ASTRID – Accessibility, Social justice and TRansport emission Impacts of transit-oriented Development strategies

Duration: 10/15 – 09/18

While urban agglomeration typically brings growth and prosperity to cities, the benefits are often experienced unevenly. Indeed, while more affluent residents may benefit considerably, poorer communities may bear the burden of congestion, air pollution and other negative impacts.

ASTRID – Accessibility, Social justice and TRansport emission Impacts of transit-oriented Development strategies aims to explore the dynamics that drives social and spatial inequalities in urban areas, with a particular focus on Sao Paulo. Bringing together a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Brazil, the Netherlands and the UK, the project will examine the ways that certain urban interventions – specifically, transit-oriented development (TOD) – can achieve more equitable outcomes.

Drawing on an international survey of housing and transport, with extensive fieldwork in Sao Paulo, the outputs will be used to directly inform the city’s emerging TOD strategy. The findings will also be communicated more widely outsize Brazil through conferences and the development of educational materials.

Project website

Alex Hagen-Zanker (UK Principal Investigator, Lecturer)
Maria de Fatima Andrade (Brazil Principal Investigator, Associate Professor)
Karst Geurs (Project Principal Investigator, Full Professor of Transport Planning)
Adalgiza Fornaro (Lecturer)
Prashant Kumar (Reader)
Adelaide Nardocci (Professor)
Thiago Nogueira (Researcher)
John Pritchard (Researcher)
Ioar Rivas (Researcher)
Anne Dorothée Slovic (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Laura Lucia Vieira Ceneviva (Executive Secretary)
Rita Yuri Ynoue (Professor)

Engagement of key stakeholders through regular workshops in Sao Paulo, targeting planners, city managers and other actors.

Dissemination of results through conferences and journal publications, as well as a number of multi-authored papers and integrated reports.

Collation of findings through a range of content, including educational materials, to communicate lessons learned to a wider audience in the Netherlands and the UK.

Disparities in housing quality and affordability between social groups – a study within the ASTRID project
15 June 2018