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Impacts of urban environmental element on residential housing prices in Guangzhou (China)
Abstract
The amenity value provided by urban green spaces, water bodies and good environmental quality is difficult to assess and incorporate into urban planning and development. Developers and governments in China hitherto have seldom objectively factored these attributes into property pricing and associated decisions. The hedonic pricing method offers an appropriate approach to gauge such external benefits which contribute to real-estate transaction prices. This study explored the impacts of key environmental elements with a bearing on residential housing value in Guangzhou, including window orientation, green-space view, floor height, proximity to wooded areas and water bodies, and exposure to traffic noise. Four large private housing estates composed of multi-storied blocks with similar design and price bracket, catering to the mass property market, were sampled. Transaction price data and structural attributes of 652 dwelling units were acquired directly from developers. Data on environmental attributes were collected in the field. Two functional hedonic pricing method models, linear and semi-log, were constructed. The semi-log model offered comparatively stronger explanatory power and more reliable estimation. High floor on the multi-storey tenement blocks contributed implicitly 9.2% to the selling price. View of green spaces and proximity to water bodies raised housing price, contributing notably at 7.1% and 13.2%, respectively. Windows with a southern orientation with or without complementary eastern or northern views added 1% to the price. Proximity to nearby wooded area without public access was not significant, expressing the pragmatic mindset in the hedonic behavior. Exposure to traffic noise did not influence willingness-to-pay, implying tolerance of the chronic environmental nuisance in the compact city. The study demonstrates that hedonic pricing method could be applied in the Chinese context with an increasingly expanding and privatized property market. It could inform the decisions of policy makers and property developers concerning land selling and buying, land conversion, property development, urban nature conservation, and design of ecological green-space networks.
... People between the ages of 66-75 were more inclined to frequent local parks compared to other age groups in the United States of America [22], Guangzhou [23,24] and Hong Kong [25]. This is possible as most people at this age group have more time for leisure. ...
... This is possible as most people at this age group have more time for leisure. They are also more aware of their well-being and health due to age factor and poor quality of living environment [23,24]. ...
... From 1.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m., there seems to be nobody using the park due to either the high temperature and hot sun, or heavy downpour later in the evening, which hampers outdoor activities. This is backed by McGregor's [34] that climate including human thermal comfort assessment and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) affects human activities which echo the findings where populations of cities in Asia avoid hot afternoons [23,25]. It was also noticed that there are zero visitors during rainy weather due to the open concept of the mini-park. ...
By 2044, Malaysia will have been leaning towards an "aged society" with 14 percent of the population above 65 years of age. As such, it is increasingly important that public parks accommodate recreation activity for senior citizens, offering various passive and energetic outdoor activities. The physical element in public parks should complement the performance of certain activities. The seating area in an open environment is one of the physical features that must exist, accommodate and be a catalyst for another activity. A human can conduct an activity in several ways through possibilities provided by the environment, which is explained by the affordance hypothesis. Taman Bermain Taman Midah, a mini-park located in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur provides facilities to allow for outdoor activities. The study will include a literature analysis as well as observation of visitors to determine how they used the space at the mini-park and how it may provide both passive and active enjoyment to senior citizens.
... The value of urban green space is well established not only in moderating urban heat island effects [1,2], improving air quality [3,4], promoting people's mental health and self-rated health [5][6][7], wellbeing [8][9][10], and also in contributing to housing prices [11,12]. The influence of parks on house prices has long been recognized. ...
... Similar results have been found in Finland, where residents were found to be willing to pay 4.9 percent more to reside adjacent to natural greenness [15]. Studies in China have reported equivalent results to western countries: in Guangzhou, Jim and Chen [11] found that residential proximity to water bodies and the visibility of green spaces had positive influences on housing prices. characteristics and value, which can be directly estimated as the marginal willingness to pay for an additional attribute of each property [29,30]. ...
