy and Practice, 39(2), 93-96.
Mondschein, A., Blumenberg, E., & Taylor, B. (2010). Accessibility and cognition: the effect of
transport mode on spatial knowledge. Urban studies,47(4), 845-866.