A study on the effects of the adoption of rail plus property model and the planning of transit oriented development : from social and economic perspectives

Abstract

Being one of the few metropolises in the world that makes profit from its railway operation, MTRC is well known for its adoption of the Rail Plus Property (R+P) model. Under this model, not only does it compensate the substantial costs of hardware maintenance and new railway expansion, but it also constructs over 40 transit-oriented developments (TODs) which integrates residential, commercial, institutional facilities and open spaces in the same community. TOD is a planning strategy that aims at enhancing residents’ quality of life by integrating residences with transportation systems and all essential facilities and shops in one community with the minimal reliance on nearby areas. While it is complimented for its promotion of sustainability in terms of social, economic and environmental aspects, there are also adverse opinions about its acceleration of transit-induced spatial injustice and social segregation. In particular, MTRC, which is a public corporation that is expected to serve the public, yet run on a commercial basis. Its role in the property development in Hong Kong sparks controversies over the city. Although there are existing studies investigating the positive and negative effects TOD might bring to the city, it appears that none of the study put their focus in the situation in Hong Kong, especially on the housing equity issues under the TOD setting. In addition, no existing research has investigated TOD residents’ intentions to stay at TOD as an indicator of the community’s sustainability. Therefore, this study aims to fill the knowledge gap and provide a comprehensive analysis on the possible economic and social effects of TOD as carried out by MTRC in order to review such effects and show the extent of sustainability promoted under TOD in a broader sense. To investigate the economic impacts caused by the development of MTR property development projects, 2 hedonic price models are built by collecting and analysing transaction records of properties located within 1 km radius to the MTR properties at Tsuen Wan West Station and Tuen Mun Station. Price fluctuations during the announcement, construction and operation periods are also analysed. Empirical results show that the development of MTR property projects do pose price enhancement effects to the property prices in nearby areas. The impacts appear to be the greatest during the operation period with price premiums of 6% to 7% at the 2 stations while the negative externalities during construction period cause a slight drop of property prices from the increase in prices caused by the announcement effects. To examine the major benefits and drawbacks that exist in the situation in Hong Kong under the TOD setting, interviews with professionals and questionnaires with 100 TOD residents are conducted. The mixed approach aims to find out whether the perceived benefits suggested by the planners and developers are actually experienced by the TOD residents. The questionnaire results are analysed with the use of descriptive statistics and Relative Importance Index. It is revealed that enhanced walkability and accessibility are the most significant benefits agreed by both the professionals and TOD residents while difference in opinions is found on the issue of the fostered social inclusion caused by TOD. Housing unaffordability is chosen as the most significant drawback caused by TOD, yet both the professionals and TOD residents suggest that the problem of transit-induced spatial injustice is not that severe in Hong Kong. Lastly, to explore the relationships between residents’ perceptions on the usefulness of TOD, the objective factors (i.e. environment) and their attitude towards TOD as well as their intentions to stay, via either purchase or rent, in TOD in the future, questionnaire with 100 TOD residents are conducted. Intention to stay serves as an indicator of sustainability in this study to show whether people are attracted to stay and contribute to the community under TOD. The questionnaire results are analysed by using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Linear Regression. The extremely small p-values in the constructed models have proven positive and significant correlations between residents’ perceptions on the usefulness of TOD and the objective factors on affecting their attitude towards TOD and their intentions to stay in TOD in the future. It implies that the improvements in TOD environment can successfully attract more supporters and thus encourage them to stay in the district for a longer period. Despite some limitations of this study, it is still believed that this dissertation can contribute in 3 different aspects. Firstly, individual property buyers or real estate consultancies can have a more thorough analysis on the price fluctuations during different periods of the development of MTR property projects and can be able to make a precise decision on whether to purchase the properties. Secondly, government officials and policy makers can review the effects of TOD and hopefully introduce initiatives to balance interests of the citizens and address the concerns of the TOD residents. Lastly, members of the public can stay alert of both positive and negative effects that TOD brings to society and possibly raise their concerns to the government through different channels. In this way, the developments can be more liveable and sustainable to live which raise residents’ quality of life. Further studies can be carried out to investigate the possibility of the adoption of the R+P model in mainland China or even foreign countries. Characteristics of different TOD projects carried out in different countries can also be analyzed to make a comparison between the approaches taken by different countries and measure their respective successfulness in creating sustainable communities.