‘Densification’ alone is not enough  

The Dutch Stedenbaan project (in the province of South Holland around Rotterdam and The Hague) involves densification, and building housing and offices near to stations.
But a study has shown that this does not automatically yield results.

A very specific approach is required for building; it is important to cater to people with a particular 'mobility style'. Car drivers don't just switch to public transport when it is available close by or if there is a good connection.
That is the main result of the study ‘Stedenbaan Environmental Differentiation’. The study examined the feasibility of the Dutch Stedenbaan project, a plan of the province of South Holland for linking a dramatic improvement in public transport to urban densification in the vicinity of a number of railway stations.
The report claims that densification as such does not guarantee that public transport will be used more. In other words: quantity alone is not enough to encourage the use of public transport; a qualitative approach is required to building.
Everything depends on the ‘mobility style’ of the future residents. The producers of the report distinguish between eight different styles. It is striking in this respect that the people who use public transport also sometimes drive a car or ride a bike, but that car drivers have much less of a tendency to switch to trains or buses.
In the process of densification in areas around railway stations, then, it is necessary to build for residents with the appropriate mobility style. In other words, users of public transport.

>>> DOWNLOAD REPORT (pdf) (Attention: 26 Mb!)