My research focuses on the
motivating factors behind travel choices, including destination, mode and path
choices, with an emphasis on non-motorized sustainable modes. Trained as a civil
engineer, my work bridges the gap between engineering design and behavior by
understanding the interrelationships between the built environment and travel,
including destination choices.
With respect to sense of place, my
attention is on two contributing factors: (i) how our journey to destinations and
spatial mobility affect our perception of place and (ii) how the internet or
online reputation of locations compliments or detracts from this perception.
The overarching vision of this work is that non-motorized travel improves sense
of place by exposing travelers to their environments. Given the pervasiveness
of mobile information and communication technologies (ICT), online reputation
of locations may further adjust this perception of sense of place.
I currently have an ongoing
funded project looking at the link between (i) non-motorized travel access;
(ii) online reputation and (iii) sense of place. The study focuses on three
sites in Rochester: (a) Public Market; (b) East End and (c) College Town. Intercept
surveys are conducted at each of these sites, collecting attitudinal and travel
access information from site visitors. Additionally, a built environment audit
is used to characterize the design attributes of each location. Finally, online
sites that collect feedback from users, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Twitter
are data-mined to provide sense of place metrics for each site. An analysis of
all three sources of information is conducted to characterize the interrelationships.
Public Market
East End
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