Determinants of Stated and Revealed Mental Map Quality: An Empirical Study

This paper presents the results of an empirical study into the role of travel behaviour and socio-demographic factors as determinants of mental map quality. Several interesting findings are reported. In line with previous research, conducted in quite different urban contexts, the study finds that travelling by means of active modes, requiring active navigation of the traveller, leads to higher quality mental maps. Strong effects are found for both the car and bicycle modes (relative to the more passive bus-mode). Furthermore, there appears to be a rather strong correspondence between the stated (or: perceived) and revealed (or: actual) quality of people's mental maps. This correspondence is particularly strong among women and non-residents of the study area.