Built environment, life events and commuting mode shift: Focus on gender differences.

• Life events and changes in the built environment (BE) show impacts on commuting mode shift. • The gender differences between the spouses' travel behavior are identified. • Most life events show significant impacts on both the spouse' travel behavior. • Changes in the BE characteristics are more influential on the wife's commuting mode shift. Considerable attention has been paid to the determinants of commuting mode shift patterns. However, the literature provides little evidence on the impacts of changes in the built environment (BE) on commuting mode shift, and few studies shed light on the gender differences in the impacts of influential factors. Based on longitudinal data from China, this study explores how life events and changes in the BE influence commuting mode shift and whether the impacts differ between household couples. The results identify significant differences in the impacts of the influential factors between household couples. Most life events show significant impacts on the spouses' commuting mode shift, whereas changes in the BE characteristics are more influential on the wife's modal shift behavior. These findings suggest that urban planners and policy makers should better understand the gender differences to develop gender-equal transportation systems when implementing urban planning and transportation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]