Rail transits effect on population growth. : A comparison between different rail transit types

Abstract: The study examines the relationship between accessibility to public rail transit stations and population growth. Accessibility is measured in time, as in how long it takes to walk to a rail station. The study uses service areas created in a GIS based on how far a person can walk in 10 minutes, comparing the average population growth within these service areas to the average population growth outside of them. Different types of rail transit modes are compared to each other to see if they have differing effects on population growth as well as if multimodal stations affect population growth differently. The results show that accessibility to public rail transit has a positive effect on population growth and that different types of rail transit affect population growth differently. Multimodal stops also have a positive effect on population growth with more transit options resulting in a higher population growth.