The impact of transmission lines on property values: coming to terms with stigma

Abstract

The impact of power transmission lines on property values remains insufficiently explored and inconclusively theorised. This paper provides a platform for examining what appears to be a general phenomenon of price depreciation of land abutting power lines. A large scale international literature review is organised in terms of a thematic model as a prelude to a précis of key papers discussing the power line/property value nexus. Broadening the account, attention turns to the issue of stigma which has different manifestations from its normal context involving contaminated lands. In order to advance theoretical understanding, a speculative model is provided of the stigma apparently attaching to power lines and attendant installations.