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ABSTRACTAccurately estimating the monetary value of the construction quality and the level of maintenance of a house is a significant gap in house price research. Such estimates would be valuable for various actors in the housing market. Homebuyers would benefit from this information during the bidding process. Homeowners would benefit from it during renovation—particularly when financing their homes with a home equity line of credit—and when deciding on the need for renovation before selling their homes. Property value assessors would be able to provide better estimates of property values, and developers might make better decisions regarding the quality of new construction projects. Finally, lending institutions and public-sector housing agencies would benefit when providing loans or grants for housing rehabilitation and renovation.This research employs spatial econometric regression modeling and finds that construction quality and level of maintenance significantly affect house prices. For example, a medium-quality house sells for approximately 25% more than a low-quality house, and a well-maintained house sells for approximately 5% more than a house that is not well-maintained. The research also reports on the interaction between the quality and maintenance variables and how these variables vary with house size and the number of bedrooms.

•Half of the local governments and three-quarters of the transit agencies note that land use and zoning restrictions impede the implementation of TODs.•Transit agencies note their lack of land use and zoning powers as a major barrier to the implementation of TODs.•Need flexible parking standards and uses in the TODs.•Shift the focus from ground-floor retail in a TOD to an active ground floor.•Consider TODs transit infrastructure for land acquisition purposes.

This paper reviews four transit projects funded by using special assessment districts (SADs) across the United States. The paper examines the SAD revenue yield and stability and focuses on the actions taken by public agencies to enhance them; this examination results in three important findings. First, SAD revenues are highly stable and can be expected to generate large sums of money. However, as a proportion of project cost, such revenues might fund a small portion of capital-intensive transit projects such as heavy rail. Second, SAD revenues typically do not accrue up front because property owners have the option to pay the fee over time. Therefore, public agencies must rely on other funding sources (usually assessment fee-backed bonds) to address this revenue-expenditure mismatch. Finally, to ensure that assessment revenues do not decline in real dollars when paid over time, public agencies charge property owners interest, usually on the basis of the interest paid to service the assessment-backed bonds. Public agencies can take the following steps to enhance SADs' revenue yield and stability. First, try to capture as large a portion of the property value increase as is politically feasible. Second, use SADs to demonstrate local community support for a transit project, thereby leveraging state and federal funds. Third, minimize the number of properties exempt from paying assessments. Fourth, minimize real estate market risks to SAD revenues by formulating a revenue calculation methodology based on factors other than or in addition to property value, such as a parcel's street frontage and size and a property's building area. In addition, the assessment fee could be a proportion of the property's previously assessed value or a proportion of a fixed property value increment. Fifth, ensure full payment of fees.

This paper reviews four transit projects funded by using special assessment districts (SADs) across the United States. The paper examines the SAD revenue yield and stability and focuses on the actions taken by public agencies to enhance them; this examination results in three important findings. First, SAD revenues are highly stable and can be expected to generate large sums of money. However, as a proportion of project cost, such revenues might fund a small portion of capital-intensive transit projects such as heavy rail. Second, SAD revenues typically do not accrue up front because property owners have the option to pay the fee over time. Therefore, public agencies must rely on other funding sources (usually assessment fee-backed bonds) to address this revenue-expenditure mismatch. Finally, to ensure that assessment revenues do not decline in real dollars when paid over time, public agencies charge property owners interest, usually on the basis of the interest paid to service the assessment-backed bonds. Public agencies can take the following steps to enhance SADs’ revenue yield and stability. First, try to capture as large a portion of the property value increase as is politically feasible. Second, use SADs to demonstrate local community support for a transit project, thereby leveraging state and federal funds. Third, minimize the number of properties exempt from paying assessments. Fourth, minimize real estate market risks to SAD revenues by formulating a revenue calculation methodology based on factors other than or in addition to property value, such as a parcel's street frontage and size and a property's building area. In addition, the assessment fee could be a proportion of the property's previously assessed value or a proportion of a fixed property value increment. Fifth, ensure full payment of fees.

This paper reviews four transit impact fee programs in use across the United States to examine the robustness of state and local enabling statutes and the strategies used to minimize the horizontal and vertical inequities of the fees. The paper finds that although impact fees are used primarily to fund capital expenses nationwide, three of the four case study jurisdictions also use the fee to fund operating, maintenance, and administrative expenses. Furthermore, clear language concerning the eligible uses should help provide robust legal protection if the fee is challenged in court. Finally, although the nexus and rough proportionality requirements ensure that the fee creates minimal horizontal inequities, no such legal requirements exist regarding the fee's vertical equity impacts. This lack of legal requirement is reflected in the uneven use of vertical inequity mitigation strategies adopted by the case study jurisdictions.

