ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the results of the application of the Explanatory Qualitative-Quantitative Method (EQQM) to the Greater Copenhagen and the Greater Oporto cases. In order to substantiate that residential location is a cause of differences in travel distances and modes, we must show the basic mechanisms by which the location of dwellings influences travel behaviour. Combined with the spatial configuration of residences, employment and other facilities in a city or metropolitan area, the transport rationales produce some characteristic relationships between residential location and travel found in a number of different urban contexts. The rationale of flexibility generally leads to a preference for individual modes of travel rather than public transport. The flexibility rationale may strengthen the influence of proximity to the main city centre on modal choice, since public transport is less flexible in the periphery and car traffic more hampered in the inner city.
