2025/11/29 by Jean Dubé, Julie Le Gallo, Marie-Pier Champagne +2 · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth #Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis #Urban Transport and Accessibility
paper · doi:10.1016/j.tranpol.2025.103927
openalex created_date 2025/11/29 · openalex publication_date 2025/11/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Investment in public transport offers alternatives to reduce car dependency as well as many negative externalities associated with solo car usage. Yet, to be fully effective, public transport infrastructure must be able to facilitate economic activities and households’ concentration. By increasing building density around stations and corridors, transport land-use feedback cycle can be engaged. The paper aims to evaluate the existence and extent of the causal relationship between public investment and densification, leveraging the implementation of a tramway service in the metropole of Dijon (France). The analysis decomposes the impact by direction as well as by the distance to corridor and city center. The results suggest that investment in public transport systems can significantly affect population and/or employment densification patterns, but that success is largely linked to the political willingness to stimulate densification through facilitating private investment.