Walkability is synonymous with less traffic, a higher quality of life, and more vibrant streetscapes. A new Brookings Institution study—Walk this Way: The Economic Promise of Walkable Places in Metropolitan Washington, D.C., by Christopher B. Lienberger and Mariela Alfonzo—highlights the economics behind walkabaility, and why walkable areas are worth more than previously thought.
According to Lienberger, the current real estate market is being influenced by the convergence of two growing demographics, the Boomers and the Millennials. For the first time, these groups have the same housing preference for areas that are easy to get around, and that offer different work and entertainment options without car dependency.
In his The New York Times piece “The Death of the Fringe Suburb,” Lienberger notes that the 1990s market increased development in expensive, car-oriented suburbs. That trend is fading as Boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) and Millennials (born between 1979 and 1996) look for different amenities in their communities. For example, aging residents might have trouble driving and walkable areas free them from the car. Millennials, on the other hand, might find it impractical to buy or maintain a car in the current economy, or might want to live closer to the jobs and entertainment that walkable areas contain. Taken together these two groups are roughly 50 percent of the total population. When they come to agree on consumer preferences, the market is impacted.
It is this impact that Lienberger discusses in another The New York Times op-ed “Now Coveted: A Walkable, Convenient Place.” In the Brookings study, Leinberger and Alfonzo chart the fiscal benefits of walkability, and discuss why areas should plan on pedestrian-friendly communities and complete streets. They divided walkability into a five-tiered ladder. They discovered that every time an area moves along the ladder toward more walkable, it “adds $9 per square foot to annual office rents, $7 per square foot to retail rents, more than $300 per month to apartment rents and nearly $82 per square foot to home values.”
As noted by Leinberger, in 1996, the Columbus suburb of Worthington, Ohio, was on average 135 percent more expensive than the Short North urban neighborhood. Today, the Short North is 30 percent more expensive than Worthington. Also in 1996, the Seattle suburb of Redmond and an urban area known as Capitol Hill had about the same property values. Today, Capitol Hill costs 50 percent more, and it is known as one of the nation’s most walkable and pedestrian friendly areas.
What is the way forward? According to Leinberger, this shift is both a “revitalization of center cities and [an] urbanization of suburbs.” Increasing suburban walkability could make aging in place more likely and attractive, as older residents would be able to stay in their communities and maintain relationships. Additionally, putting resources into urban cores to create quality and safe housing for future generations boosts supply and makes the cost of living less expensive for all.
Source: Zillow.com data analysis by Christopher B. Leinberger, Brookings Institution
For more information, visit:
http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2012/05/25-walkable-places-leinberger
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/opinion/sunday/now-coveted-a-walkable-convenient-place.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/opinion/the-death-of-the-fringe-suburb.html