Low-density residential development patterns in New England have resulted in the excessive loss of farms, forests and other open spaces and increased automobile dependence. Coupled with increasingly high land costs, sprawl has contributed towards an affordable housing crisis in Massachusetts. The need for sustainable development (such as new urbanism and smart growth) has been increasingly recognized, yet efforts have been hampered, in part, due to apathy and local residents’ resistance towards increasing residential densities, resulting in limited choices for willing homebuyers. This study examines perceptions of residential neighborhoods and sustainable development among residents in Hopkinton and Southborough, Massachusetts; two communities with rural and suburban character located in the rapidly growing metropolitan Boston region. A photo-based survey sent through the mail asked respondents to rate scenes of innovative residential settings and to answer questions about their attitudes towards environmental issues, planning approaches and neighborhood preferences, their current residential setting and demographic characteristics. The results from 253 survey respondents showed three important themes: (1) that residents expressed strong environmental values yet many lacked awareness of the environmental impacts of low density housing, (2) strong preference for views of nature and open spaces was prevalent and (3) visual design variables can dramatically influence perceived density. Key findings indicate two sub-groups. Approximately one-third of the respondents strongly support denser, sustainable development alternatives and value neighborhood planning that reduces auto dependency, meets the needs of households with various incomes and protects open space. While, the other two-thirds of the sample favor calm, scenic, low density neighborhoods and would like to see their community preserve its open spaces and maintain its historic and rural aesthetic. The study concludes with recommendations for regionally appropriate approaches to sustainable development that take into account the multiple scales and stakeholder involvement.

Insufficient knowledge of residential preferences represents a major obstacle to achieving residential satisfaction and quality of life. This obstacle is even greater in the case of transit-oriented developments (TODs), as their success depends, in part, on the degree to which people's preferences are consistent with their residential environments. This study employed a visual choice experiment, which combines the benefits of visual preference surveys and discrete choice experiments, to elicit residential preference for TODs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before the opening of its citywide public transportation system. Using a seemingly homogeneous sample of participants, the analysis incorporated three analytical methods to elicit residential preference: a multinomial logit model, a mixed logit model, and a latent class model. The results indicated the presence of preference heterogeneity and the emergence of four lifestyle classes that could explain and predict residential preference patterns. People with similar sociodemographic characteristics may have different lifestyles based on their choice behavior, marital status, and public transit attitudes. Additionally, the results showed a strong preference for low-density housing, even among those who favor living in a TOD; however, increasing density could be mitigated through the presence of other TOD attributes. The findings of this research point to the diversity of residential preferences and suggest that providing a variety of residential environments increases the likelihood that people will find their preferred environment. Additionally, planning efforts to convert all developments near transit, particularly in suburban locations, to TODs might be unsuitable in cities where public transportation has been introduced only recently. Instead, deferring TOD conversion efforts until public transportation and its use are mature may attract people to live near transit and encourage the gradual development of transit affinity in residents who may otherwise reject TOD living completely. Lastly, the successful application of a visual choice experiment in this research opens up a variety of potential analytical methods that are used commonly in other fields and have the potential to move visual preference research into the realm of robust empirical investigation. / Ph. D. / The work of urban planners, urban designers, architects, and policy makers centers on improving the built environment and increasing the quality of people’s lives. However, their work entails making decisions that are not always in tandem with people’s preferences (e.g., increasing housing density, proposing a mix of land uses in residential neighborhoods, introducing public transportation close to where people live and work, to name a few). Due to the uncertainty surrounding people’s acceptance of modifications of the built environment, especially when it entails introducing residential attributes for the first time, this dissertation focused on 1) assessing residential preference near public transportation nodes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia before operation of the public transportation system, and 2) assessing the extent to which advanced analytical methods are capable of providing a better understanding of residential preference differences among a seemingly homogenous sample of participants. The work in this dissertation was motivated by the increasing use of manipulated images in choice tasks, where participants are presented with multiple images, each depicting a residential scenario, as bundles to choose from, and their choice patterns then recorded and analyzed. The results showed that among the relatively homogenous sample of participants that was recruited, four significant residential preference patterns have emerged, which could be used to describe and predict residential preference and choice with great accuracy. This dissertation laid out several policy implications that could be useful in providing a built environment that matches with what people want. It also provided research implications and suggestions on the use of visual choice experiments for urban planners and designers that are well-developed in other fields of inquiry.

