Ghebreegziabiher Debrezion

The Impact of Rail Transport on Real Estate Prices: An Empirical Analysis of the Dutch Housing Market

A hedonic pricing model is estimated based on sales data from three metropolitan areas in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Enschede) to analyse the effect of railway accessibility on house prices. Railway accessibility is measured by both the distance to a railway station and an index of quality of railway services provided at the station. Two railway station considerations were taken: the nearest railway station and the most frequently chosen railway station. Correcting for a wide range of other determinants, the model based on the most frequently chosen station outperforms the model based on the nearest railway station in estimating the effect of railway accessibility. The dissimilarity between the results of the two models increases with the increase in the urbanisation level of the metropolitan area.

The effects of railway investments in a polycentric city: a comparison of competitive and segmented land markets

The paper analyzes the effect of railway investment on land prices and land use in a polycentric city under various regulatory regimes of land markets. The introduction of a fast mode of transport (train), accessible in discrete locations, leads to an increase in city size. The stations of the fast mode induce dense residential settlements in their vicinity. As a result, the average residential and commercial land rents increase in both competitive and segmented land-market situations, compared with the unimodal transport case. When rail investments serve only one particular centre, this leads to the growth of the advantaged centre at the expense of the other centre. An investment in the fast mode results in city growth and an increase in rent receipts. However, the effect of the investment for individual centres and their corresponding residential areas depends on the underlying land-market conditions. Restrictions on commercial land use lead to increases in commercial rents, but this is more than offset by the decrease in residential land rents.

Modelling the Joint Access Mode and Railway Station Choice

This study models the choices of Dutch railway users for access mode and departure railway stations aggregated at the 4 digit post code area). For each post code area a set of four access modes: car, public transport, bicycle and walking and a set three departure railway stations are identified. A nested logit model is estimated based on 1440 post code areas using a number of access and rail station features. The access features include distance to the departure station, car ownership level, public transport frequency and travel time by public transport to the departure stations. The station features used in the estimation include rail service quality index and supplementary facilities such as availability of parking space and bicycle standing place. Distance has a negative effect on the utility of departure stations. A steeper effect is observed on the choice of departure stations accessed by the non-motorized modes of walking and bicycle. Availability of parking places and bicycle standing areas have a positive effect on the choice of departure railway stations accessed by car and bicycle respectively. Public transport frequency has a positive whereas public transport travel time has a negative effect on the choice of departure stations accessed by public transport. The rail service quality index of a station has a significant and positive effect on the choice of departure stations accessed by all modes.

The Effects of Railway Investments in a Polycentric City

This paper analyses the effect of railway investment on land prices and land use in a polycentric city under various regulatory regimes of land markets. The introduction of a faster mode of transport (train), accessible in discrete locations leads to an extended city size. The stations of the “fast” mode attract dense residential settlements. As a result, the average residential and commercial land rents increase in both the competitive and segmented land market situations, as compared with the “slow” unimodal transport case. When rail investments only serve one particular centre, this leads to the growth of the advantaged centre at the expense of the other centre. Generally speaking, investment in the fast mode results in city growth and increase in rent receipts. However the effect of the investment for individual centres and their corresponding residential areas depends on the underlying land market assumptions and the level of investment. Distorted land markets lead to increases in commercial rents, but this is more than off-set by the decrease in residential land rent. This discussion paper resulted in an article in Environment and Planning A (2007). Volume 39, pages 2048-2067.

The Impact of Accessibility on the Value of Offices

Accessibility is becoming an increasingly important issue in the Netherlands, not only for policymakers but also for daily workers on the road and employers, who have to deal with a growing uncertainty of their staff being on time. Not only the access via roads is important; but also the unreliability of public transport (as experienced by passengers), and the lack of parking areas in many places contribute to the importance of accessibility in society.

The impact of accessibility on house prices: an application to large urban planning and infrastructure projects in the Netherlands

Accessibility is a concept central to integrated transport and land use planning. The goal of improving accessibility for all modes, for all people, has made its way into mainstream transport policy and planning in communities worldwide. This unique and fascinating book introduces new accessibility approaches to transport planning across Europe and the United States.