... characteristics and value, which can be directly estimated as the marginal willingness to pay for an additional attribute of each property [29,30]. Hedonic models enable the impact of housing structural characteristics, locational/accessibility relationships, and neighborhood and environmental features on housing prices to be quantified [11,23]. The associations between different characteristics and housing prices can be complex and diverse. ...
This study aimed to examine the association between housing prices and green space characteristics with a special focus on exploring the effects of the shape pattern index. The research was based on a hedonic price model across two main distance buffers from residential properties to urban green spaces. Green spaces were characterized by size and shape measured by a landscape shape index (LSI). This study was based on 16,222 housing transaction data obtained from the website of real estate agencies during December 2019 in the Metropolitan Area of Beijing. Linear regression and semi-log regression analysis were used to examine the associations between independent housing and neighborhood characteristic variables and housing prices. The results suggested that a one-unit increase in the natural logarithm of the landscape shape index (LSI) can increase housing prices by 4% (5543 CNY ≈ 826 USD). Such marginal effects were more pronounced for residences located close to urban green spaces and tended to decay as the distance from residences to green spaces increased. Additional analysis captured the marginal effects of the natural logarithm of the landscape shape index (LSI > 1.3) on achieving the maximum monetary evaluation of the property. The findings of this study suggest that the effects of specific green space characteristics on housing prices should be taken into account in landscape and urban design.
... However, the agricultural production process is highly complex, and it is difficult for a single model to explain the input-output relationship accurately. Compared with the current literature (Jim et al., 2006;Chang et al., 2008;Chen et al., 2013;Dar and Asif, 2018), we are filling the existing knowledge gaps using 30 years of panel data based on the stochastic frontier model to analyze agriculture's total green factor from a technology perspective. ...
... Some scholars argue (Pratt et al., 2008;Dekle and Vandenbroucke, 2010;Wang et al., 2013) that the growth rate of agricultural productivity in China continued to increase in the late 1990s and began to slow down by the beginning of the 21st century. Other scholars (Chen, 2006;Chen et al., 2008;Tong et al., 2009;Zhou et al., 2013) argue that the growth rate of agricultural productivity in China slowed down in the late 1990s but rebounded from the beginning of the 21st century. ...
... In the actual measurement process, we take the early data of Hainan Province and Chongqing City from the Statistical Yearbook of New China in the Six Decades and the Chinese Statistical Yearbook and the Chinese Rural Statistical Yearbook in previous years. This paper is based on the agricultural input and output variables according to Chivian et al., 2008;Jim et al., 2006;Chang et al., 2008 andXia andXu, 2020. The agricultural output variable is calculated as the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery at constant prices in 1990. ...
This paper decomposes agricultural input factors into labor, land, fertilizer, and farm machinery in 31 provinces of China from 1990 to 2020. This paper analyzes the input factor’s contribution rates to China’s agricultural growth using the stochastic frontier model. The empirical results indicate that the contribution rate of input factors in China’s agricultural growth has weakened, with decreasing contribution rate of labor, an increasing contribution rate of fertilizer and machinery, and decreasing contribution rate of the land year by year. The contribution rate of technological progress is increasing, and there is room for improvement. In addition, technological progress and input factors alternately lead to the time of policy change in China. The research also shows that the prerequisite for promoting rural supply-side reform and achieving sustained agricultural growth is ensuring a stable supply of input factors, focusing on promoting agricultural technological progress.
... However, there exists no consensus on the direction and magnitude of the effect of green spaces among scholars. According to the classification of green spaces, recent studies have focused on the impact of specific types of green spaces, such as open spaces [17,21], parks [9,22], golf courses [23,24], greenbelt land [25,26], wetland [27], cemeteries [23,28], and so on. Despite these efforts, the research findings on the effects of these types of green spaces have generally been mixed, with positive, negative, and insignificant effects being variously reported for the same category of green spaces. ...
... In the existing literature, housing characteristics can be generally divided into three types: structure attributes, location attributes, and environmental attributes. Structure attributes refer to the physical characteristics of the property, such as size [22,45], orientation [46], decoration [47], floor [48], age [45], and the number of rooms [49]. Location attributes relate to the geographical features of the properties' surroundings, such as proximity to schools [30], public transportation [50], income level [15,47], school district [51,52], and unemployment rate [53]. ...
