PurposeThis study investigates the determinants of teleworking before and during COVID-19 in Cana... more PurposeThis study investigates the determinants of teleworking before and during COVID-19 in Canada. It explores the extent of telework adoption across industrial sectors, as well as the long-term impacts of large-scale adoption of teleworking on urban travel demand and the dwindling demand for commercial real estate in downtowns.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from a survey of business establishments, this study employs data visualization techniques to illustrate how telework adoption evolved during the early stages of the COVID-19 lockdown. The study also estimates Logit models to explore the determinants of telework before and during the pandemic using a subsample from the Canadian labor force survey.FindingsThe study found that telework adoption reached a peak in March and April of 2020 when almost 40% of the workers in Canada were teleworking. Only 12% of employees reported teleworking before the pandemic. The adoption of teleworking was far more pronounced amongst firms ...
This research focuses on identifying the factors that correlate with the increase in the severity... more This research focuses on identifying the factors that correlate with the increase in the severity of pedestrian injuries when struck by motorized vehicles. Using a dataset of all collisions involving pedestrians from Washington State, the objective of this research is to identify demographic attributes of at-risk drivers who are more likely to be involved in collisions resulting in death or serious injuries to pedestrians. Other factors being investigated include environmental conditions, visibility, urban/rural location, and the type of the roadway. A multinomial logit model was estimated to identify the most significant factors associated with death or serious injuries for pedestrians. This paper finds young, male, and impaired drivers are more likely to be involved in collisions resulting in death of or serious injuries to pedestrians. Poor visibility and overcast conditions are also associated with higher odds for pedestrian injury or death. Similarly, rural locations and inters...
The case for public transit is often justified for its role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,... more The case for public transit is often justified for its role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, curbing urban sprawl, and reducing society’s dependence on the automobile. Urban transit could also be instrumental in enhancing accessibility of the transportation disadvantaged groups and therefore it could act as a key tool in promoting equity and social justice in the society. Interestingly enough, transit’s role in promoting equity is often overlooked as a reason for investing in public transit. This paper presents a study of transit mode split in ten large Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States using Census Tract (CT) data extracted from the 2000 Census. Its purpose is to study public transit ridership in select US cities to determine if transit is catering to the accessibility needs of the transportation disadvantaged groups, such as low-income households. This paper draws on urban form (density, distance to the CBD), local economic health (income, unemployment, pove...
This paper contrasts the impact of Web 2.0 technologies in tourism-related decision-making agains... more This paper contrasts the impact of Web 2.0 technologies in tourism-related decision-making against word-of-mouth persuasions by friends and family. We conducted an online survey using a structured sample (n = 653) of students from seven universities in Montreal and one in Toronto. Our study offers further evidence in support of earlier research stating that, despite the rising influence of Web 2.0 technologies, opinions and posted contents of friends and family members remain the strongest influence on travel planning, more so for respondents
The City of Toronto implemented a land transfer tax on real estate transactions in February 2008.... more The City of Toronto implemented a land transfer tax on real estate transactions in February 2008. We explore the impact of the tax on housing sales in the City of Toronto and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Previous research has shown that housing sales declined in Toronto once the City imposed the land transfer tax. This study, however, concludes that the negative impact of the tax on housing sales was statistically insignificant. Our approach differs from earlier studies in three ways. First, we highlight other influences on housing sales, in particular, the impact of the Great Recession, which overlapped with the imposition of the land transfer tax in Toronto, and the tightening of mortgage regulations in Canada that prevented lenders from issuing subprime mortgages. Second, we analyze the sale of both freehold and condominium properties in the GTA; previous research restricted analysis to freehold properties. Third, we take a regional perspective by contrasting any d...
