The Value of Urban Density

Fabio Alberto Hernandez Palacio; Sabrina Scherzer; Yngve Karl Frøyen

doi:10.6092/1970-9870/5484

Fabio Alberto Hernandez Palacio Department of Architecture and Planning, Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU
Sabrina Scherzer Department of Geography / Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU
Yngve Karl Frøyen Department of Architecture and Planning, Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/5484

Keywords: urban density, property value, housing prices, sustainability, social acceptability, hedonic pricing, Norway, Trondheim

Abstract

Urban density is considered a cornerstone of sustainable urban form, enhancing the potential for more sustainable lifestyles and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. To explore the relationship between urban density and residential property prices in Trondheim, Norway, this analysis first evaluates 23 distinct urban areas with regard to average square metre price and three density measures – built coverage density, dwelling unit density, and population density. Initial correlation results indicate that there is a positive relationship between the density measures and price per square metre. To investigate this first observation further, a simple hedonic pricing model was constructed based on 1,255 sales transactions from the period 2014 and 2015. The model includes property characteristics, such as property type and age of property; proximity measures, such as distance to the next school or bus stop; and the three density measures. It was run for the complete dataset as well as for the two subsets of the Trondheim periphery and the Trondheim centre. With regard to density, the model shows unexpected yet interesting results.

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Author Biographies

Fabio Alberto Hernandez Palacio, Department of Architecture and Planning, Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU

Architect with a broad experience in architectural design, urban design, and Planning, both in Colombia and abroad, since the late 1990s. He has been a consultant in urban design and planning for several municipal and regional authorities in Colombia, working on projects ranging from small rural communities, heritage sites, renewal of brownfields, transport related plans, and integral improvement for marginalised communities. He has also worked in different architectural firms, in Colombian and in The Netherlands, and has participated actively in several architectural competitions, receiving recognition for his work. He currently is in the final stages of his doctoral research.

Sabrina Scherzer, Department of Geography / Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU

She is a PhD research fellow at the Department of Geography at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Her current research interests are community resilience to natural hazards and food security

Yngve Karl Frøyen, Department of Architecture and Planning, Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU

He is a professor at the department of Architecture and Planning at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He is an expert on transport planning and geographical information systems (GIS) and other computer-based tools for planning purposes.

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