As a crucial determinant of urban livability, the importance of access to high-quality green spaces has long been recognized for achieving sustainable urbanization. In urban areas, higher values are usually placed in residential properties with higher accessibility to green spaces. Using housing transaction data from as many as 3388 residential communities in Shanghai coupled with high-resolution satellite data of urban green spaces, we comprehensively examine the relationship between residential property values and the accessibility of both community-owned and public green spaces. We find, in instrumental-variable estimations, that: (1) home prices, on average, increase by 0.17% if the overall green space accessibility rises by 1%; and that (2) a 1% increase in the green ratio within a community raises property values by 0.46%. Moreover, the number of accessible green spaces, area of accessible green spaces, and distance to the nearest green spaces have positive impacts on home values separately. We also find strong spatial dependence in urban green spaces and unobserved price determinants, as well as heterogeneity by location, property value, and housing type. Our empirical findings provide valuable guidance for real estate developers and local governments in valuing environmental amenities and urban planning in the context of a residential housing market.
... Impairment and flood dummy variables were insignificant. Jim and Chen 2006 Hedonic pricing model Presence of a green space view from the dwelling increased selling price by 7.1% while proximity to a body of water increased selling price by 13.2%. Proximity to wooded space was found to be insignificant, suggesting an unwillingness to pay and lack of awareness of benefits. ...
... The largest marginal effects were found to occur in denser populations, leading authors to believe that public parks might be valued more in downtown areas with smaller lots. Jim and Chen (2006) explored and analyzed different environmental elements and their relation to property prices in Guangzhou, China. The authors identified the effect of the presence of green views as well as proximity and access to green spaces on property prices. ...
This paper provides a review of the key research efforts that provide evidence of one of the more prominent economic benefits associated with plants and improved landscaped areas – improved property values. These benefits may persuade reluctant residential homeowners to purchase plants and improve their landscapes, may aid municipal leaders and policymakers in justifying green infrastructure-related funding decisions, and may provide grounds for the landscape and general construction industries for using biophilic design principles to ensure the built environment offers opportunities for green space interactions. In this way, the green industry can play a pivotal role not only in providing quality plants for these applications, but in educating stakeholders regarding the economic benefits discussed herein. This research should also be strategically incorporated into both industry-wide and firm-specific marketing messages that highlight the quality-of-life value proposition in order to maintain the industry's sense of value and relevance to residential and municipal landscape consumers of the future. If implemented effectively, the demand for green industry products and services may be affected positively.
... Considering the special context of the housing market in China, we follow the variable specifications of Jim and Chen [46,47], Wen et al. [39], and Chen and Li [48] and set up a pool of all potential variables according to our available data. Then, we conducted several rounds of statistical modeling to test whether these variables are relevant to apartment prices in this study. ...
Greenways are networks of green corridors of various widths that have attracted increasing scholarly and policy interest due to their economic influence on proximate property values. However, most existing studies have focused on community-scale greenway projects. On the urban scale, in particular, there is a lack of understanding of the heterogeneity of greenway economic influences on property values. In Chengdu, China, the recently developed Jincheng Greenway is a special case, characterized by large-scale green spaces and value capture policies. Through hedonic pricing analysis, we examined the influence of the Jincheng Greenway on proximate properties based on 106,328 transaction records of preowned apartments between January 2017 and December 2020. Empirical results show that apartments along greenways have higher prices compared with apartments 500 m away. However, proximity to a greenway does not necessarily lead to higher prices because apartments located 500 m–1 km from a greenway will benefit more from greenways than those located within 500 m. Moreover, compared with the assumed increment in the value capture policies, the actual increases were smaller than the policy expectations. As a result, both the increase in property value and the areas influenced by the greenway deviated from what was anticipated in the original land value capture policy. From this perspective, this study contributes to examining the economic benefits of citywide greenway projects in the Chinese context and provides essential evidence for future land value capture policies related to greenway development.
