Shifting from planning-centric to community-centric transit-oriented development: Changing travel behaviour

The success of urban development has traditionally been associated with effective planning practices. However, in contexts where behaviour change is crucial, as seen in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and the emerging 15-minute city paradigm, the focus should shift to residents' travel behaviour. TOD calls for creating self-sufficient neighbourhoods around public transport hubs, reducing car dependency by encouraging walking and cycling for daily needs and promoting public transit for longer trips. While most research approaches TOD primarily as an urban planning practice, it extends beyond physical infrastructure. TOD should be regarded as a behaviour-centric approach that focuses on transforming residents' commuting habits to embrace active transportation. This study addresses a critical gap in TOD research by integrating spatial and behavioural dimensions into a unified framework, moving beyond the traditional focus on physical planning alone. It introduces a behaviour-centric conceptual framework, developed through a thematic literature review, that combines physical urban planning, regulatory policies, and community behaviour. The framework is empirically validated through case studies in Manchester Piccadilly and East Didsbury, demonstrating how these interconnected dimensions collectively reduce car dependency and influence traffic flow and traffic-related air pollution. Findings revealed that, despite improved accessibility and land-use diversity, TODs can face challenges in reducing car dependency and in addressing elevated traffic-related air pollution. These challenges can be physical barriers, such as disconnected walking and cycling infrastructure, or transport demand management issues, including limited public transport schedules and inadequate car-free zones. The findings emphasised that in TODs, where proximity to public transport already provides a strong foundation for residents to reduce car dependency, residents can still be reluctant to change their travel habits. Thus, targeted interventions are critical to raising awareness about the environmental impact of transport choices on air pollution and the broader environment. These interventions can encourage TOD residents to adopt active transportation habits when combined with urban planning that ensures safe, adequate cycling and walking infrastructure alongside policy measures to reduce car dependency.