The impact of perceived racism on walking behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown

Liang Ma; Yage Liu; Jason Cao; Runing Ye

doi:10.1016/j.trd.2022.103335

The impact of perceived racism on walking behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown

Transp Res D Transp Environ. 2022 Aug:109:103335. doi: 10.1016/j.trd.2022.103335. Epub 2022 Jun 3.

Authors

Liang Ma¹, Yage Liu¹, Jason Cao², Runing Ye³

Affiliations

¹ College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
² Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN, 55455, United States.
³ Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has had a significant impact on people's travel behavior. The level of this impact has been unevenly distributed among different population groups. The recent rise in anti-Asian racism implies that Asians have faced increased stress during the pandemic. As a result, the impact on their travel behavior is likely to differ from other ethnic groups. We examined this hypothesis by focusing on the impact of the pandemic on walking behavior. We collected survey data in Melbourne, Australia, during the pandemic lockdown, and analyzed the data using a Structural Equation Model approach. The results suggest that Asians experienced a significantly higher level of discrimination than other racial groups and were less likely to increase walking than White people. We also found that neighborhood cohesion helped alleviate perceived discrimination and promote walking. This study offers new insights into the role of racism in travel behavior.

Keywords: COVID-19; Equity; Racism; Social cohesion; Walking behavior.