The focus of this paper is on modeling the influence of accessibility on the household’s location decision. Our main theoretical contribution is an elaborate specification of what we should mean by “accessibility” in this context. This is done by assuming that households make a joint choice of location and activity pattern subject to income and time constraints. This activity pattern implies a stochastic travel pattern, the expected value of which is known at the time of location. The locational utility then consists of four parts: the indirect utility of income and time net of housing cost and expected total travel time and travel cost, the direct utility of the optimal activity pattern, the direct disutility of the expected travel pattern and the direct utility derived from location characteristics. The locational utility is then used in a discrete choice model for the choice of location.

In the empirical part of the paper, we present methodology and results fromthe estimation of TILT, Tool for Integrated analysis of Location and Travel, a landuse-transportation model for the Stockholm region. Among other things, we findthat the attractiveness of a location increases both with the accessibility to workplaces and with the accessibility to different types of service.