Canadian Journal of Regional Science, Jun 22, 2008
Abstract Research in housing supply is scarce. Even scarcer is the research on the location and h... more Abstract Research in housing supply is scarce. Even scarcer is the research on the location and housing-type choices of homebuilders. The academic literature is almost silent on the questions of what influences the location and housing type choices of homebuilders. Similarly, a small body of literature has addressed spatial autocorrelation in discrete choice models. The spatial homogeneity depicted by the typical cookie-cutter architecture of urban and suburban dwellings suggests the presence of spatial autocorrelation. However, empirical studies of the determinants of homebuilders' product type choices have completely ignored the presence of spatial correlation. This paper presents the derivation and development of a random parameter discrete choice model that accounts for spatial correlation in choice behaviour. A mixed spatial multinomial logit model is formulated that incorporates spatial dependencies to predict housing-type choices of new homebuilders. The results of the model suggest that housing-type choice of a homebuilder is influenced by other projects in adjacent zones, resulting in a spatially correlated choice behaviour. Heterogeneity effects were also found to be important in this model. The mixed spatial multinomial logit model offers a substantial improvement, in terms of model fit, over the multinomial logit and standard spatial logit models. Resume Il existe tres peu de recherche au sujet de l'offre immobiliere et encore moins sur le choix de la localisation et type de logements que les entrepreneurs construisent. De la meme facon, il n'y a que peu de recherche qui se penche sur la question de l'autocorrelation spatiale dans l'analyse des choix discrets. Par contre, l'homogeneite spatiale des banlieues suggere l'existence d'une autocorrelation spatiale. Les etudes empiriques des choix et comportements des entrepreneurs ignorent completement l'autocorrelation spatiale. L'article presente les choix de types de logements que les entrepreneurs construisent en tenant compte des parametres de dependance spatiale et d'heterogeneite en matiere de gouts. Cet article demontre et developpe un modele de choix discret avec des parametres aleatoires qui incorpore l'autocorrelation spatiale. Ces dernieres annees, un nombre limite de recherches a essaye d'analyser les dependances spatiales et temporales des decision-makers et les alternatives. Alors que les dependances temporales sont souvent considerees dans les modeles dynamiques, peu de recherche incorpore les dependances spatiales dans les variables dependantes qualitatives et les modeles de choix discret. L'idee de base presentee dans cet article est que les entrepreneurs qui construisent, influencent le choix de types de logement des autres entrepreneurs qui peuvent choisir de construire de nouveaux logements dans un espace proche, resultant en un choix lie au comportement dans l'espace. Les donnees sur les constructions de nouveaux types de logement et ses determinants ont ete compilees a partir de diverses sources. La base de donnees de construction de logement consiste en des nouveaux developpements de logements en incorporant le type, la localisation et le prix de nouveaux logements construits entre janvier 1997 et avril 2001 dans la grande region metropolitaine de Toronto (Greater Toronto Area, GTA). La base de donnees integre tous les nouveaux types de developpement de logements ayant un minimum de dix nouvelles unites de logement. L'echantillon final utilise dans cette etude consiste en 1384 nouveaux projets de developpement pour lesquels toutes les variables requises etaient disponibles. Chaque projet represente la decision des entrepreneurs de construire un type particulier d'unite de logement, incluant single detached houses, semi-detached (SD) houses, projets d'appartements, et autres developpements de type low riset (townhouses, row houses). Les 1384 projets de logement incluent la construction de 113000 nouvelles unites de logement. …
The Quebec City-Windsor corridor is the busiest and most important trade and transportation corri... more The Quebec City-Windsor corridor is the busiest and most important trade and transportation corridor in Canada. The transportation sector is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the country. Governments around the world, including Canada, are considering increased mode share by rail as a way to reduce transportation emissions. To understand whether freight mode shift is a realistic means to reduce transportation emissions, an analytical model is needed that can predict the effect of government policy on mode split. This paper presents the findings of the first such model developed for the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. The model itself is a stated preference carrier choice model of shippers in this busy corridor. The model was developed using the results of a stated preference survey undertaken in the fall of 2005. The survey was designed explicitly to evaluate shipper preferences for the carriage of intercity consignments, and particularly their preferences for carriers that contract the services of rail companies to carry these shipments via rail. The results of the study show that shippers are very mistrustful of using rail to move their consignments and suggests that increasing rails share of freight faces tremendous challenges
This paper explores the relationship between public transit mode share and population density. It... more This paper explores the relationship between public transit mode share and population density. It critically reviews the long-held belief that an increase in population density (compact built form) will result in an increase in public transit ridership. The research developed a longitudinal data set of travel behavior, transit supply, and proxies of built form for 1996 and 2016 for the City of Toronto. The data set is spatially disaggregated at the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) level such that the TAZs that divide the City into 480 mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive zones. The paper found that a cross-sectional analysis of population density and transit mode share captures mostly the contemporaneous relationship between the two and does not, by default, lend credence to the argument that if the density increases over time at a place, it will subsequently result in higher public transit ridership. Such a question will require a longitudinal analysis where the impact of a ch...
... Page 18. Haider, Salazar-Chavez 16 REFERENCES ... 4. Luis Dórich, Al Rescate de Lima (Lima: C... more ... Page 18. Haider, Salazar-Chavez 16 REFERENCES ... 4. Luis Dórich, Al Rescate de Lima (Lima: Colegio de Arquitectos del Perú e Instituto de Urbanismo y Planificación del Perú, 1996), 184. 5. Harry Max León, Términos de referencia del estudio OD (Lima: CTLC) ...
