The economic value of walkable neighborhoods (original) (raw)
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Residential Land Values and Walkability
We examine 5,603 property transactions in Jefferson County, Alabama that take place between 2004 and 2008. Using OLS regressions, we estimate the extent to which differences in walkability, as measured by Walk Score, can explain the variability in land values. We find that after controlling for population growth and lot size, land values generally increase with walkability and that this result is stable over time. However, we find evidence that this impact reverses as neighborhoods become more car-dependent. This car dependency increases as the distance from the central business district increases. We consider the implications of our findings on mixed-use developments in what we believe is the first study to address walkability in this context of sustainable development.
Effects of Walkability on Property Values and Investment Returns
2009
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of walkability on property values and investment returns. Walkability is the degree to which an area within walking distance of a property encourages walking for recreational or functional purposes. It is of particular concern to developers, investors and others interested in sustainable and responsible property investing because of its potential social and environmental benefits. We used data from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) and Walk Score to examine the effects of walkability on the market value and annual investment returns of nearly 11,000 office, apartment, retail and industrial properties over the past decade in the USA. We find that, all else being equal, the benefits of walkability are capitalized into office, retail, apartment and industrial property values with more walkable sites commanding higher property values. On a 100 point scale, a 10 point increase in walkability increases ...
2015
This article investigates the impact of neighborhood walkability, measured by Street Smart Walk Score and sidewalk density, on property values by analyzing the 2010–2012 single-family home sale transactions in Austin, Texas. The Cliff-Ord spatial hedonic model (also known as the General Spatial Model, or SAC) is used to control for spatial autocorrelation effects. Results show that improving walkability through increased access to amenities in car-dependent neighborhoods does not appear to increase property values; adding sidewalks in these neighborhoods leads to a minimal increase in property values. Investments in neighborhood amenities and sidewalks will yield a greater home price increase in a walkable neighborhood than in a car-dependent neighborhood.
The impact of walkable environment on single-family residential property values
Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2015
Due to the impact of urban sprawl, the need for responsible property investing, and the emerging evidence supporting the linkage between walkable environment (in terms of built environment and walk accessibility) and residential property value, there is a critical need to develop systematic methodologies to quantify the impact of walkable environment on residential property value. This study provides a new generalized dissimilarity index for quantifying landuse mix, a key component of built environment, and a new method for measuring a property's walk accessibility and then links them to residential property values. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models are used to validate these methods by examining the empirical property data in Eastern Adelaide, Australia. The results of the OLS models show that the proposed dissimilarity index and property walkaccessibility method outperform other commonly used land-use mix quantification and walk-accessibility methods in estimating singlefamily residential property values in terms of the goodness-of-fit and explanatory power. This study provides insights for investors to understand the impact of walkable environment on single-family residential property values to enable them to make more informed decisions on property investment, and for planners to design neighborhoods featuring better walkable environments.
Movement towards compact and walkable communities and low-carbon travel has gathered momentum through various policy initiatives. However, residents' willingness to pay for neighborhood walkability is still poorly known. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by quantifying the walkability premiums based on 3,899 condominium sale transactions during 2010-2012 in Austin, Texas (USA). We compared two different measures of walkability: Walk Score and Street Smart Walk Score. The spatial hedonic modeling approach was used to improve the estimation accuracy by controlling for spatial autocorrelation effects. We found that the premium for walkability was influenced by the pedestrian collision rate, street connectivity, length of sidewalks, speed limit, as well as various socio-demographic factors. Overall, a positive walkability premium was identified for 57% of sampled condominiums, most of which were located in neighborhoods that were at least somewhat walkable. Our results could be used to identify investment priorities for creating walkable neighborhoods.
Movement towards compact and walkable communities and low-carbon travel has gathered momentum through various policy initiatives. However, residents' willingness to pay for neighborhood walkability is still poorly known. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by quantifying the walkability premiums based on 3,899 condominium sale transactions during 2010-2012 in Austin, Texas (USA). We compared two different measures of walkability: Walk Score and Street Smart Walk Score. The spatial hedonic modeling approach was used to improve the estimation accuracy by controlling for spatial autocorrelation effects. We found that the premium for walkability was influenced by the pedestrian collision rate, street connectivity, length of sidewalks, speed limit, as well as various socio-demographic factors. Overall, a positive walkability premium was identified for 57% of sampled condominiums, most of which were located in neighborhoods that were at least somewhat walkable. Our results could be used to identify investment priorities for creating walkable neighborhoods.
