Bridging divides: The impact of subway accessibility on income segregation in Beijing

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2025

Subject Area

place - asia, place - urban, mode - subway/metro, land use - impacts, policy - equity

Keywords

Accessibility, Transport equity, Rail transit, Social interaction, Capability approach

Abstract

Equitable transport aims to enhance social integration by improving access to jobs, services, and education, especially for low-income residents. However, evidence on the impact of transport accessibility on social segregation remains limited. Using six years of mobile trajectory data from over five million residents in Beijing, this study examines how subway accessibility reduces the segregation of low-income residents from high-income residents in activity spaces. Based on the Capabilities-Functionings-Wellbeing framework, the results show that improved subway accessibility significantly reduces the segregation of low-income residents in both work-related and non-work-related activity spaces. This effect is driven primarily by changes in their travel behavior, including adjustments in travel distance, destination choices, and subway usage. Although low-income residents in informal housing have lower subway accessibility than those in formal housing, they experience comparable reductions in segregation. The findings shed new light on the impact of subways on transport equity in rapidly urbanizing cities.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

Comments

Transportation Research Part D Home Page:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13619209

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