The next RITM Economics Seminar will take place on Monday 18 January, from 11:00 to 12:00. Léa Bou Sleiman (ENSAE) will present “Are car-free centers detrimental to the periphery? Evidence from the pedestrianisation of the Parisian riverbank”.
Abstract:
This paper evaluates the impact of the closing of the “Georges Pompidou” riverbank in 2016 on traffic conditions on the Parisian ring road (“Boulevard Périphérique”). Using high-resolution hourly data and a difference-in-difference design, I show that the probability of congestion increased by 15% compared to the year before the shutdown on lanes with the same flow direction as the riverbank, translating into an additional 2-minute spent on a 10km trip. Train use data suggest that only a tiny fraction of affected commuters switched to the suburban train. Given high residential density around the ring road, air quality data suggest that this policy had a negative impact on average residents’ exposure to pollution.