... Similarly, low-rise buildings, due to their smaller area, lend themselves to greater efficiency through passive design such as natural ventilation and daylighting (Elaouzy and El Fadar, 2022). According to Jim and Chen (2006), the number of storeys is one of the green features considered when purchasing a green home, especially in multi-storey buildings, where high floors contribute implicitly to a 9.2% increase in the selling price. In this context, the number of storeys is an important factor taken into account by green homebuyers, particularly when considering purchases in multi-storey buildings, where high floors add value to the selling price. ...
Purpose-Sustainability represents innovative elements in determining the profitability of real estate investments, among other factors, including the green component in real estate. Evidence from the literature has pointed out that incorporating green features into residential buildings can reduce operational costs and increase the building's value. Although green real estate is considered the future trend of choice, it is still being determined whether prospective buyers are willing to accept the extra cost of green residential investment. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of housing attributes and green certification on residential real estate prices. Design/methodology/approach-The impact of the housing attribute and green certification in the residential sectors was assessed using a transaction data set comprising approximately 861 residential units sold in Selangor, Malaysia, between 2014 and 2022. Linear and quantile regression were used in this study by using SPSS software for a robust result. Findings-The findings indicate that the market price of residential properties in Malaysia is influenced by housing attributes, transaction types and Green Building Index certification. The empirical evidence from this study suggests that green certification significantly affects the sales price of residential properties in Malaysia. The findings of this research will help investors identify measurable factors that affect the transaction prices of green-certified residential real estate. These identifications will facilitate the development of strategic plans aimed at achieving sustainable rates of return in the sustainable residential real estate market. Practical implications-Specifically, this research will contribute to achieving area 4 of the 11th Malaysia Plan, which pertains to pursuing green growth for sustainability and resilience. This will be achieved by enhancing awareness among investors and homebuyers regarding the importance of green residential buildings in contributing to the environment, the economy and society. Originality/value-The regression model for housing attributes and green certification on house price developed in this study could offer valuable benefits to support and advance Malaysia in realising its medium and long-term goals for green technology.
... Saat ini beberapa penelitian menilai berbagai layanan ekosistem yang disediakan oleh pohon perkotaan, seperti peningkatan nilai properti, penyerapan karbon, pengurangan kebisingan dan polutan, penghematan penggunaan energi, dan lainnya untuk kondisi dan konteks yang berbeda (Escobedo et al. 2015;Haase et al. 2014). Pepohonan dapat meingkatkan kualitas lingkungan dalam masyarakat sehingga menunjukkan tren positif dalam kesediaan mereka untuk berinvestasi lebih banyak pada barang maupun jasa (Jim et al. 2006;Joye Et al. 2010). Di perkotaan, pohon dianggap mempunyai fungsi utama sebagai penghias, namun pohon juga mempunyai fungsi lain yang sama pentingnya, seperti digunakan untuk rekreasi (Gundersen et al. 2006;Aldous, 2007) (Moore, 1991). ...
Pohon dalam suatu kota, terkhususnya di tepian jalan memiliki risiko ditebang. Hal ini dapat terjadi karena pembangunan infrastruktur jalan yang cenderung diperlebar dan seringkali pohon akan dihilangkan. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui besar kerugian ganti rugi dari penebangan pohon. Metode yang digunakan adalah Burnley dengan parameter Volume (V), Bentuk dan Figor (FV), Lokasi (L) dan Umur (E). Penghitungan dilakukan dengan mengukur langsung volume dan menilai FV, L, E dengan tabel Burnley. Hasil metode Burnley sangat dipengaruhi oleh volume pohon (V), bentuk dan vigor (FV). Pohon mahoni pada plot 2 (2S52) mendapatkan nilai tertinggi dengan nilai Rp.9.665.824,00. Hal ini dapat dilihat dari pohon yang memiliki nilai terbesar diperoleh dari volume paling besar dan bentuk paling baik dibandingkan pohon lainnya.
