Understanding urban planning interventions from the perspective of mobility biographies. An empirical study of a newly developed car-reduced neighbourhood in Darmstadt, Germany

In the pursuit of sustainable urban mobility, some municipalities have developed car-free neighbourhoods that restrict the parking of private vehicles. While these settlements successfully reduce car use, this strict parking ban imposes great challenges on the residents. In contrast, car-reduced neighbourhoods limit the number of private parking spaces, without banning them entirely. So far, only a few studies have examined the modal effects of car-reduced neighbourhoods, finding diverse travel patterns and some persisting car dependence. From a mobility biographies perspective, the modal impact of relocating to car-reduced neighbourhoods may be influenced by other concurring key events, such as childbirth or changes in employment. This study examines changes in travel mode use among 339 recently relocated residents of the car-reduced Lincoln neighbourhood in Darmstadt, Germany, and then analyses the impact of key events on these changes. A cluster analysis reveals five types of modal change: two with high pre-relocation car use that (1) remains high in one type and (2) decreases in the other; and three multimodal types: (3) remaining multimodality with low car use, (4) increasing multimodality with reduced car use and (5) remaining multimodality with medium car use. Overall, the car-reduced neighbourhood has caused the majority of its residents to drive less and adopt more car-independent, multimodal travel practices. Therefore, such settlements can be an effective strategy to curb urban car traffic and promote sustainable travel. Importantly, this effect occurs regardless of life stage transitions, as key events prompting the relocation exert limited influence on the modal change types. • Study applies the mobility biographies approach to car-reduced neighbourhoods. • For the majority of residents, car use decreases or remains on a low level. • Moving to car-reduced neighbourhood strengthens existing multimodal mode use. • Effect of biographical key events on mode use changes is limited in case study.