Description

The research is aimed at testing a new method to evaluate accessibility, using the capability approach. This is an approach developed by economist and nobel prize winner Amartya Sen which is used among others in assessment of socio-economic inequality. There have been few applications of the approach in transport studies. In this MSc you will further develop and test the instrument developed by Brussel (2021, paper forthcoming) and evaluate its usefulness in the context of one of the four largest cities in the Netherlands.

Objectives and Methodology

• Evaluation of the use of the capability approach of Amartya Sen in transport studies.
• Assessment/modification and application of instrument developed by Brussel to a major city in the Netherlands.
• Development of an approach to a norm-based accessibility based on the obtained results.
• Develop policy recommendations based on the obtained results

Further reading

Ryan, J., Wretstrand, A., & Schmidt, S. M. (2019). Disparities in mobility among older people : Findings from a capability-based travel survey. Transport Policy, 79(February 2018), 177–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.04.016
Sen, A. (1985). Well-being, agency and freedom. The Journal of Philosophy, 82(4), 169–221.
Sen, A. (1992). Inequality reexamined. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Smith, N., Hirsch, D., & Davis, A. (2012). Accessibility and capability: The minimum transport needs and costs of rural households. Journal of Transport Geography, 21, 93–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.01.004