... Therefore, we propose that closing polluting enterprises can improve human capital. In terms of physical capital, the positive effects associated with the closure of polluting enterprises on environmental quality can contribute to increases in the appreciation of house values, thereby enhancing physical capital (Currie et al., 2015;Davis, 2004;Jim & Chen, 2006). ...
In response to an increasingly dire pollution scenario, the Chinese government initiated the largest and most extensive environmental inspection campaign in history starting in 2016. Numerous polluting enterprises were closed due to environmental concerns in the rural areas. Drawing on two‐period panel data from the China Rural Development Survey, this study revealed the inherent mechanism of the polluting enterprises closure on local rural livelihoods using the difference‐in‐differences method and structural equation model, with reference to the sustainable livelihood framework. Results showed that shuttering polluting enterprises enhanced rural households' livelihood capital, notably in human, natural, and physical aspects, and promoted labor migration. Additional heterogeneous analysis revealed that the enhancements were notably more pronounced in Southern China and among affluent demographics. Based on the findings, we suggested the local government should support the development of sustainable agriculture and green industries and pay more attention to vulnerable populations when making policy decisions. The use of mandatory directives, such as shutting down polluting enterprises, is a common strategy in developing countries. This study presents an analytical framework for understanding the impact of environmental governance on the livelihoods of rural households in developing countries, contributing to a better balance between rural environmental management and livelihood improvement in these regions.
... It also matters to homebuyers and developers. Environmental attributes, such as a view from a high floor, the presence of green areas, and proximity to bodies of water, lead to an increase in housing prices [22]. Thompson [23] postulated that appreciating the beauty of the natural environment and appreciating the beauty of works of art are similar. ...
Human needs, and their fulfillment, are the building blocks of human development, personality, and well-being. However, no published paper in the field of psychology has focused on exploring aesthetic needs . Maslow (1986) gave the topic little more than a paragraph; and Dweck [1], in her elegant Unified Theory of Motivation, Personality, and Development, never mentions aesthetic needs. The aim of this article is to describe developing a scale for measuring the intensity of aesthetic needs. The structure, psychometric properties, and criterion-related validity of the scale were verified with three independent samples (total N = 592). The results of an EFA and two CFAs indicated a three-factor structure: 1) the need to aestheticize everyday life (aesthetic experiences of everyday objects and events unrelated to art, such as the presentation of food or the appearance of a workspace, etc.); 2) the need for contact with aesthetic creations (the arts); 3) the need to aestheticize the built and natural environments (urban spaces, architecture, parks, wild nature, etc.). In addition, our criterion-related convergent validity studies have shown that people with high aesthetic needs are characterized by experiencing more intense experiences in contact with works of art, have higher aesthetic competence in art, are more intensely involved in four forms of beauty, have a higher ability to integrate beauty, a stronger trait gratitude, curiosity about nature, greater sensitivity to disgust, and the need for internal and external stimulation. This scale may prove useful in research on individual differences and the psychology of aesthetics.
... The impacts of urban trees and green infrastructure on residential property values have been increasingly documented (Siriwardena et al., 2016), and increased house prices have been linked to street trees (Pandit et al., 2013), private trees (Donovan et al., 2019), urban parks (Czembrowski and Kronenberg, 2016), and a window view of greenspaces (Jim and Chen, 2006). As a result, citizens would be willing to pay for the environmental amenities through purchases in housing markets. ...
... This further elucidates the uneven green space exposure in residential areas within Xiamen Island. Previous studies in Hangzhou and Guangzhou, China, have shown that older residential compounds and urban villages with a poor allocation of green space resources may negatively impact residents' living quality and green exposure levels (Jim and Chen, 2006;Wolch et al., 2014). ...
... Almost all locational attributes are found to have capitalization effects on property values. For the five variables controlling for the effects of commercial activities (shopping center, grocery stores, bars, the downtown area, and the University of Alberta), we find property prices increased as the household got closer to the downtown area and the University of Alberta, which is in accordance with existing studies (e.g., Morancho 2003;Jim and Chen 2006). Similarly, living close to hospitals in general positively affected property prices. ...
