The influence of land use on daily mobility patterns can be described by the two dimensions of urban
form: the first is quantitative, that is density, and the second is qualitative, that is land use mix. Empirical
studies usually add control variables such as sociodemographic characteristics. They suppose that urban
form factors and sociodemographic factors have a separate influence on travel patterns.
In this paper, we first show the possibility of a causal relationship between urban form and
sociodemographic characteristics. Thus previous results, which suppose that these two kinds of factors are
separated, may be biased. It describes systematic relationships between urban form, socio-demographic
characteristics, and daily mobility. As a consequence, we have to use specific econometric methods to test
the motives of mobility. We develop a new tool: the “typological regressions”. Travel patterns in the
metropolitan area of Bordeaux are then analyzed. Results allow to disentangle the interaction between
land use pattenrs and travel behaviours.
