Fabio Lunardi Tieppo (p), Andre Chagas

Traffic is one of the main problems faced by urban metropolises around the world, so the subject is widely studied and worked on. To address this, governments invest in a number of alternative means of transportation. One type of investment that is gaining prominence in the main urban metropolises is the incentive to use bicycles through the construction of segregated roads and supporting infrastructure.
If, on the one hand, the construction of bicycle lanes encourages the use of bicycles and facilitates the use of an alternative mean of transport, on the other hand it reduces the circulation of cars and eliminates parking spaces, causing a possible negative effect both in traffic and trade. In addition to the effect on traffic, bicycle use can be seen as a positive amenity for people who use the structure not only as a means of transportation, but for the practice of physical activities or for recreation. In this way, structure affects people's lives in many ways, both positively and negatively.
While investment in cycling infrastructure is gaining importance, literature on the subject is still relatively scarce. This work proposes to investigate the economic impact of the presence of the cycle courses by conducting a case study in the city of São Paulo. In order to do so, a hedonic price model will be carried out to determine the impact of the cycle path on the price of real estate, so that it will be possible to identify how this investment influences people's perception of quality of life, since people are willing to pay a higher price by the presence of an amenity.
The work uses an extensive real estate database provided by a real estate classifieds site. To identify the effect of the policy, a panel model with random effects and real estate data from 2012 to 2016 was used. With a panel data model is possible to use a structure of differences in differences that, together with the hedonic price model, allow to separate the effect of the cycle path on the real estate price.
Another concern of the work was to identify the diversity of type of structures built, from large investments in busy avenues to improvised structures. In this way the work can separate the effect generated by the different types of structure and not only the general effect of the policy.

Volker Nitsch (p)

Airport noise is costly: Airport location is typically associated with lower property prices; airport expansion often sparks protests by local residents. In this paper, I provide new evidence on the costs of airport-related noise (and other disamenities of airports) for individuals. In contrast to previous work, I analyze voting results on restricting airport operations. Using data from a referendum on the closure of one of Berlin’s inner-city airports, Tempelhof, I find that voting behavior is not primarily explained by exposure to airport disamenities. Rather, strong opposition to closure in the vicinity of Tempelhof indicates that residents have adapted to living in a specific environment.

Marije Hamersma (p), Eva Heinen, Taede Tillema, Jos Arts

Living near highways often comes with nuisances (noise, air pollution, barrier effects), but may also bring accessibility gains. Although there is quite some research being done on explaining the impact of infrastructure-related environmental effects and accessibility on housing prices, there is hardly any information about how those factors are traded off in people’s overall residential context. This doctoral research provides insight in the impact of existing and planned highway infrastructure on residential satisfaction. The insights are based on a questionnaire among residents in seven highway locations in the Netherlands, complemented with in-depth interviews.

Generally speaking, the study shows a quite high level of residential satisfaction at the studied locations. Residential satisfaction is mainly affected by highway proximity in case related positive and/or negative effects are perceived. This perception is related to actual proximity to the highway, but also related to factors such as making a conscious choice for residing near a highway, developed coping abilities, and the attractiveness of the broader environment. Furthermore, residents tradeoff the impact of highways with other residential characteristics. This highlights the importance of an integrated perspective, considering the highway as part of the local environment.

The influence of highway projects on residential satisfaction is dependent on how residents tradeoff (expected) accessibility improvements with effects on the broader environment. This tradeoff is influenced by characteristics of projects (such as project-phase and -type) and of areas and residents. Residents who actively participate seem to be somewhat more negative compared to the ´silent´ majority. Considering representativeness, it would be worthwhile to also include opinions of the latter group in highway planning.

The findings furthermore suggest that residents are more positive about projects when they are satisfied about provided information and participation possibilities. This satisfaction is related to the quality of what is provided, but also influenced by personal characteristics, such as interest in projects, trust in government, other information sources and socio-demographics. This indicates the importance to always provide a variety of information and participation possibilities.