Transit-Oriented Development and Neighborhood Change: The Case of Gent Sint-Pieters Station

Abstract

The Gent Sint-Pieters (GSP) project, an infrastructure and urban renewal project in Ghent, Belgium, can be considered a typical example of transit-oriented development (TOD). TOD can have significant effects on surrounding neighborhoods and their characteristics. In this study, a difference-in-difference model was used to measure changes in income level, educational attainment and house prices resulting from the GSP project. Although research demonstrates that TOD can lead to changes in the composition of neighborhoods and property values, our results show no significant causal effects, indicating that the local context determines whether, to what extent and in what way neighborhood changes occur.