PurposeThis study investigates the determinants of teleworking before and during COVID-19 in Cana... more PurposeThis study investigates the determinants of teleworking before and during COVID-19 in Canada. It explores the extent of telework adoption across industrial sectors, as well as the long-term impacts of large-scale adoption of teleworking on urban travel demand and the dwindling demand for commercial real estate in downtowns.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from a survey of business establishments, this study employs data visualization techniques to illustrate how telework adoption evolved during the early stages of the COVID-19 lockdown. The study also estimates Logit models to explore the determinants of telework before and during the pandemic using a subsample from the Canadian labor force survey.FindingsThe study found that telework adoption reached a peak in March and April of 2020 when almost 40% of the workers in Canada were teleworking. Only 12% of employees reported teleworking before the pandemic. The adoption of teleworking was far more pronounced amongst firms ...
This research focuses on identifying the factors that correlate with the increase in the severity... more This research focuses on identifying the factors that correlate with the increase in the severity of pedestrian injuries when struck by motorized vehicles. Using a dataset of all collisions involving pedestrians from Washington State, the objective of this research is to identify demographic attributes of at-risk drivers who are more likely to be involved in collisions resulting in death or serious injuries to pedestrians. Other factors being investigated include environmental conditions, visibility, urban/rural location, and the type of the roadway. A multinomial logit model was estimated to identify the most significant factors associated with death or serious injuries for pedestrians. This paper finds young, male, and impaired drivers are more likely to be involved in collisions resulting in death of or serious injuries to pedestrians. Poor visibility and overcast conditions are also associated with higher odds for pedestrian injury or death. Similarly, rural locations and inters...
The case for public transit is often justified for its role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,... more The case for public transit is often justified for its role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, curbing urban sprawl, and reducing society’s dependence on the automobile. Urban transit could also be instrumental in enhancing accessibility of the transportation disadvantaged groups and therefore it could act as a key tool in promoting equity and social justice in the society. Interestingly enough, transit’s role in promoting equity is often overlooked as a reason for investing in public transit. This paper presents a study of transit mode split in ten large Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States using Census Tract (CT) data extracted from the 2000 Census. Its purpose is to study public transit ridership in select US cities to determine if transit is catering to the accessibility needs of the transportation disadvantaged groups, such as low-income households. This paper draws on urban form (density, distance to the CBD), local economic health (income, unemployment, pove...
This paper contrasts the impact of Web 2.0 technologies in tourism-related decision-making agains... more This paper contrasts the impact of Web 2.0 technologies in tourism-related decision-making against word-of-mouth persuasions by friends and family. We conducted an online survey using a structured sample (n = 653) of students from seven universities in Montreal and one in Toronto. Our study offers further evidence in support of earlier research stating that, despite the rising influence of Web 2.0 technologies, opinions and posted contents of friends and family members remain the strongest influence on travel planning, more so for respondents
The City of Toronto implemented a land transfer tax on real estate transactions in February 2008.... more The City of Toronto implemented a land transfer tax on real estate transactions in February 2008. We explore the impact of the tax on housing sales in the City of Toronto and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Previous research has shown that housing sales declined in Toronto once the City imposed the land transfer tax. This study, however, concludes that the negative impact of the tax on housing sales was statistically insignificant. Our approach differs from earlier studies in three ways. First, we highlight other influences on housing sales, in particular, the impact of the Great Recession, which overlapped with the imposition of the land transfer tax in Toronto, and the tightening of mortgage regulations in Canada that prevented lenders from issuing subprime mortgages. Second, we analyze the sale of both freehold and condominium properties in the GTA; previous research restricted analysis to freehold properties. Third, we take a regional perspective by contrasting any d...
