2016 Theses Master's

Is “Rail plus Property” in Hong Kong a Scalable Strategy for Funding Public Transit? Based on Case Studies of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and New York City

Wu, Jialei

This study of the Rail plus Property is aimed at the scalability of Rail plus Property mode of Hong Kong as a land value capture strategy to finance public transit. The research is composed of empirical case studies and comparison analysis. Case-based secondary data analysis, archival research, and semi-structured interviews are applied for the research. Based on the past research, the thesis reviews and evaluates the Rail plus Property projects based on the case studies of Hong Kong, New York City and Shenzhen, and investigates whether the Rail plus Property mode in Hong Kong can be transferred to other cities. The thesis also analyzes the reasons for success and failure of different areas due to the different social and economical background. Shenzhen was the core case study since it adapted innovative strategies both in policy part and in financial mechanism, which is valuable for development of Rail plus Property mode worldwide. The research concludes the institutional and market conditions that are necessary for successful Rail plus Property mode, and provides planning and governmental policy suggestions.