Les mobilités résidentielles sont le résultat de stratégies d’accessibilité des ménages à divers besoins. Les jeunes couples qui accèdent à la propriété doivent sacrifier certains aspects de leur mode de vie passé, particulièrement face aux impératifs perçus de la parentalité. À l’aide d’un sondage sur les choix résidentiels auprès de 70 répondants de la région métropolitaine de Montréal, nous décomposons les facteurs représentatifs du mode de vie avant et après l’accès à la propriété. Quatre entretiens permettent d’approfondir le sens donné au logement et au quartier par les couples et de le distinguer selon le type de trajectoire résidentielle des ménages. Les résultats indiquent que les jeunes acheteurs tendent à choisir des quartiers où la mobilité est marquée par la dépendance à l’automobile. Le revenu et le lieu du travail ne sont pas liés au type de quartier choisi, indiquant que des couples font des choix résidentiels riches qui dépassent les simples considérations financières ou de proximité à l’emploi. Le logement précédent, constitutif d’une part de l’habitus résidentiel, est fortement corrélé au choix de la propriété. Des aspects très importants du mode de vie passé sont promus lors de l’achat alors que d’autres sont sacrifiés. Afin d’accéder à un logement répondant aux caractéristiques essentielles, certains couples sont prêts à laisser de côté leur mode de vie actif et social. Au contraire, les modes de vie automobiliste fonctionnel et tranquille mènent de manière plus importante à une localisation en banlieue automobile. Les entretiens permettent de confirmer la grande importance accordée à la propriété pour avoir des enfants. La volonté de posséder un espace extérieur privé s’impose parmi les multiples motivations des couples. Au fil des opportunités, les jeunes acheteurs ajustent leurs manières d’habiter afin d’offrir le milieu de vie espéré pour leurs enfants, exposant des ruptures et des continuités. / Residential mobility results from strategies to ensure access to households needs. Young homeowner couples must sacrifice aspects of their past lifestyles, especially considering the perceived imperatives of parenthood. Using a residential choice survey of 70 respondents from the Montréal metropolitan area, we break down the representative factors of lifestyles before and after homeownership. Four interviews enable us to examine in greater depth the meaning given to the home as well as the neighbourhood by couples and to distinguish those meanings according to their residential trajectory. Results indicate that young buyers tend to favour car dependant neighbourhoods. Income and place of work are not related to the type of neighbourhood chosen, indicating that couples make complex residential choices that go beyond simple financial considerations or proximity to workplaces. Couples’ previous home, which forms part of the residential habitus, is strongly correlated with the property location. To make homeownership possible, some important aspects of past lifestyles are maintained while others are sacrificed. Couples are more likely to abandon the active and social lifestyle while the functional motorist and tranquil lifestyles are more likely to locate in automobile-dependant suburbs. Interviews confirm the great importance attached to homeownership when planning to have children. Private outdoor space is one of the driving motivations for young couples. As opportunities arise, young homebuying couples adjust the way they live to provide the required kind of environment for children, creating some lifestyle breaks and continuities.

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La thèse s’intéresse aux enjeux de maîtrise de la croissance urbaine au travers du modèle de Ville Compacte et de sa caractéristique spatiale clé : la densité. Ce travail de doctorat s’inscrit dans une démarche théorique, méthodologique et empirique. Premièrement, la thèse replace la densité dans les modèles de microéconomie urbaine relatifs aux choix de localisation des agents. Nous identifions ainsi les différents déterminants de la localisation résidentielle (centre d’emploi, aménités, service résidentiel) et analysons l’organisation spatiale – dense ou dispersée – qui en découle. De plus, la thèse ne considère pas uniquement une densité mais des densités urbaines telles des densités de contenu (population, emploi) et de contenant (bâti). Elle met ainsi en évidence divers enjeux méthodologiques associés au traitement et à l’analyse des densités urbaines et propose une mesure plus juste de l’intensité de l’occupation de l’espace, le ratio de densité net. Pour illustrer ces résultats, deux études empiriques portant sur le Grand Dijon sont réalisées. La première consiste en une typologie des quartiers dijonnais qui met en relation les déterminants théoriques de choix de localisation et les types et niveaux de densités urbaines. La seconde étude empirique s’intéresse aux conditions d’acceptabilité des densités urbaines par les individus. Elle consiste en une évaluation hédonique appliquée au prix du logement qui appréhende la valorisation de la densité perçue (bâti) et de la densité en tant que vecteur d’interactions sociales. La thèse apporte des éclairages sur les conditions de réalisation et d’acceptation des politiques d’aménagement actuelles visant la Ville Compacte. / The thesis is focused on urban growth control challenge through the Compact City model and its key spatial characteristic: the density. This work deals both with a theoretical, methodological and empirical approach. First, we place ourselves in the theoretical framework of Urban Economic addressing agents’ location choices. We mobilize these theories to identify the key determinants of residential location (employment center, spatial amenities, housing’s service) and analyze the spatial organization that follows (dense or spread). This literature leads us to consider different types of density: structural density, population density and social density. This thesis highlights various methodological challenges associated with the treatment and analysis of urban densities and proposes a more accurate measure of the intensity of space occupancy, the net density ratio. To illustrate this results, we realize two empirical studies on the agglomeration of Grand Dijon. The first is a typology on Dijon urban area neighborhoods that links density levels to theoretical determinants of residential location. The second empirical study implements the method of hedonic prices applied to housing. Relying on the methods and tools of spatial econometrics, we estimate the valuation of the density on the Grand Dijon and identify the conditions for its acceptance by individuals. This thesis sheds light on the conditions of realization and acceptance of current planning policies aiming at achieving Compact City.