ACCESSIBILITY IMPACTS OF TOD EXPERIENCES IN EUROPEAN METROPOLITAN AREAS Enrica Papa 1 and Luca Bertolini 2 1 AISSR, Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development, University of Amsterdam, , e.papa@uva.nl 2 AISSR, Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development, University of Amsterdam,, l.bertolini@uva.nl Keywords: Transit Oriented Development TOD; Accessibility Abstract The study investigates how Transit Oriented Development - TOD structure affect accessibility in cities with the aim of establishing whether TOD patterns of urban expansion, in terms of network connectivity and inhabitants and job density, could be associated with measures of rail accessibility. In particular the paper addresses the following overarching questions: is TOD informed structure related to high accessibility by rail public transport? Which features of TOD structure affect accessibility? The paper provides a cross- comparative empirical analysis of six metropolitan areas in Europe, where the TOD degree is measured as the amount of urban development clustering along rail corridors and stations; this feature is then related to cumulative opportunity measures of accessibility to jobs and inhabitants. The research demonstrate that accessibility increases in cities that are developed around the rail network and with higher value of network connectivity, but no correlation is found between accessibility and mean density values. The research furthermore provide an application of the node-place model demonstrating its useful potential in accessibility planning processes. 1. Introduction A big interested has spread around TOD planning strategy (Bertolini, 1999; Curtis et al., 2009; Knowles 2012; Bertolini et al. 2012) which is based on the concept of clustering urban developments around railway stations and is viewed, under the right conditions, as offering the potential to shape polycentric cities and regions, mitigate urban sprawl, boost public transport ridership, increase biking and walking, while accommodating economic growth and creating attractive places. Since 1990, TOD has become the dominant urban growth planning paradigm in the United States, where the concept of Transit Oriented Development is closely connected with the Smart Growth (SG) and New Urbanism (NU) approaches (Cervero, 2004; Dittmar & Ohland, 2004, Newman & Jennings, 2008). The same concept has been applied in Europe, with a regional or network approach since the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the development of streetcars routes and star-shaped urban forms. After the Second World War, and until at least the 1970s, European planners were able to channel suburban development into satellite suburbs along transit served corridors. In recent years a “third generation” of European TOD is spreading in many European metropolitan areas (Crawford, 2000; Givoni & Banister, 2010; Bertolini et al. 2012), partly stimulated by the European Spatial Planning Framework indicating polycentric development as a tool (and, at the same time, a target) to achieve more cohesive territories (European Commission, 1999), and also influenced by new emerging challenges: the growth of the post- industrial service economy than in a way counterbalanced decentralisation tendencies, central expansion of mixed use development in inner city locations in ex centrally located industrial areas, urban shrinking phenomenon and the growing attention to urban retrofit practices.