The impact of pedestrianization on residential property rental values
2007
A. Definition of the variables Dependent variable (rental price of housing unit) Independent variables structural attributes of housing unit locality-environmental attributes of housing unit pedestrian way attributes of housing unit B. Definition of the statistics hypotheses within sets below Correlation between the price of housing unit and pedestrian way characteristics Correlation between the price of housing unit and its location-environmental cha. Correlation between the price of housing unit and its structural characteristics Price differences depending on structural characteristics (dichotomous) Price differences depending on structural characteristics (nominal) Relation between the zones and pedestrian way characteristics Difference of the zones in terms of the price, structural, location and environmental characteristics of the housing unit, and users' socioeconomic characteristics Relation between the zones and structural, location and environmental characteristics of the housing unit, and users' socioeconomic characteristics C. Definition of the sample area Sample area selection Definition of the characteristics of the sample area D. Definition of the sampling design and data collection techniques Sources of information (households and municipalities) Techniques to gather required information (questionnaire survey) Sampling techniques / size: stratification and simple random sampling / 140 observations E. Definition of the data analysis techniques Descriptive statistics (mean, min., max., standard deviation, frequencies) Inferential statistics (analysis of variance, t test, χ 2 test, correlation analysis) 2) DATA ANALYSIS A. Descriptive statistics Mean, min., max., standard deviation, frequencies for entire area Mean, min., max., standard deviation, cross tabulation for zones B. Inferential statistics Analysis of variance (F test), t test, χ 2 test, Correlation analysis 3) HEDONIC PRICE MODELS A. Regression analysis through least squares method B. Evaluation of the results of the estimated hedonic price functions Table 1.2. Organization of the study Steps / Parts Chapter Content Purpose / Method Material Name/Explanation Measure (-) VB1V1 distance from housing unit to district center Ratio (-) VB1V2 distance from housing unit to bazaar Ratio (-) VB1V3 dis. from housing unit to supermarket (TANSAS) Ratio (-) VB1V4 dis. from housing unit to primary health service Ratio (-) VB1V5 distance from housing unit to hospital (public) Ratio (-) VB1V6 distance from housing unit to hospital (private) Ratio (-) VB1V7 distance from housing unit to primary school Ratio (-) VB1V8 dis. from housing unit to socio-cultural service Ratio (-) VB1V9 distance from housing unit to district park Ratio (-) VB1V10 distance from housing unit to district sport area Ratio (-) VB1V11 distance from housing unit to hippodrome Ratio (-) VB1V12 distance from housing unit to post office Ratio (-) VB1V13 distance from housing unit to the nearest public transportation station Ratio (-) VB1V14 distance from housing unit to railway station Ratio (+/-) VB1V15 distance from housing unit to railway Ratio (-) VB1V16 distance from housing unit to the nearest public transportation road Ratio (-) VB1V17 distance from housing unit to town hall Ratio (+/-) VB1V18 distance from housing unit to the nearest mosque Ratio (+) VB1V19 distance from housing unit to gas station Ratio (-) VB1V20 distance from housing unit to university Ratio (-) VB1V21 distance from housing unit to police station Ratio
The Walkability Premium in Commercial Real Estate Investments
Real Estate Economics, 2011
This article examines the effects of walkability on property values and investment returns. Walkability is the degree to which an area within walking distance of a property encourages walking for recreational or functional purposes. We use data from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries and Walk Score to examine the effects of walkability on the market value and investment returns of more than 4,200 office, apartment, retail and industrial properties from 2001 to 2008 in the United States. We found that, all else being equal, the benefits of greater walkability were capitalized into higher office, retail and apartment values. We found no effect on industrial properties. On a 100-point scale, a 10-point increase in walkability increased values by 1-9%, depending on property type. We also found that walkability was associated with lower cap rates and higher incomes, suggesting it has been favored in both the capital asset and building space markets. Walkability had no significant effect on historical total investment returns. All walkable property types have the potential to generate returns as good as or better than less walkable properties, as long as they are priced correctly. Developers should be willing to develop more walkable properties as long as any additional cost for more walkable locations and related development expenses do not exhaust the walkability premium.
The walkable neighborhood: a literature review
The past decade has seen a surge of interest in the walkable neighborhood, motivated by environmental, health, economic, and communitarian goals. We take stock of this literature by linking together the various strands of research in which the "walkable neighborhood" is a primary concern. We organize the literature into three broad categories: measurement, criticism, and tests of the benefits of walkable neighborhoods. The latter category involves three primary claims. We find that claims about social impacts are the weakest in terms of research support, in part, because there continues to be a problem of self-selection and an inability to assign causality.