[2019-07]

Benefits of being close to the subway networks? Empirical evidences from South Korea

Ahn, Kwangwon
Moon Soul Graduate School of Future Strategy, KAIST

Jang, Hanwool
Moon Soul Graduate School of Future Strategy, KAIST

Song, Yena
Department of Geography, Chonnam National University

Abstract
Subway networks are often developed in densely developed metropolitan areas that have
enough potential passengers to merit a subway network. Once it has been constructed, it
provides mobility to passengers and improves local accessibility to various destinations,
inducing economic, social, and health impacts. This study aims to examine the economic
impacts of subway networks in metropolitan areas among the various and wide effects that
stem from the provision of transit networks. We examine the associations between actual
transaction prices of condominiums and access to subway networks in four metropolitan areas
in South Korea. Because condominiums make up the most dominant housing type in South
Korea, they can be a good proxy for housing prices. In the modeling process, factors known
to have a close relationship with housing prices are integrated along with accessibility to
subway networks and to effectively deal with the spatial patterns, spatially lagged models are
developed. Our results show that the expected positive effects exist in the majority of case
metropolitan areas, with only one metropolis having a negative sign. Our findings can enhance
our understanding of the economic effects of public transit systems in relatively small
metropolitan areas with less complex subway systems.

Keywords: subway, accessibility, economic benefit, condominium transaction prices, etropolitan areas