Development of walkable regions can boost not just the local real estate market but also the local economy The virtue of walking doesn’t have to be limited to health. Walking also could be good for economy. The importance and benefits of walkability on real estate development is significant. Residential walkable communities create four times the tax revenue compared to regional and business malls, according to a recent panel on the topic at the National Association of Realtors’ annual Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo.
“Creating walkability with restaurants and stores can help transition an edgy part of town into one that is hip and hopping with pedestrians,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR, said.
Walkable urban regions also have a gross domestic product more than 40 times higher than non-walkable regions, Christopher Leinberger, professor at George Washington University School of Business and president of Locus, a sustainable, walkable community advocacy group.
To individuals who live in the areas, the walkable regions provide financial benefits in terms of cost savings. Although there are potential of price increase, walkable areas are inherently more affordable than non-walkable places. In walkable regions only 43 percent of income is spent for housing and transportation, compared to 48 percent of non-walkable regions. According to Leinberger, a family living in a walkable area that can transition from a two-car household to a one-car household can increase their mortgage capacity by as much as $150,000.
The panel also pointed to zoning regulations in many major American cities that could be holding back further development.
“We’ve been bumping along at 2 percent GDP growth, and we should be at 3.5 percent, and obsolete zoning is what is holding us back,” Leinberger said. “Less than 10 percent of land would need to be rezoned, and that is where 80 percent of the development is going to go.”
— Yuhee Woo
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