Who travels for travel’s sake?: Profiling undirected travelers and their (built) environments

Abstract

Undirected travel (UT; travel for its own sake) is systematically overlooked in transport research and planning, despite its strong connection to well-being. This study examines differences to directed travel, traveler profiles, built environment influences, and how these factors shape UT behavior using the 2023 ODiN dataset (53,049 respondents; 181,717 trips) through a proportional odds model. Findings suggest that UT is longer in duration but shorter in distance, taken overwhelmingly on foot, and has more temporal variability. Younger adults, males, non-Western migrants, and larger households, particularly with young children, are more likely, while employed and university-educated individuals are less likely, to engage in UT. Higher entropy and population, cycling, and service density are associated with UT participation. This highlights the unique nature of UT and underscores the need to reimagine transport planning frameworks to include UT, emphasizing its potential to enhance well-being and support sustainable mobility goals.