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This paper analyzes the effect of new bicycle lanes on traffic volume, congestion, and accidents. Crucially, the new bike lanes replace existing car lanes thereby reducing available space for motorized traffic. In order to obtain causal estimates, I exploit the quasi-random timing and location of the newly built cycle lanes. Using an event study design, a two-way fixed effects model and the synthetic control group method on geo-coded data, I show that the construction of pop-up bike lanes significantly reduced average car speed by 8 to 12 percentage points (p.p.) and up to 16 p.p. in peak traffic hours. In contrast, the results for car volume are modest, while the data does not allow for a conclusive judgment of accidents.
The present dissertation conducts empirical research on the relationship between urban life and its economic costs, especially for the environment. On the one hand, existing gaps in research on the influence of population density on air quality are closed and, on the other hand, innovative policy measures in the transport sector are examined that are intended to make metropolitan areas more sustainable. The focus is on air pollution, congestion and traffic accidents, which are important for general welfare issues and represent significant cost factors for urban life. They affect a significant proportion of the world's population. While 55% of the world's people already lived in cities in 2018, this share is expected to reach approximately 68% by 2050.
The four self-contained chapters of this thesis can be divided into two sections: Chapters 2 and 3 provide new causal insights into the complex interplay between urban structures and air pollution. Chapters 4 and 5 then examine policy measures to promote non-motorised transport and their influence on air quality as well as congestion and traffic accidents.