Farmers markets can generate positive externalities by improving food access and negative externalities through pollution. The presence of both may influence people’s willingness to pay (WTP) for living nearby. This study employs spatial hedonic pricing models to estimate the WTP for living near farmers markets in Edmonton, Canada. We find an inverted U-shaped relationship between proximity to a farmers market and property values. Our results suggest that local governments might consider the economic impact of building new or relocating existing farmers markets on residential housing values, alongside the benefits of improved access to high-quality food sources.
... This complex process entails the strategic configuration of various urban elements, such as buildings [4], streets [5], and public spaces [6], which collectively define the functional, aesthetic, and socio-economic fabric of the urban environment. Moreover, other elements, like trees, water bodies, and green spaces, have also been subjects of investigation regarding their optimal configurations for enhancing the urban environment [7][8][9]. Crucially, such configurations play a pivotal role in advancing global sustainability strategies. This includes efforts to reduce the urban carbon footprint and the potential creation of positive energy districts (PEDs) [10], thereby contributing to a more sustainable and energy-efficient urban landscape [11]. ...
The study of performance-driven optimization (PDO) in urban block design is essential in the context of architectural form and urban sustainability. PDO focuses on the integrated and comprehensive optimization of various quantifiable performances of buildings, such as solar energy usage, thermal comfort, and energy efficiency. This method aligns urban spaces with sustainable development principles, ensuring they are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functionally efficient. This study explores the existing deficiency in the literature by conducting an in-depth scientometric analysis of PDO in urban block design. Employing science mapping coupled with bibliometric analysis using Python, this study meticulously analyzes the prevailing literature to map out the current intellectual landscape, understand trends, and identify key themes within this domain. This review identifies the key trends, methodologies, and influential works shaping the dynamic field of PDO. It emphasizes the critical roles of computational simulation, artificial intelligence integration, and big data analytics in refining urban block design strategies. This study highlights the growing importance of energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, and human-centric design elements. This review points to an increasing trend towards using sophisticated modeling techniques and data-driven analysis as essential tools in urban planning, crucial for developing sustainable, resilient, and adaptable urban spaces.
... Previous research has determined that in many cities in China, properties inside a high-level elementary school district are more expensive, because the enrolment of the elementary school is tied up to the homeownership (Wen et al., 2017). In addition, many studies have shown that attractive landscapes (such as parks and green spaces) and more basic amenities (e.g., convenience stores, grocery/vegetable/food market, and hair salon) can improve nearby residents' quality of life, and thus commanding price premiums (Jim & Chen, 2006;Yang et al., 2018). By contrast, population density generally has negative impacts on housing prices, since crowded environment with too many people and vehicles reduces nearby residents' quality of life (Yang et al., 2022). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted homeworking to become a ‘new normal’. Consequently, the effects of various homeworking-related housing attributes on housing prices may be changed. However, few studies have explicitly examined if and how the practice of homeworking changes the associations between these particular housing attributes and housing prices. In light of this, based on a database of 2-year property transaction records in Guangzhou, China, this study develops several multilevel hedonic price models and multilevel difference-in-differences (DID) hedonic price models to delve into the COVID-19-induced variations in such housing attributes-housing prices associations. Our findings are as follows. (1) The practice of homeworking seems not to have fundamentally changed the effects of homeworking-related housing attributes on housing prices (suggested by the unchanged coefficient directions between pre- and post-COVID models); (2) Significant differences do exist in magnitudes of the effects of homeworking-related housing attributes on housing prices between pre- and post-COVID periods; (3) Those attributes (associated with homeworking space, convenient commute between workplace and home, and necessary needs of daily shopping and services) that facilitate homeworking tend to have higher price premiums and/or lower price discounts. This study provides novel evidence on hedonic price effects of homeworking in housing markets and their variations from pre-COVID to Post-COVID periods, which enriches the recently heated debates on property market responses to COVID-19.
