University of California Transportation Center

Underlying changes in demographics and travel are an important set of social and personal choices that determine behavior. California’s reputation as a trendsetter for the rest of the nation in terms of social developments and public policy is primarily driven by the dynamic shifts in lifestyle choices of our state’s individual residents and communities. These lifestyle choices and trends are intimately linked to the choices we make about where we live, where we work, where we shop, and perhaps most importantly for the purposes of this investigation, how we travel. Therefore, understanding lifestyle trends and their implications for travel demand and transportation infrastructure investments is a critical element in the determination of future transportation policy in California.