A Study on the Possibility of Reduction in Car Use by Population Reallocation in Major Metropolitan Areas

Abstract

This paper studied the possibility of reduction in car use by population reallocation in major metropolitan areas. Since continuous growth in population and employment in major metropolitan areas still remains, it is one way to gather population in some growing areas and make their transport system more efficient. We tested the effects of population reallocation in metropolitan areas on car use in terms of vehicle-km and found that the scale of reduction in car use was not negligible. We also tested the population reallocation within major metropolitan areas. The concentration on the areas near railroad stations contributed to a certain degree to decreasing vehicle-km especially in suburban regions of metropolitan areas.