Traffic calming and neighborhood livability: Evidence from housing prices in Portland

Publication date: Available online 13 November 2018Source: Regional Science and Urban EconomicsAuthor(s): Stefano PolloniAbstractThis paper examines the impact of traffic calming on the livability of urban residential streets. Using geo-referenced data on the installation of 1187 calming devices in Portland (OR), I test whether the interventions locally affect housing prices during succeeding years. I provide reduced-form evidence that city dwellers pay significant premiums to limit their exposure to motor vehicles, but obtain mixed results regarding the overall price impacts of calming devices. My estimates suggest that only the most effective traffic calming measures have a detectable impact on housing prices. The implied traffic flow elasticity is −0.07: projects decreasing traffic by 16% raise home values on treated streets by 1%.

Source: Regional Science and Urban Economics - November 14, 2018 Category: Science Source Type: research