Canadian Journal of Regional Science, Jun 22, 2008
Abstract Research in housing supply is scarce. Even scarcer is the research on the location and h... more Abstract Research in housing supply is scarce. Even scarcer is the research on the location and housing-type choices of homebuilders. The academic literature is almost silent on the questions of what influences the location and housing type choices of homebuilders. Similarly, a small body of literature has addressed spatial autocorrelation in discrete choice models. The spatial homogeneity depicted by the typical cookie-cutter architecture of urban and suburban dwellings suggests the presence of spatial autocorrelation. However, empirical studies of the determinants of homebuilders' product type choices have completely ignored the presence of spatial correlation. This paper presents the derivation and development of a random parameter discrete choice model that accounts for spatial correlation in choice behaviour. A mixed spatial multinomial logit model is formulated that incorporates spatial dependencies to predict housing-type choices of new homebuilders. The results of the model suggest that housing-type choice of a homebuilder is influenced by other projects in adjacent zones, resulting in a spatially correlated choice behaviour. Heterogeneity effects were also found to be important in this model. The mixed spatial multinomial logit model offers a substantial improvement, in terms of model fit, over the multinomial logit and standard spatial logit models. Resume Il existe tres peu de recherche au sujet de l'offre immobiliere et encore moins sur le choix de la localisation et type de logements que les entrepreneurs construisent. De la meme facon, il n'y a que peu de recherche qui se penche sur la question de l'autocorrelation spatiale dans l'analyse des choix discrets. Par contre, l'homogeneite spatiale des banlieues suggere l'existence d'une autocorrelation spatiale. Les etudes empiriques des choix et comportements des entrepreneurs ignorent completement l'autocorrelation spatiale. L'article presente les choix de types de logements que les entrepreneurs construisent en tenant compte des parametres de dependance spatiale et d'heterogeneite en matiere de gouts. Cet article demontre et developpe un modele de choix discret avec des parametres aleatoires qui incorpore l'autocorrelation spatiale. Ces dernieres annees, un nombre limite de recherches a essaye d'analyser les dependances spatiales et temporales des decision-makers et les alternatives. Alors que les dependances temporales sont souvent considerees dans les modeles dynamiques, peu de recherche incorpore les dependances spatiales dans les variables dependantes qualitatives et les modeles de choix discret. L'idee de base presentee dans cet article est que les entrepreneurs qui construisent, influencent le choix de types de logement des autres entrepreneurs qui peuvent choisir de construire de nouveaux logements dans un espace proche, resultant en un choix lie au comportement dans l'espace. Les donnees sur les constructions de nouveaux types de logement et ses determinants ont ete compilees a partir de diverses sources. La base de donnees de construction de logement consiste en des nouveaux developpements de logements en incorporant le type, la localisation et le prix de nouveaux logements construits entre janvier 1997 et avril 2001 dans la grande region metropolitaine de Toronto (Greater Toronto Area, GTA). La base de donnees integre tous les nouveaux types de developpement de logements ayant un minimum de dix nouvelles unites de logement. L'echantillon final utilise dans cette etude consiste en 1384 nouveaux projets de developpement pour lesquels toutes les variables requises etaient disponibles. Chaque projet represente la decision des entrepreneurs de construire un type particulier d'unite de logement, incluant single detached houses, semi-detached (SD) houses, projets d'appartements, et autres developpements de type low riset (townhouses, row houses). Les 1384 projets de logement incluent la construction de 113000 nouvelles unites de logement. …
The Quebec City-Windsor corridor is the busiest and most important trade and transportation corri... more The Quebec City-Windsor corridor is the busiest and most important trade and transportation corridor in Canada. The transportation sector is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the country. Governments around the world, including Canada, are considering increased mode share by rail as a way to reduce transportation emissions. To understand whether freight mode shift is a realistic means to reduce transportation emissions, an analytical model is needed that can predict the effect of government policy on mode split. This paper presents the findings of the first such model developed for the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. The model itself is a stated preference carrier choice model of shippers in this busy corridor. The model was developed using the results of a stated preference survey undertaken in the fall of 2005. The survey was designed explicitly to evaluate shipper preferences for the carriage of intercity consignments, and particularly their preferences for carriers that contract the services of rail companies to carry these shipments via rail. The results of the study show that shippers are very mistrustful of using rail to move their consignments and suggests that increasing rails share of freight faces tremendous challenges
This paper explores the relationship between public transit mode share and population density. It... more This paper explores the relationship between public transit mode share and population density. It critically reviews the long-held belief that an increase in population density (compact built form) will result in an increase in public transit ridership. The research developed a longitudinal data set of travel behavior, transit supply, and proxies of built form for 1996 and 2016 for the City of Toronto. The data set is spatially disaggregated at the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) level such that the TAZs that divide the City into 480 mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive zones. The paper found that a cross-sectional analysis of population density and transit mode share captures mostly the contemporaneous relationship between the two and does not, by default, lend credence to the argument that if the density increases over time at a place, it will subsequently result in higher public transit ridership. Such a question will require a longitudinal analysis where the impact of a ch...
... Page 18. Haider, Salazar-Chavez 16 REFERENCES ... 4. Luis Dórich, Al Rescate de Lima (Lima: C... more ... Page 18. Haider, Salazar-Chavez 16 REFERENCES ... 4. Luis Dórich, Al Rescate de Lima (Lima: Colegio de Arquitectos del Perú e Instituto de Urbanismo y Planificación del Perú, 1996), 184. 5. Harry Max León, Términos de referencia del estudio OD (Lima: CTLC) ...
Uploads
Papers by Murtaza Haider