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Urban Esthetic Benefits of Undergrounding Utility Lines in Consideration of the Three-Dimensional Landscape

Author

Listed:
  • Shota Ishigooka

    (Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba 468, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0879, Japan)

  • Tatsuhito Kono

    (Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba 06, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0879, Japan)

  • Hajime Seya

    (Department of Civil Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
    Alphabetical listing of authorship.)

Abstract

Since the relative weight of form to function has been increasing in urban planning, from the esthetic viewpoint, many cities in the world have been actively pursuing the undergrounding of overhead utility lines. Esthetic factors are urban externalities in the sense that they are not directly traded in markets. Therefore, we need to control them optimally based on their benefits. In this study, we appraise the benefits of undergrounding utility lines in Japan and clarify the dependency of the residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) on the road width and building height. Our results show that the WTP for undergrounding utility lines is lower as the road becomes wider and the buildings along the road become higher. However, when the road is wide, the WTP does not change much regardless of the height of the buildings. In addition, the average value of the benefit–cost ratios of previous undergrounding projects is from approximately 2.27 to 2.65. However, 3–17% of these projects have benefit–cost ratios of less than 1.

Suggested Citation

  • Shota Ishigooka & Tatsuhito Kono & Hajime Seya, 2021. "Urban Esthetic Benefits of Undergrounding Utility Lines in Consideration of the Three-Dimensional Landscape," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-19, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:14023-:d:706116
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ben McNair & Peter Abelson, 2010. "Estimating the Value of Undergrounding Electricity and Telecommunications Networks," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 43(4), pages 376-388, December.
    2. McNair, Ben J. & Bennett, Jeff & Hensher, David A. & Rose, John M., 2011. "Households' willingness to pay for overhead-to-underground conversion of electricity distribution networks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2560-2567, May.
    3. Stanley W. Hamilton & Gregory M. Schwann, 1995. "Do High Voltage Electric Transmission Lines Affect Property Value?," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 71(4), pages 436-444.
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