Assessing large-scale impacts of public transit investments: A national scale accounting of land value uplift

Keywords: land value uplift, transportation accessibility, transit-induced gentrification, spatial econometrics, transport equity
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

Policymakers often prioritize public investments in transit-oriented land use planning to improve accessibility. However, such a strategy can lead to changes in property values in some transit station areas as some property buyers (and renters) are willing to pay a premium for locations with high transit accessibility and enhanced environmental amenities (Higgins & Kanaroglou, 2016). This subsequently potentially alters the socio-economic characteristics of transit station areas in terms of who moves into and out of the neighborhoods, and reinforce spatial inequalities (Delmelle, 2021). As a first step in a larger project that will examine the issue of transit-induced gentrification in Canada, this research utilizes real estate transaction data to examine the relationship between public transit accessibility and land value uplift. The objective of the paper is therefore to answer the following: are public transit investments enhancing the Canadian housing market? And if so, to what extent is the housing market enhanced? Using statistical and spatio-temporal techniques (i.e., hedonic regression models), we examine changes in property values (or land value uplift) associated with public transit investments in the following regions: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Quebec City and Winnipeg. The examination of changes in property values provides an empirical basis to understand whether, and the extent gentrification might be occurring. This work provides critical information that will contribute to a greater understanding of the scope of transit-induced displacement in Canada, and further support efforts to incorporate affordable housing policy into more holistic and equitable transport planning practice.