MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Graduate Theses
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Graduate Theses
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

The land use and built environment factors impacting where women are using bikeshare in Boston

Author(s)
Krull, Laura, M.C.P. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thumbnail
DownloadFull printable version (13.55Mb)
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning.
Advisor
P. Christopher Zegras.
Terms of use
MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
In the last 10-15 years, many cities across the U.S. have worked to create cities that are not just for motor vehicles. Even with these monetary and physical infrastructure investments, a very low percentage of people in the U.S. primarily use bicycles as a form of transportation, and a large gender gap exists in bicycling. Research suggests the gender gap is due to factors such as risk aversion, bicycling being less convenient to female household responsibility, and women having a stronger preference for safety than men. The objective of this thesis is to analyze built environment and land use factors related to bikeshare usage and investigate if these factors differ for men and women. Exploring how different factors might affect male and female ridership can reveal how gender differences manifest themselves in biking, and can lead to insights into why women bike at such low rates compared to men. In this thesis, I estimate direct ridership models for Boston's bikeshare system, Hubway, to predict trip origins based on a 14 demographic, safety, bicycle infrastructure, safety and transit explanatory variables. I find that many variables impact men and women similarly, particularly land use and demographic factors. The one variable that was significant in all models for women but not in any models for men was distance to separated bicycle facilities. This result indicates that for women, there are more trip origins at stations closer to separated bicycle facilities. I discuss the implication of these findings for city planners and Hubway or other bikeshare systems. The results point to the need for additional research on how experience level may also influence bikeshare usage.
Description
Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2018.
 
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references (pages 97-103).
 
Date issued
2018
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118248
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Urban Studies and Planning.

Collections
  • Graduate Theses

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logo

Find us on

Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube RSS

MIT Libraries navigation

SearchHours & locationsBorrow & requestResearch supportAbout us
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibility
MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.