Economic benefits of urban streetscapes: Analyzing the interrelationships between visual street environments and single-family property values in Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Policymakers and planners often face questions about whether the creation of walkable environments can positively affect nearby housing prices. In response to this situation, numerous previous studies have examined the relationships between neighborhood-scale walkable environments and neighboring property values. However, it remains unknown if micro-scale visual streetscapes significantly affect nearby housing prices. This study builds upon prior literature by examining the economic effects of both neighborhood and streetscape walkability on single-family housing prices in Seoul, Korea. We use 14,686 housing sales transaction data between 2017 and 2019. In addition, this study utilizes a Deeplab V3+ deep learning model using 233,106 Google Street View (GSV) panoramic images to empirically identify micro-scale streetscapes. Based on such data, we employ a hedonic price model to examine the interrelationships between both macro- and micro-scale walkable environments and single-family housing prices. Our findings show that paved sidewalks on streets are associated with higher housing prices in disadvantaged neighborhoods, while street greenery and a sense of enclosure are positively correlated in advantaged areas. In particular, the sense of enclosure presents diminishing marginal effects. Our findings can help policymakers and planners establish detailed design strategies and guidelines for creating walkable environments that can maximize these economic benefits.