... Urban biodiversity serves as both an ecosystem process regulator and a valuable service in its own right (Mace et al. 2012). Urban green spaces like parks, canals, and ponds offer various benefits (Kabisch et al. 2015;Botzat et al. 2016;Biernacka et al. 2020), including improving education by immersing locals in nature and fostering environmental learning (Neill 1997), increasing property values in the area (Jim and Chen 2006), and enhancing residents' mental and physical well-being by promoting outdoor social interactions and physical activity (Smith et al. 1997;Maas et al. 2006). Because of this, the provision of ecosystem services depends upon the protection of biodiversity, and the concept of managing it for ecosystem services has been well discussed (Palumbi et al. 2009;Mori et al. 2017). ...
The fragmentation of habitats associated with urbanisation poses a significant threat to already vulnerable and endangered mammal species. While the county of Dorset has been identified as one of the UK's biodiversity hotspots, it is characterised by large-scale urbanisation and intensive agriculture. Focusing on the largest urban area of Dorset-the conurbation of Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole-this study aims to investigate the importance of urban areas in supporting vulnerable and endangered mammals by comparing it to four other major land cover categories in the county: arable & horticulture, grassland, woodland, and heathland. The study utilises data collected by the county's environmental records department through mainly volunteer-contributed ad-hoc sighting data of 10 872 georeferenced mammal records collected between 2000 and 2018. Our findings reveal that, despite having significantly different mammal communities to all other land covers, urban land cover was shown to host four out of five of the vulnerable and endangered species recorded in this study. These included the European rabbit (vulnerable on the IUCN red list), hazel dormouse (vulnerable on the UK red list), West European hedgehog (vulnerable on the UK red list) and European water vole (endangered on the UK red list). Our findings highlight the significance of urban areas as important habitats for mammal biodiversity, presenting an opportunity for the conservation of specific vulnerable and endangered species. Despite limitations in ad-hoc sighting data, our analysis indicates an overrepresentation of certain 'charismatic' species, like foxes and hedgehogs, in urban samples, likely due to their high intrinsic value to the population. While the recognition of urban habitats for 'red list' species is growing, it is also important to acknowledge the relative importance of charismatic species to urban human communities in conservation and management.strategies.
... At the same time, housing prices fall in residential areas with environmental (dis)amenities such as open sewerage and the nearness of dump sites (Irfan 2007;Islam et al. 2020). Other environmental attributes, such as urban green spaces, parks, and watersheds significantly impact housing prices (Jim and Chen 2006;Schläpfer et al. 2015). Smith (2010) revealed that having a green space within a 1-kilometer radius raises home prices by 0.08%. ...
... Kong et al., 2007), the percentage of a town district covered by forested land (Tyrvainen, 1997), the diversity of UGS (e.g. Kong et al., 2007), the view of a green space (Morancho, 2003;Jim & Chen, 2006;Tyrväinen & Miettinen, 2000). All this information, coming from the valuation of different UGS variables/characteristics is likely to provide valuable insights into the values that citizens attain from these spaces and may thus support future urban planning processes and decisions (Panduro & Veie, 2013). ...
Analyzing the benefits/values of urban green spaces (UGS) to local citizens is necessary in order to make these areas more visible, as well as to support future planning decisions related to the development of new green infrastructure in the urban environment. This paper aims to examine the values associated with the UGS in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, by using a Hedonic Pricing Method, which examines the effect of urban green areas and amenities on housing prices. Furthermore, the study attempts to examine if the proximity to green spaces has a fixed/homogenous effect on residential property values across the city. A global regression analysis was first applied to explore which structural, locational and green/environmental characteristics are likely to have a statistically significant effect on housing prices. Then, a semi-parametric geographically weighted regression analysis, was applied to identify how the implicit prices of the environmental/green attributes vary within the city. The study revealed that the values of several environmental attributes vary significantly spatially, having in most cases a positive influence on home sale prices. These findings reveal that when making planning decisions about urban green spaces, it is necessary to consider the heterogeneity of citizens’ preferences, facilitating thus a more targeted planning for new green infrastructures.
