Public acceptance in financing urban transportation projects using the Value Capture concept

Abstract

The need for transportation infrastructure and services continuously increases in urban areas worldwide but at the same time the availability of public resources is shrinking. This paper refers to the potential use of alternative financing strategies for transportation infrastructure, which are based on the Value Capture Finance (VCF) concept. A factor which has a significant role in the potential success or failure of VCF implementation is public acceptance. The objective of the present paper is thus to examine the potential introduction of a VCF for the financing of Thessaloniki's metro system in Greece. More specifically, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted, focusing on the public acceptance factor. The case study is the area around a central metro station, located in the heart of the urban complex. The research presented is based on a questionnaire-based survey which took place in spring 2014 and was addressed to visitors of the area around the planned metro station. The majority of the survey's participants consider that the urban environment is very likely to be upgraded due to the enhancement of accessibility as an effect of the new metro station. Nevertheless, the public's enthusiasm is reduced significantly when the discussion reaches their willingness to pay in order to cover a part of the project's construction cost.

The role of innovative transportation financing tools in achieving urban sustainability: a stakeholder’s perspective

“…Thus, stakeholders who appeared doubtful about VCF's adaptability to the Greek reality, would nevertheless like to be part of a VCF-oriented decision-making process. This positive attitude towards the value capture concept is a remarkable outcome; especially when comparing it with the results of two other questionnaire-based surveys which had taken place earlier, in the context of the same overall PhD research objective, and were addressed to citizens of Thessaloniki [19] and to business-commercial owners of areas adjacent to the planned metro stations' location [20]. According to the first survey, most citizens consider that the new metro line would have a very positive impact on urban quality of living and property values of surrounding areas; however, the vast majority of them is strongly opposed to a potential monetary contribution to the project.…”

The divergence between acceptability of municipal services and urbanization in developing countries: insights from Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana

“…Principally, these approaches are less sanguine about the public acceptance factor of the services than their geo-spatial distribution. This approach also tends to mask the economic, social and cultural hurdles associated with the utilization of services, which plays an important role in the potential success or failure in the implementation of public infrastructure service, either by the public or private sector (Basbas, Mintsis, Taxiltaris, Roukouni & Vazakidis, 2015). While prior studies in Ghana (see Songsore et al, 2014;Amankwaa, Owusu, Owusu & Eshun, 2014;Fuseini & Kemp, 2016) have helped to theorize some of the popular dimensions of infrastructural provision -availability, affordability, appropriateness, resource mobilization etc.…”

“…At a more general level, the concept of acceptability has come into immense prominence lately amid efforts to conceptualize private sector participation in urban service provision, with varying success (Harvey, 2008). The question of acceptability has more to do with cultural and socio-economic factors (including beliefs), which determine the possibility for a society to accept a service or obligate a community to appropriate a service with little alternative and the judged appropriateness for using the service (Basbas, et al, 2015). According to Levesque, Harris & Russell (2013), the key to understanding better questions of service acceptability in developing contexts revolves around the question of how issues of power influence the dynamics of informal organization, and then impact on wider processes of governance, which in turn affect the opportunity or ease with which consumers or communities are able to use appropriate services in proportion to their needs.…”

The impact of protected values on acceptance and procedural fairness of public projects

“…If a project proposal enjoys strong public support, the government can carry it out smoothly. Support from citizens may also support the authority in raising funds for the project (Basbas, Mintsis, Taxiltaris, Roukouni, & Vazakidis, 2015). Conversely, low levels of acceptance among citizens may cause obstacles to policy-goal achievement, despite a government's best efforts.…”