If you build it, who will come? Exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in Metro Vancouver

As cities across the world embrace the benefits of rapid transit technology and invest in the expansion of existing infrastructure or plan for the introduction of new lines, the differences in both benefits and externalities that bus rapid transit (BRT) and rail rapid transit (RRT) bring remain unc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bogdan Kapatsila, Jordan D. Rea, Emily Grisé
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing 2024-03-01
Series:Journal of Transport and Land Use
Subjects:
Online Access:http://jtlu.org/index.php/jtlu/article/view/2364
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849767720620392448
author Bogdan Kapatsila
Jordan D. Rea
Emily Grisé
author_facet Bogdan Kapatsila
Jordan D. Rea
Emily Grisé
author_sort Bogdan Kapatsila
collection DOAJ
description As cities across the world embrace the benefits of rapid transit technology and invest in the expansion of existing infrastructure or plan for the introduction of new lines, the differences in both benefits and externalities that bus rapid transit (BRT) and rail rapid transit (RRT) bring remain unclear. This study aimed to address that gap and understand whether there was a distinction in impacts on the residential migration of households in different income and residential tenure groups as the result of BRT and RRT projects. This was achieved by exploring the effects of both modes in the same metropolitan region—metro Vancouver. This study used three BRT and three RRT lines that were in service for all or part of the 20 years spanning 1996 through 2016 to assess the rates of in-movement of households by income in Census Tracts (CTs) within 800 meters (½-mile) of a given rapid line. Our analysis suggested that areas adjacent to the Expo-Millennium RRT Corridor saw fewer in-movers between the 2001 Census and the 2016 Census than the areas without rapid transit infrastructure, while the same was true for the CTs affected by BRT lines and that had a larger than average share of new housing while holding everything else (e.g., housing supply) constant. While we did not find evidence to state that the presence of rapid transit infrastructure disproportionately affected any one of the income groups, our analysis suggested that there were more affluent renters moving in along the RRT and BRT lines. At the same time, the share of low-income renters that moved into areas close to rapid transit lines remained relatively stable. This research added a unique perspective to the debate cities and transport agencies have been experiencing with respect to decisions around the investment into different transport technologies and contributed to the argument for the need to carefully plan and provide rapid transit infrastructure together with affordable and diverse housing options.
format Article
id doaj-art-9ab98b7400ac4b45805bbdb2f279b8bb
institution DOAJ
issn 1938-7849
language English
publishDate 2024-03-01
publisher University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing
record_format Article
series Journal of Transport and Land Use
spelling doaj-art-9ab98b7400ac4b45805bbdb2f279b8bb2025-08-20T03:04:06ZengUniversity of Minnesota Libraries PublishingJournal of Transport and Land Use1938-78492024-03-01171If you build it, who will come? Exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in Metro VancouverBogdan Kapatsila0Jordan D. Rea1Emily Grisé2School of Urban and Regional Planning, University of AlbertaSchool of Urban and Regional Planning, University of AlbertaSchool of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Alberta As cities across the world embrace the benefits of rapid transit technology and invest in the expansion of existing infrastructure or plan for the introduction of new lines, the differences in both benefits and externalities that bus rapid transit (BRT) and rail rapid transit (RRT) bring remain unclear. This study aimed to address that gap and understand whether there was a distinction in impacts on the residential migration of households in different income and residential tenure groups as the result of BRT and RRT projects. This was achieved by exploring the effects of both modes in the same metropolitan region—metro Vancouver. This study used three BRT and three RRT lines that were in service for all or part of the 20 years spanning 1996 through 2016 to assess the rates of in-movement of households by income in Census Tracts (CTs) within 800 meters (½-mile) of a given rapid line. Our analysis suggested that areas adjacent to the Expo-Millennium RRT Corridor saw fewer in-movers between the 2001 Census and the 2016 Census than the areas without rapid transit infrastructure, while the same was true for the CTs affected by BRT lines and that had a larger than average share of new housing while holding everything else (e.g., housing supply) constant. While we did not find evidence to state that the presence of rapid transit infrastructure disproportionately affected any one of the income groups, our analysis suggested that there were more affluent renters moving in along the RRT and BRT lines. At the same time, the share of low-income renters that moved into areas close to rapid transit lines remained relatively stable. This research added a unique perspective to the debate cities and transport agencies have been experiencing with respect to decisions around the investment into different transport technologies and contributed to the argument for the need to carefully plan and provide rapid transit infrastructure together with affordable and diverse housing options. http://jtlu.org/index.php/jtlu/article/view/2364Public transitBus rapid transitTransit impactResidential choicesHousing affordability
spellingShingle Bogdan Kapatsila
Jordan D. Rea
Emily Grisé
If you build it, who will come? Exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in Metro Vancouver
Journal of Transport and Land Use
Public transit
Bus rapid transit
Transit impact
Residential choices
Housing affordability
title If you build it, who will come? Exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in Metro Vancouver
title_full If you build it, who will come? Exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in Metro Vancouver
title_fullStr If you build it, who will come? Exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in Metro Vancouver
title_full_unstemmed If you build it, who will come? Exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in Metro Vancouver
title_short If you build it, who will come? Exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in Metro Vancouver
title_sort if you build it who will come exploring the effects of rapid transit on residential movements in metro vancouver
topic Public transit
Bus rapid transit
Transit impact
Residential choices
Housing affordability
url http://jtlu.org/index.php/jtlu/article/view/2364
work_keys_str_mv AT bogdankapatsila ifyoubuilditwhowillcomeexploringtheeffectsofrapidtransitonresidentialmovementsinmetrovancouver
AT jordandrea ifyoubuilditwhowillcomeexploringtheeffectsofrapidtransitonresidentialmovementsinmetrovancouver
AT emilygrise ifyoubuilditwhowillcomeexploringtheeffectsofrapidtransitonresidentialmovementsinmetrovancouver