The objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between urban sprawl spatial effects and activity-based travel patterns through the use of structural equation modeling. It was developed a causal model that related urban sprawl factors indirectly with the activity-based travel patterns through the formation of latent constructs. The theoretical structure of the model "ABTUS (Activity-Based Travels of Urban Sprawl)" was based on two latent constructs: i) production of space, and ii) socioeconomic characteristics. The model was tested in a case study of Brasilia, Distrito Federal for 2000. From the results obtained were gathered evidence of the relationship between urban sprawl and activity-based travel patterns. Five vectors of urban expansion were identified and the most representative patterns of travel were based on the sequences of activities Housing-Work and Housing-Study. Therefore, in the case of Brasilia, the centralization of jobs and limited living space in the city center, are producing urban expansions with many travels for work and study.
urban sprawl; activity-based travel; structural equation modeling