TY  - UNPB
M1  - master
A1  - Visser, Marly
AV  - public
UR  - https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/4742/
TI  - The Impact of National-scale Railway Connections on the Accessibility to Local Labor Markets: the Case of the Lelylijn
EP  - 52
Y1  - 2024///
N2  - The railway accessibility in the Northern Netherlands is notably lacking when compared to other Dutch regions. In the proposed construction of the Lelylijn railway project lies an opportunity to address these accessibility issues, potentially transforming the Northern Netherlands' transportation system and labor market. This purpose of this thesis was to examine the local impacts of the Lelylijn project specifically on labor market accessibility, with a focus on intra-regional commuting patterns and thereby contribute to the broader understanding of how transportation infrastructure can drive local economic growth and impact regional disparities. The theory underlying this thesis was based on classic economic theory on spatial clustering as well as previous empirical evidence of accessibility changes through railway infrastructure projects. By gravity model analysis and the calculation of accessibility scores for different urban cores and labor market sectors in the province of Fryslân, this study investigates changes in accessibility with the Lelylijn introduction. Within the study, the impacts between different sectors in the local labor market are distinguished. The findings of this research indicate that although accessibility improves for all the labor market sectors and urban cores that are taken into account, inequalities are identified, as accessibility for labor market sectors typically associated with lower levels of education show smaller increases in accessibility to local labor markets compared to labor market sectors typically associated with higher levels of education, which can also lead to relative increases in cost of living for low-income workers. In conclusion, the introduction of the Lelylijn may lead to inequal changes in accessibility across labor market sectors, yet improves accessibility for the investigated cores overall. Recommendations include decreasing potential inequalities by rent controls and affordable or social housing quotas for new developments as well as (partly) subsidizing travel costs for lower-income workers.
ID  - theses_frw4742
ER  -