The equity implications of TOD in Curitiba

Abstract

In this paper we analyze how socio-spatial inequalities have been shaped by transport and land-use planning in Curitiba (Brazil), a city internationally recognized for its Transit Oriented Development (TOD) planning based on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). We examine how the spatial organization of the BRT system is associated with the distribution of population densities, socioeconomic groups, and real-estate values and its implications in terms of inequalities of access to employment and health services. The results show that Curitiba's TOD has had limited influence on population densities, but has shaped the concentration of high-income classes and premium real-estate along its main BRT corridors. These effects contribute to the peripheralization of low-income communities with limited accessibility benefits from the transit system. Our findings suggest that Curitiba’s success story should be seen as a cautionary tale about the consequences of TOD planning, which perpetuate the spatial concentration of resources and reinforce inequalities of access to opportunities.

Transport Policies, Transit-Oriented and Development Redistribution of Population in Peri-Urban: Lessons From Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta Metropolitan Area

“…Meanwhile, the lowincome and middle-class populations who are unable to compete in securing land and property move out into suburban areas. This inequality in access causes new concentrations of population growth beyond the 300-800 m radius (Turbay et al, 2022).…”

Regenerative Streets: Pathways towards the Post-Automobile City

“…Some flagship projects of urban connections presented as regenerative practices, such as the High Line in New York City or the BRT system in Curitiba, are now suffering from their own success and are being critically reconsidered with regard to the unequal distribution of the benefits that they produce for the population [183,184]. The problem, as we have seen, is common to TOD projects (hence the need to rethink the model in terms of equitable TOD), but also to market-driven neighborhoods planned according to the principles of New Urbanism [185][186][187] and to many pedestrianizations carried out with the aim of creating more livable environments (not to mention pedestrian areas created only to accommodate mass tourism in art cities).…”