Highlights ► The paper addresses causal mechanisms by which residential location influences travel, drawing on qualitative interviews in Hangzhou, China. ► People's rationales for activity participation, location of activities, travel modes and routes are important links in these causal mechanisms. ► The interviewees do not necessarily choose the closest facility, but rather they travel a bit further if they can then find a better facility. ► Travel distances therefore depend more on the location of the dwelling relative to large concentrations of facilities than to the closest facilities. ► Inner-city residents can reach numerous facilities within short distance and therefore do not have to travel long, even if they are very selective.

Abstract Several studies of relationships between urban land use and travel have shown correlations between daily-life travel behaviour and the location of the dwelling. However, in order to substantiate that residential location is a (contributory) cause of such differences, we must show the basic mechanisms by which the location of dwellings influences travel behaviour. Examples showing the rationales on which people base their frequency of participation in out-of-home activities, the location of these activities, the modes of travel used to reach these locations, and the routes followed make up important elements in this endeavour. Based on qualitative interviews carried out as part of a comprehensive study of residential location and travel in Hangzhou Metropolitan Area, China, this article seeks to show how various types of rationales for activity participation, location of activities, travel modes and route choice tend to strengthen or weaken aggregate-level relationships between residential location and travel. In particular, the influences of such rationales on the relative importance of residential location close to the main city centre and local centres, respectively, will be demonstrated. The tendency of inhabitants in modern cities to emphasise the possibility of choosing among facilities rather than proximity means that the amount of travel is influenced to a higher extent by the location of the residence in relation to concentrations of facilities, rather than the distance to the closest single facility within a category. Daily travelling distances therefore tend to be more influenced by the distance from the dwelling to the city's main concentration of facilities (usually the inner-city) than by its distance to local centres. The same applies to the travel modes chosen, where rationales concerning physical efforts, time-saving and flexibility motivate inner-city dwellers for more frequent use of non-motorised modes and fewer trips by car than among suburbanites.