Does Subway Station Proximity Spur Residential Development? Analyzing the Impact of the Sheppard Subway Line on Housing Development in the City of Toronto

This study examines the pace and scale of residential development within a 1-kilometer radius of subway stations along the Sheppard Subway line within the City of Toronto during the years 1991-2016. The dataset used for this study was obtained from Statistics Canada that contained data on the number of housing units per dissemination area within a 1-kilometer radius of a subway station in addition to several variables used for analysis. The difference- in-differences method was used, findings indicated insignificant results meaning the Sheppard Subway Line did not spur residential development at a rate faster than the one observed for the Sheppard West corridor. This was further proved by examining the pace of development during the pre-treated and post-treated period amongst both the treated and control groups, findings indicated that both groups received similar amounts of residential growth, such that the difference in residential construction between the two corridors was statistically insignificant.