Dr Chris De Gruyter

Chris De Gruyter is an Honorary Research Associate, spending one year (2023-24) at the Transport Studies Unit (TSU). He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

Chris’ research focuses on the integration of transport and land use planning, with an emphasis on understanding the impacts of new residential development on the transport system. Prior to joining RMIT University, Chris was a Research Fellow and Deputy Director in the Public Transport Research Group at Monash University in Melbourne. He also worked in transport planning for 12 years, both with the Department of Transport and in consulting in Melbourne. 

Chris’ wider research interests span the areas of public transport, land use planning, travel demand management, and parking policy.

Chris is currently undertaking an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project as a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellow titled: Impacts of the apartment boom on public transport in Australian cities. This project is being delivered in three stages:

1. Trip generation analysis: this seeks to determine the critical factors associated with public transport use by residents living in high density housing. This will be achieved through an analysis of public transport trip generation data for high density housing developments across Australian cities.
2. Resident survey: this seeks to determine the direct and indirect effects of high-density housing on public transport use. This will be achieved through a survey of 1,200 residents living in high density housing in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
3. Longitudinal analysis: this seeks to determine how high-density housing shapes public transport service provision over time. This will be achieved through a longitudinal analysis of public transport service provision and apartment building activity data in Melbourne from 2004 to 2021.

See Google Scholar for a full list.