Land Use and Growth Impacts from Highway Capacity Increases

Abstract

This analysis examines the historical relationship between land-use changes and the location of capacity-increasing highway projects in Oregon from 1970 to 1990. Aerial photography for 15 cities was used to delineate the extent of urban development for the 20-year time period. A geographic information system was used to assemble these data. A logit regression model tested the significance of geographic variables such as proximity to highway projects, land-use zoning classification, city size, and other spatial characteristics. The results suggest that for the 15 selected cities, the spatial measures performed well in predicting the location of urban development from 1970 to 1990. In addition, the results of the logit regression model indicated that, controlling for other location factors, urban development impacts near state highway project corridors have produced a significant gradient of land-use change compared to the gradient for all highway facilities.