The impacts of urban pricing on social and spatial inequalities: The case study of Lyon (France)

With the aim of making a city sustainable, this paper evaluates the impact of setting up urban toll on inequalities. We use several indicators (Gini, Theil and Atkinson indices) to measure changes in the concentration of incomes and gravity-based accessibility. In the case of the Lyon Metropolitan Area (France), we simulate a cordon pricing and evaluate its impacts on inequalities. We adopt a comparison-based approach to reduce the bias resulting from the spatial division. In agreement with the literature, we show that different inequality indicators produce contrasted and sometimes contradictory results, both at the scale of zones or metropolitan level. Results from Theil and Atkinson indicators point out introducing a toll can reduce inequalities in the most peripheral zones. Although we observe an accessibility improvement, particularly for central zones, the first ring (adjacent to the toll zone) is the most adversely affected by toll.