Distributional effects of transport policies on inequalities in access to opportunities in Rio de Janeiro

Recent transport policies in Rio de Janeiro, aimed at preparing for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, have exacerbated socio-spatial inequalities rather than reduced them. Despite substantial investments in public transport infrastructure, cuts in service levels subsequently offset accessibility benefits, particularly penalizing lower-income groups. The study reveals that even without these cuts, higher-income groups would still have seen greater gains in access to schools and jobs. This challenges Brazil's official discourse on the positive legacy of transport policies. The research also highlights the influence of the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) on equity assessments, suggesting that future studies should address this issue for more robust evaluations.

Pereira, R. H. M., Banister, D., Schwanen, T., & Wessel, N. (2019). Distributional effects of transport policies on inequalities in access to opportunities in Rio de Janeiro. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2019.1523