Transport, social equity and capabilities in East Beijing

This chapter utilises the Capabilities Approach to assess different levels of social equity in relation to transport provision in East Beijing. The aim of the analysis is to explore the different levels of social equity relative to gender, age, hukou, personal income and car ownership, specifically in terms of capabilities and functionings, that is, we investigate how the perceived opportunity to travel and access activities as well as actual travel differs across population groups. East Beijing, and in particular the district of Guomao, is used as a case study, to illustrate features of a relatively wealthy area with abundant transport resources. The research analysis shows that capabilities and functionings differ according to an individual’s socio-economic characteristics. In transport planning, in China and beyond, we would argue that transport-related social inequity has been largely overlooked in developing transport systems and is not considered to any significant extent in project appraisal.