Does converting abandoned railways to greenways impact neighboring housing prices?

摘要

This research examines the housing market before and after abandoned railways are converted into greenways. Two different hedonic pricing models are employed to analyze changes in the impact and trend of the change spatial regressions for before and after the conversion and the Adjusted Interrupted Time Series-Difference in Differences (AITS-DID) model. Analyzing 2005-2012 single-family home sale transactions in the City of Whittier, California the results show that converting the abandoned railway into a greenway increases property values. Upon the completion of the greenway, the positive association with the greenway proximity increased in both models. The premium also exists in the pre-conversion period. The sellers' and buyers' expectation of the greenway being an amenity factored into the housing market even during the construction of the greenway. After the conversion, properties near the greenway experienced a negative trend in their value.