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Travel Behavior among Latino Immigrants: The Role of Ethnic Neighborhoods and Ethnic Employment

Cathy Yang Liu and Gary Painter
2010
Abstract: 
This paper examines evidence concerning Latino immigrants’ travel mode choices among auto alone, carpool, transit and other from six different immigrant gateways: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington D.C. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of living in ethnically-concentrated locations and working in ethnically-concentrated employment sectors in shaping their transit choices. The results demonstrate that living in ethnic neighborhoods increases both the likelihood of carpooling and of taking public transit. Further, working in an ethnic niche is a strong predictor of carpooling versus driving alone in five metropolitan areas, and of taking transit versus driving alone in four metropolitan areas.