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Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Through a review of three public transport projects developed across the United States using tax increment financing (TIF) revenues, this article examines the robustness of state- and local-level enabling statutes and the strategies used to minimize TIF’s horizontal and vertical inequities. The article finds that although TIF is widely used to fund transit-related facilities, such as rail lines and train stations, it is not used to purchase or maintain the rolling stock (e.g., train cars and buses). Furthermore, the use of TIF revenues for public transport enhances vertical equity to the extent that public transit users are likely to have lower incomes than auto users. However, in all case study projects, TIF primarily helped develop rail projects, not bus systems, with the latter more likely to be used by lower income people. Finally, setting aside TIF funds for affordable housing, job training, and relocation and rehabilitation can help reduce vertical inequities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little scholarly attention has been paid to the equity impacts of special assessment districts (SADs) established to fund public transportation projects. This article uses three recent public transportation projects funded using SADs in the United States and finds that the case study SADs’ performance is mixed. Although the districts use a variety of criteria, such as property value, parcel area, and distance from the transportation project, to calculate assessments in a way that promotes horizontal equity, the assessment methodologies do not take into account the disamenity associated with certain elements of public transportation projects, such as the rail line. Furthermore, owner-occupied residential properties are often exempt from paying assessments to garner support for SADs, rather than to satisfy equity concerns. Finally, the low-interest, long-term payment of assessments enhances vertical equity which can be further enhanced if assessment exemptions or deferments are consistently provided to seniors on fixed incomes and low-income households. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This paper provides evidence on the impact of a sub-urban transit-oriented development (TOD) on surrounding single-family home prices. Using a dataset that inventories single-family home sale transactions surrounding Ohlone Chenyoweth TOD in San Jose, CA, the paper employs hedonic regression to estimate the effect of the TOD on home prices. Controlling for the effects of the distance from the light rail line, the station and other transportation facilities, the impact of the TOD on home sale prices is statistically significant at p =0.10 level, with an average home sale price increase of $21,000 (or 3.2%) for every 50% reduction in the distance between the home and the TOD. Further, the paper finds that the TOD’s price effect dissipates after 1/8 mile. Finally, housing prices within 1/8 mile of the TOD were 18.5% higher than the prices more than 1/8 mile from the TOD during the post-TOD construction period; 7.3% higher during the TOD construction period and not statistically different in the pre-TOD construction period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]