Journal of Urban Planning and Development

Under real option theory, property developers are able to determine the optimal timing of executing their investment projects on a risk-neutral basis. The writers adopted the Samuelson-McKean model to value the embedded option of the largest urban redevelopment project in Hong Kong—Kwun Tong Town Center—for its feasibility study. Then housing prices were simulated by using the Monte Carlo simulation. This paper has made a contribution to the real estate investment literature in tracing the plausible optima and adverse outcomes, particularly in situations in which perfect information is not available. The estimated mean value of the project is approximately $31.14 billion, which is around 15% lower than the required value, i.e., the hurdle value of $36.65 billion. The finding has revealed that immediate implementation of the Kwun Tong redevelopment project is unfavorable from a financial standpoint because the expected return is insufficient to offset the cost of uncertainties.

The transaction costs (TC) in property development incurred by complying with planning regulations can be unpredictable and extremely high, especially under a high land-price policy in which property developers have to pay approximately 60% of the total project cost, the land price, on day one. The aim of this paper is to identify the property developers’ primary cost concerns arising from the planning regulations in Hong Kong, which is subject to a high land-price policy. Sixteen structured interviews with experienced senior industry practitioners were performed to collect their insights. The qualitative research analytical tool NVivo was used for the data analysis. Results showed that developers’ primary cost concerns arose out of regulatory uncertainties attributable to unclear and unexplained approval and rejection criteria and to regulatory ambiguities. Such uncertainties can cause project delays and defer developers’ investment returns. Understanding the regulatory TCs of planning regulations would enable project stakeholders to take early actions to reduce or avoid such costs. The research findings would also help policy-makers to formulate more effective strategies to reduce unnecessary regulatory costs and eventually enhance policy efficiency.

This descriptive case study examines the linkage between rapid urbanization and alterations of river networks. It is intended to address ecological services changes in a highly urbanized catchment of Shenzhen, China. Using remote sensing and GIS, urban development and the river network between 1980 and 2005 were analyzed. Furthermore, an analysis of vegetation coverage, biological resources value, ecosystems service value, and ecological capital in the highly urbanized Guanlan River subbasin was performed to indicate the ecological consequences of urban sprawl. Results show that rapid urbanization has resulted in a clear decline of drainage density and an obvious ecological degradation in river ecosystems. Geographically, there is a shifting of urban land, and the extent of drainage density decreases from the core of towns to the outskirts. The outward expansion of the urban land and the decrease/disappearance of wetland and water bodies are found to be among the most important driving forces explaining the ecological degradation in river ecosystems in this region of China. Human activities driven by socioeconomic factors should be considered responsible for the degradation of river ecological services. It is irrational to encourage encroachment of river lands in the process of urbanization, and it is also urgent to effectively restore the natural rivers to build healthy cities.

This paper develops preliminary planning guidance for implementing truck-only toll (TOT) lanes based on the evaluation of critical issues associated with TOT lanes and the modeling results of building TOT lanes in freeway systems. The guidance proposes methodologies for identifying feasible TOT lane candidates and assessment for the use of mandatory or voluntary TOT lanes, lane placement, access locations, safety enforcement, tolling strategies, and TOT corridor prioritization. This guidance provides a resource to assist transportation agencies with planning TOT lane projects and also to achieve the goals of TOT lanes for relieving traffic congestion, reducing truck-related crashes, and generating revenues to fund these projects.

Around the world, interest in urban and metropolitan goods movements is increasing because they account for a substantial share of traffic in urban and metropolitan areas. In this context, many city administrators have implemented measures to mitigate the negative effects of freight transportation. Starting from an analysis of existing studies relative to freight policies implemented at the urban scale in Europe, this paper proposes a general classification of measures adopted at the urban scale and an analysis of expected goals and tested results. Each described measure is analyzed by considering the temporal reference scale (strategic, tactical, and operative) of the actors and decision makers involved. Each measure pursues and is linked to one or more expected goal, and the empirical results obtained in the European cities and demonstrated by specific indicators representing the goal are presented.

