Roads, transit and spatial patterns of urbanization in São Paulo: Evidence from the second half of the twentieth century

Adriano Borges Costa, P. Christopher Zegras and Siqi Zheng

Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2025, vol. 112, issue C

Abstract: This article presents evidence of distinct long-term impacts from road and rail infrastructures on urban outgrowth and densification in São Paulo, Brazil (1947–1997) within a Global South context. Using long-difference ordinary least squares models and an instrumental variable approach, we find that the construction of avenues and arterial roads across urbanized areas drove urban expansion and accounted for forty percent of the outgrowth during this 50-year period. In contrast, rail transit investments fostered vertical neighborhood development responsible for one-third of the increase in floor area ratio, while also promoting land use specialization by attracting commercial buildings to central areas and stimulating residential real estate development in peripheral zones. Our findings align with patterns observed in the Global North, reinforcing the broader relationship between transportation investments and urban form.

JEL-codes: O18 R4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166046225000092
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:regeco:v:112:y:2025:i:c:s0166046225000092

DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104092

Access Statistics for this article

Regional Science and Urban Economics is currently edited by D.P McMillen and Y. Zenou

More articles in Regional Science and Urban Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().