Faster, taller, better: Transit improvements and land use policies

We study the interaction between transit improvements and land use policies. Bengaluru, one of India’s largest cities, inaugurated a metro system in 2011 but has extremely low building heights, even near metro stations. We build a rich dataset and a quantitative spatial model in which heterogeneous...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of development economics 2024-10, Vol.171, p.103322, Article 103322
Main Authors: Chen, Liming, Hasan, Rana, Jiang, Yi, Parkhomenko, Andrii
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Building heights
Development
India
Land use
Spatial equilibrium
Transit
Transit-oriented development
Transportation
Urban
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Summary:We study the interaction between transit improvements and land use policies. Bengaluru, one of India’s largest cities, inaugurated a metro system in 2011 but has extremely low building heights, even near metro stations. We build a rich dataset and a quantitative spatial model in which heterogeneous workers choose among different commuting modes. We find that the metro increases citywide output and welfare, even net of costs. However, the net gains are several times larger with transit-oriented development (TOD), i.e., when height limits are relaxed near stations. Moreover, TOD and the construction of the metro are complementary policies. •The interaction of transit and land use policies remains poorly understood.•We examine the impact of the metro system and building height limits in Bengaluru.•While the metro provides sizable benefits, these are curtailed by height limits.•Urban transportation and land use policies need to be designed jointly.
ISSN:0304-3878
DOI:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103322