Justice on the Move: An Analysis of the Capabilities Enabled by Toronto’s Finch West Light Rail Transit Line

Abstract

This thesis asks whether the Finch West Light Rail Transit line, or Line 6, meaningfully advances transit equity in Toronto by expanding the real opportunities available to residents in historically underserved neighborhoods. It situates the project within the broader context of the city’s growing income polarization and argues that these patterns are not just economic but spatial, shaping who can access reliable mobility and who cannot. Drawing on the idea that inequity is embedded in the built environment, and using Neighbourhood Improvement Areas as a policy lens, the thesis treats the Finch West corridor as a critical case for understanding how transit investments operate in places where need is already concentrated. Rather than relying only on standard transit measures such as ridership or travel time, the analysis uses a framework grounded in the capability approach to ask whether infrastructure actually translates into reliable, safe, and dignified access to everyday destinations. It considers both the promises of Line 6 and the realities of how it has been delivered, including the disruptions experienced during construction and the ongoing constraints created by suburban form and service design. The findings suggest that while Line 6 represents a significant investment in an underserved part of the city and may improve mobility along the corridor, its impact on real freedom is more limited than its framing might suggest. These limits are tied to broader structural conditions, including land use patterns, gaps in service integration, and the uneven ways infrastructure is experienced on the ground. The thesis concludes by outlining policy recommendations and reflecting on what this case reveals about the challenges of using transit investment as a tool for addressing urban inequality.