Accessibility Indices: Connection to Residential Land Prices and Location Choices

Abstract

Specifications of accessibility indices range from simple minimum-travel-time indices, to measures of cumulative opportunities within specified distance or time thresholds, to maximum utility measures. Models are presented that relate a variety of general accessibility indices for the Dallas–Fort Worth region of Texas to property valuations for single-family dwelling units and commercial units, and to household residential location choices. Hedonic models are used to assess how important access is to property valuations, while controlling for improvement attributes and parcel size. Multinomial logit models are used to derive logsum measures of accessibility as well as to assess the effect of access on location choices, while controlling for household demographics. Three functional specifications of access measures were used. Job accessibility (a proxy for work and other opportunities) was estimated to affect residential land values positively in statistically and economically significant ways, suggesting—as hypothesized here—that land rents track property owners’ assessments of accessibility, whereas other common accessibility measures do not perform as well. After controlling for this measure, access to park space (proxy for availability of outdoor recreational activities) and access to retail jobs (proxy for shopping opportunities) were not valued in the land market. Distances to regional central business districts and household heads’ workplace locations played important roles in location predictions, often in the presence of the more general access measures. Residential location choice model results suggested which indices are better measures of accessibility. Different functional specifications appeared useful here. Cumulative opportunities access measures were most helpful in predicting residence location, but differences in predictive power were relatively small.