When Roads don't increase Real Estate Values

I know I have blogged that infrastructure improvements (i.e. adding rail and highways) increase real estate values...it's not always a golden rule. In some cases, removing trains and highways can spur a real estate renaissance in a neighborhood because removing them eliminates a barrier or a border vacuum in the city.

Essentially, a highway is a massive single use entity that forms a border..a border that attracts blight to a neighborhood and depresses property values.

Why does a border create a single use entity and why is that no good for real estate investors?

The answer is simple: few uses = few purposes to visit the area = fewer users = fewer future buyers of the real estate in the area. In addition, When borders are added, you start to see increased crime in the area.

Think of places you see graffiti...they are usually in places where there are fewer people to keep an eye out for criminal behaviour (see above). This creates a further negative feedback loop on real estate in the area.


In the Life and Death of Great American Cities Jane Jacob's tells us the following:

"..literal and continuous mingling of people, present because of different purposes, is the only device that keeps streets safe. It is the only device that cultivates (diversity)."

Cities have started to realize this and have begun to re-think the benefits of keeping Urban freeways. Essentially tearing down the highways would re-connect different neighborhoods bringing people into the area and thus make real estate more valuable.

Check out this article 7 Urban Freeways To Tear Down Today–And What Tomorrow Might Look Like If We Do