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Housing prices, buses and trams in Medellin (Colombia)

Miquel-Angel Garcia-Lopez and Yadira Gomez-Hernandez


This paper aims to establish the impact of two medium-capacity transportation systems (MCTS) on housing prices in Medellin (Colombia): Metroplus, a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, and Tranvia, a tramway system. Using repeated cross-sectional data from the Medellin Quality of Life Survey from 2008 to 2018 and difference-in-differences estimators, we find that Metroplus has a negative impact on the growth of rental prices, whereas Tranvia has a positive impact. We do not find any effect on several other outcomes, such as the perception of quality and coverage of the public transportation in the neighborhoods they serve, and the number of private vehicles in the household.


1 September 2024


Research in Transportation Economics 1062024


DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2024.101464

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0739885924000593

This Journal article is published under the centre's Urban programme.