Extending the Scope of Highway Planning: Accessibility, Negative Externalities and the Residential Context

The objectives of this review-based paper were twofold. Firstly, we aimed to explore the need and possibilities for broadening the scope of highway planning by taking account of the residential context, including residential satisfaction. Satisfaction appears to be an interesting, and in our opinion, valuable mediating planning concept between road infrastructure planning and the accompanying external effects on the one hand and household coping strategies on the other. Households living near highway infrastructure are influenced by both positive (i.e. accessibility gains) and negative road-related factors (e.g. noise nuisance and air pollution). Changes in these factors may trigger people to accept the new situation, adjust preferences, try to influence plans and/or  even relocate. The second aim was to gain a greater understanding of the influence of both accessibility characteristics and negative externalities on the residential context of households. With respect to context, we make a distinction between residential satisfaction, housing prices and residential relocation. We see changes in residential satisfaction as a potential early predictor of opposition to plans, not only from active opposers but also from the more ‘silent majority’, and as a predictor of housing price changes and residential migration. Insights into residential satisfaction around highways may help transportation planners to relieve locational stress and may also prevent protests and relocations. Our literature review indicated that households prefer to live close to highways to benefit from high regional accessibility, but do not want to contend with the nuisances. This is also reflected in property values. However, the literature appears to put more emphasis on studying the impact of (regional) accessibility and externalities on location behaviour than on residential satisfaction. Because of the added value that the concept of residential satisfaction may provide in road planning, and the limited scientific insights, it is important to gain greater insight into how residential satisfaction is influenced by negative and positive externalities and into how residential satisfaction changes over time—from the stage when new road projects are discussed through to concrete planning, realization and the period after completion. Moreover, it would be worthwhile to gain a deeper understanding of the extent to which house prices, location behaviour and residential satisfaction near highways interrelate.