A major function of planners is to promote the best use of a community’s land and resources for different construction projects; especially critical are infrastructure projects on which economic development relies. Transportation projects typically involve both environmental and economic issues facing a community as it grows and changes. Considerations of sustainability, as well as the widespread use of collaborative planning, design, and construction, require tools that facilitate long-term impact analysis and easy communication among built-environment professionals. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is instrumental for studying transportation project impacts, but it is a time-consuming process because of the large number of dependent and independent variables involved. This paper presents a descriptive case study for the analysis phase of an EIA for transportation projects on the basis of the integration of remote-sensing technology, geographic information systems, and spatial modeling. Environmental vulnerability around the project areas is presented by exploiting the advantages of the map overlay method and the matrix method. A vulnerability grade map and road distribution map were produced, providing an overall vulnerability score for each of the three planning alternatives considered. A road alignment was indicated as the preferred corridor, which was further recommended for a project development and environmental (PD&E) study. The proposed framework provides for a comprehensive environmental assessment of transportation projects and improvement of the quality of the decision-making process in urban and interurban projects.

Roads are considered a key factor in the economic and social development in the territory of any country. In this sense, it is important to analyze the effect of roads in the socioeconomic development of a territory. To that end, this study analyzes the short-term impact of the “Eix Transversal de Catalunya” (located in Catalonia, Kingdom of Spain) in its affected territory. This study uses the classic method “ex-ante” “ex-post” to compare the evolution of the socioeconomic variables (the selection of which was done on the basis of classic methodology of impact studies) before and after the construction was finished in December of 1997. The results show, in an indisputable way, the positive effect that the Eix Transversal has had in the territory, influencing the territorial ordination, the demographic growth, and economic development, and at the same time enhancing changes in the patterns of the population’s mobility.

This paper estimates their contributions to total gross state domestic product in an attempt to revisit the issue of cities as the engine of growth. Because direct evidence on this aspect is missing, this paper uses the proportion of urban workers to total workers and adjusts for the productivity differentials between rural and urban areas to arrive at the estimate of urban (city) domestic product. Findings suggest that a significant percentage of the value added, particularly in the nonagricultural sector, originates from the urban areas, with considerable variations across states. In general, states with a higher share of urban state domestic product have witnessed higher growth in per capita income and lower incidence of poverty. Estimates of cities’ contribution to the total urban domestic product have also been calculated for those that have been listed under special urban renewal mission. Rapid urbanization, economic growth, and poverty reduction are all related, and agglomeration economies play a major role in this context. Finally, this paper focuses on policy issues.

The growth of megaevents is related to changes within urban management paradigms and the corresponding economic analysis. As such, urban management and macroeconomic policy must be investigated together. This paper focuses on the relationships between the hosting of the 2007 Pan American (Pan Am) games, the budget management of Rio de Janeiro city, and Brazil’s macroeconomic policy, considering both the economic impacts and exploring possible alternative uses of the public resources. The games required a newly built infrastructure, demonstrating that hosting megaevents in developing countries requires more sacrifices than for cities in industrialized countries. These expenditures did not change the control policy of public debt, because the city’s management followed the principles of government policy. Therefore, the adjustment of the municipal budget occurred in other expenditures, especially health and education. Finally, Rio de Janeiro municipality did not have enough resources to host the Pan Am games, and the federal government had to promise financial support. Planning megaevents has a new dimension not usually discussed in the economic impact literature: the consequences of megaevents on the federalist equilibrium.

This paper addresses two questions regarding transportation data collection in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, based on analysis of data needs and a review of international data collection practices. First, will the current data collection efforts provide sufficient information to answer key transportation questions that will arise over the next decade? Second, how should the household travel survey effectively be conducted in the future, recognizing significant technological and societal changes that are occurring? The paper recommends that major established data collection efforts be continued, prioritized gaps in transportation be addressed, and a continuous research program dedicated to survey methods research be developed. The paper also outlines a strategy for upgrading the household travel survey. An Internet version of the survey, a dual-frame sampling approach, a supplementary GPS-assisted survey, and consistency of the survey with previous implementations are recommended. The transportation data challenges faced in the Greater Golden Horseshoe are not unique to the region, and the recommendations made here are relevant to data collection programs in other peer jurisdictions worldwide.

Development impact fees are an effective way for communities to recoup some of the costs of growth. Typically, they have been used to raise revenues to help pay for new capital spending. In this paper, the possibility of using impact fees to help offset the costs of additional carbon dioxide (${\mathrm{CO}}_2$) emissions that are caused by growth is explored. After briefly summarizing the problem of ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ pollution, the author identifies eight issues that make a ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ impact fee unique, and which would likely be confronted by a community attempting to implement such a fee. The author concludes by organizing these issues by whether they pose primarily a legal, practical, and/or political challenge.