This paper reviews four transit impact fee programs in use across the United States to examine the robustness of state and local enabling statutes and the strategies used to minimize the horizontal and vertical inequities of the fees. The paper finds that although impact fees are used primarily to fund capital expenses nationwide, three of the four case study jurisdictions also use the fee to fund operating, maintenance, and administrative expenses. Furthermore, clear language concerning the eligible uses should help provide robust legal protection if the fee is challenged in court. Finally, although the nexus and rough proportionality requirements ensure that the fee creates minimal horizontal inequities, no such legal requirements exist regarding the fee's vertical equity impacts. This lack of legal requirement is reflected in the uneven use of vertical inequity mitigation strategies adopted by the case study jurisdictions.

It is understood that the threats posed by possible criminal activity in a neighborhood can play a major role in the decision to drive, take transit, walk, or ride a bicycle, but little empirical evidence has yet been gathered to support this notion, let alone guide public infrastructure investments, land use planning, or the allocation of police services. This study found that high-crime neighborhoods tend to discourage residents from walking or riding a bicycle. When a high-crime neighborhood is compared with a lower-crime neighborhood, the odds of choosing walking over driving decrease by 17% for work trips and 61% for nonwork trips. However, transit trips appear to respond to neighborhood crime in a way similar to auto trips; that is, high-crime neighborhoods appear to encourage transit use. The odds of choosing transit over the auto increase by 17% for work trips and 164% for nonwork trips. The study found that transit access trips (walking, bicycling, or driving to a transit station) are sensitive to neighborhood crimes in keeping with theoretical expectations: high-crime neighborhoods discourage walking and bicycling and encourage driving to transit stations. Specifically, for transit access to work trips, the odds of choosing to walk or bike to a transit station instead of driving decrease by 48%.

It is understood that the threats posed by possible criminal activity in a neighborhood can play a major role in the decision to drive, take transit, walk, or ride a bicycle, but little empirical evidence has yet been gathered to support this notion, let alone guide public infrastructure investments, land use planning, or the allocation of police services. This study found that high-crime neighborhoods tend to discourage residents from walking or riding a bicycle. When a high-crime neighborhood is compared with a lower-crime neighborhood, the odds of choosing walking over driving decrease by 17% for work trips and 61% for nonwork trips. However, transit trips appear to respond to neighborhood crime in a way similar to auto trips; that is, high-crime neighborhoods appear to encourage transit use. The odds of choosing transit over the auto increase by 17% for work trips and 164% for nonwork trips. The study found that transit access trips (walking, bicycling, or driving to a transit station) are sensitive to neighborhood crimes in keeping with theoretical expectations: high-crime neighborhoods discourage walking and bicycling and encourage driving to transit stations. Specifically, for transit access to work trips, the odds of choosing to walk or bike to a transit station instead of driving decrease by 48%.

This article uses 1991-2000 data on single-family housing sales from King County, WA, to provide new evidence relating to the effects of impact fees on housing prices. The hedonic regression method is used to examine the effects of these fees on existing housing as well as their differential effects on price as determined by housing quality.Impact fees raise existing home prices by about 83 percent of the amount of the fee. The increase is 103 percent for high-quality homes and is not statistically significant for low-quality homes. The owners of high-quality homes realize capital gains from impact fees. However, such fees do not raise the price of low-quality homes. To the extent that low-quality housing is more likely to be owned by low- and moderate-income households, which are often composed of racial and ethnic minorities, this finding has significant policy implications for the supporters of impact fees.

•Most of the transit agencies are not allowed to purchase land for constructing TODs.•Most of the transit agencies do not have land use and zoning powers over the station-area land.•Local governments rarely use of power eminent domain to assemble land parcels to enable TODs.•Land use, zoning, and value capture needs to be considered in an integrated manner.•More power should be granted to transit agencies over station-area land.

Background and Aim Physical exercise up-regulates telomere-stabilizing proteins in mice, suggesting that physical activity affects telomere length. Several human studies assessing the relationship between physical activity, measured by health or activity surveys, and telomere length have produced conflicting results. The present study sought to explore the association between telomere length and physical fitness measured objectively as maximal oxygen uptake in endurance-trained athletes and sedentary controls.Methods Seventeen marathon runners and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy, sedentary control subjects participated in the study. Medical history, demographic information, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), and peripheral blood lymphocyte telomere length were measured in all subjects. Statistical analysis was performed to examine the relationship between telomere length and measured variables.Results Athletes and sedentary controls had similar lymphocyte (0.97 ± 0.20 vs 1.01 ± 0.18; P= 0.6) and granulocyte (0.89 ± 0.11 vs 0.89 ± 0.12; P= 0.9) telomere lengths. Linear regression analysis showed age as the only variable significantly associated with telomere length (P= 0.007). There was no correlation between VO2max and telomere length.Conclusion In a cohort of healthy adult athletes and sedentary controls, there was no association between physical activity measured by VO2max and peripheral blood lymphocyte and granulocyte telomere length.