Fund Public Amenities With “Value Capture”  Share With Friends
Over at his new blog, Ron Beitler writes about a proposal for a
greenway park in Lower Macungie Township:  The potential
benefits of a trail network are numerous, and include the
linking of communities within the township to each other and
various points of interest such as schools, parks, historical
sites and shopping centers. This bike-able/walkable trail would
also potentially increase the land value of adjacent properties.
Ron is correct about this. The evidence is strong that parks
increase land values. The shorter the distance to the park, the
higher the increase in land values.  Sounds obvious right? The
people with the greatest access to a nice public amenity will
derive the most benefit from it. Lots of people would like to
live right next to a nice park, since it would basically be like
having an extra nice backyard. Consequently, people are willing
to pay more to live next to a park, hence the increase in
adjacent land values.  This r