Transport and population density in the urban area of the city of Salvador

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to identify the effect of job accessibility on the spatial distribution of population density in the urban area of Salvador, the first planned and capital city of Brazil. Salvador is a city with a complex socio-spatial dynamic, marked mainly by the heterogeneous evolution of the historical occupation of its urban space, high segregation between white and black and between poor and rich people, and a polycentric spatial configuration of job centers. This research lies on the urban economics literature about the intensity of the use of urban space and its patterns of centrality and accessibility. We considered the current use of public and private transportation systems to calculate an accessibility index by transport subzone to identify the relation between population density (total, blacks and white) and accessibility. Our identification strategy considered control by time invariant components, such as historical variables of formation and occupation of the city. Then, a two-step estimation based on a hydrological instrumental variable was applied, since the evolution of avenues of the city followed the route of its rivers. The results by race showed that accessibility had a positive effect on population density, with similar signs and values to those for the general population. Lower possibility of reaching jobs should justify lower demand for housing in more distant urban spaces.