Thesis titled: “Role of daily mobility when carrying out complex schedules“, defended on march 21st, 2017.
Abstract:
Times studies agree on the fact that our society is currently undergoing changes in terms of pace of life, but debates arise as to the uniformity of such changes within the population and individuals’ scope of action in the face of said phenomena. Given that society as a whole mastered time and space through the rise of transport speed, one is tempted to assume that it is also the case on the individual level. However, few empirical studies have taken it upon themselves to analyze the impact of speed in daily mobility on individuals’ pace of life. Using a combination of statistical analysis and in-depth interviews, this thesis aims at providing supplementary insight into the topic by analyzing transport modes and mobility patterns of inhabitants of the Greater Paris region. Through this micro-social analysis, we show that the more out-of-home activities people do, the lower their average speed in the course of a day is, whilst the average distance to a destination also decreases. This can be explained by the way they choose their destinations. For activities which are meaningful to them, they maximize the utility of their destination by using fast transport modes. For ancillary activities, they minimize travel time by locating them in the direct vicinity of their high-value activities, which prompts the use of slower modes. Finally, we show that the combination of these two rationales is easier in the center than in the suburbs, thus facilitating a high pace of life and more improvised schedules in the former. Hence, more than access to speed, it is residential location which induces disparities between people in their ability to deal with time demands.
Rapporteur : CROZET Yves
Examinateur : AUTHIER Jean-Yves
Thesis advisor : DE CONINCK Frédéric
Co-advisor : MASSOT Marie-Hélène
Biography, career
After an engineering degree from Ecole des Ponts and a Master in urban planing and urban studies from Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, I did a PhD at the LVMT, with Frédéric De Coninck and Marie-Hélène Massot as my advisors.
After my postdoctoral fellowship for the Geolytics project, I left LVMT to join 6T consulting company.
Mon CV