2012 Volume 42 Issue 4 Pages 963-976
This paper discusses the structure of regional environmental consciousness (REC) for streetcar users with social capital (SC) . Nowadays, streetcars are known as a useful tool for climate change countermeasures in urban areas. On the other hand, SC improves citizen consciousness and changes travel behavior. This study focused on SC that reveals a unique public awareness for each region. The definition of SC used in this paper is from Putnam (1993) . "SC refers to features of social organization, such as trust, norms, and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions." Moreover, high car dependency depends on citizen behavior types. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to clarify the influence structure of REC for streetcar choice behavior as it relates to streetcar services and citizen behavior types.
Two cities with different streetcar service levels were chosen as case studies. Hakodate City, Japan has a conventional streetcar service. Toyama City, Japan has a new streetcar service. A questionnaire survey was administered to streetcar users, and 558 valid samples were obtained. Structural equation modeling and the logit model were used to analyze the data. The results show the following REC influence structure: SC influences environmental and urban development consciousness, and the determinants of streetcar use intentions differ according to the streetcar service. Moreover, non car owners, pro-environmental consciousness and SC influence streetcar use intentions. Finally, the paper discusses several recommendations for the promotion of streetcar choice behavior by using REC.
JEL Classification: R48, R58
