Inclusive TOD in the Netherlands: a long-term assessment of inclusivity measures in TOD planning in the Brainport region

Keywords: Transit-oriented development, mobility justice, transport justice, transportation justice, social inclusive mobility, Brainport
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Transit-oriented development (TOD) aims to divert car-centered mobility towards more sustainable mobility. It is a set of planning principles that organizes land use planning around a public transit network to create more livable and equitable neighborhoods. TOD plans and policies, however, focus primarily on environmental and economic sustainability and less on social sustainability. An increasing number of scholars claims that TOD risks obstructing rather than fostering social inclusive mobility. Studies on TOD are, moreover, usually limited to urban cores and station areas. My study assesses social inclusive mobility within regional TOD planning, going beyond the urban limits. Doing so, it addresses two gaps in the literature on TOD: the lack of attention for social inclusivity on the one hand and for areas outside of urban cores on the other.

This research poses the question ‘How and to what extent does regional TOD planning try to foster social inclusive mobility?’ and investigates the Dutch Brainport region. Applying a mobility justice lens, the study critically assesses the discourses of different stakeholders involved in the planning and decision-making processes and/or public debates around this TOD planning, including planners, politicians and policymakers, public transport operators, public transport advocacy groups, and grassroots groups. It builds upon an analysis of planning and policy documents, archival documents of advocacy and grassroots groups, and interviews with the stakeholders. This research could possibly offer insights for planners and policymakers on how to foster social inclusive mobility in the Brainport case in particular, and in TOD in general.