... Nuisance is considered as the disruption of daily living. It acts as a (negative) hedonic motive for pro-environmental behaviour because it describes the tenant's resistance to the extra effort to achieve comfort and benefit [14,26]. A negative relationship between nuisance caused by renovation projects and participation has been found in several studies [9,59]. ...
One of the main tools to achieve the promise of carbon neutrality is the energy transition. Reducing dependence on traditional energy and promoting the use of renewable energy drives changes in the energy sector and contributes to the energy transition. The building sector is strongly linked to energy consumption and retrofitting the building sector with natural gas energy is a positive energy efficiency strategy. This research aimed to determine the factors influencing social housing tenants in the Netherlands to participate in retrofits and to identify the differences among participants in their preferences. Using a stated choice experiment and discrete choice model, 380 effective social housing tenants in the Netherlands participated. The estimated Mixed Logit Model (MLM) reveals the preferences of social housing residents, and the Latent Class Model (LCM) indicates differences between latent groups. The results show that social housing residents are attracted by saving total housing costs, enhancing living comfort, providing a new bathroom, kitchen and toilet of individual houses and improving the neighbourhood environment. Meanwhile, they are resistant to the interference generated during the renovation process. These findings can be used to guide government and housing organisations in developing retrofit programs that align with the needs and preferences of social housing tenants.
... However, due to the non-commodity nature of open space, its value is often difficult to assess. In recent years, several methods have been developed and widely implemented to quantify the implicit value of open space, including the stated preference approach (e.g., contingent valuation method) and the revealed preference approach (e.g., hedonic pricing method) [4][5][6]. In high-density cities like Hong Kong with high population density but limited natural spaces, such scarce open spaces push their hedonic value to a higher level. ...
Open spaces such as parks and gardens provide a variety of ecosystem services that enhance human physical and mental well-being. Previous studies have extensively investigated the homebuyers’ willingness to pay for the utility of open space. However, few studies have investigated the price elasticity of open space to exogenous shock such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to massive social distancing and travel restrictions, open space within walkable distance is hypothesized to be appreciated under the pandemic, especially in high density cities like Hong Kong. Does this shock a one-off incident or create a lasting effect on price gradient? This article addresses this question by employing a multi-level difference-in-difference (DID) model based on property transaction data from 2019 to 2021 in the Hong Kong housing market, aiming to unravel the dynamic relationship between open space and residential property price during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that: (1) the price gap between proximate and distant properties from open space was widened, steepening the price gradient; (2) the premium effect of open space was time-varying and mainly appreciated in the later stage of the pandemic; (3) low-to-medium-wealth communities showed higher elasticity of open space to the COVID-19 pandemic than high-wealth communities; (4) the utility of open space is more appreciated in highly-infected communities. This article contributes to the juxtaposition of price elasticity, exogenous shock, and urban environments. The concerns of open space inequity and housing affordability are also raised, which calls for the policy coordination for housing, public health, and urban planning.
... Since housing is one of humanity's most important needs, tangible Property has always been in high demand in developing cities. Property prices have been a big buyer consideration when making acquisition (Jim and Chen, 2006). Several studies have found that property prices are typically comprises physical and economic characteristics, location, environment, and branding, among other things (Rinchumphu, et al., 2012). ...
For many families, owner-occupied homes are not just a place to live; they are also a source of income. They make up the majority of the assets in these families' portfolios. The study seeks to use Multiple Regression Analysis to determine the residential property value in Birnin Kebbi with emphasis on Adamu Aleiru Housing Estate. The study was adopted both the primary and secondary sources of data collection. Using the sample of 96 transactions data, when the property was made as owner occupiers in the year 2005 and 2011, MRA was used to determine the micro (structural) variables that significantly influence on residential property value. The R 2 had shown 0.936 with 343924.070 error of estimation. It means that 93.6% of the residential value could be predicted from number of rooms, fence, additional kitchen, water source, boys' quarters, security post, condition, position, and house type. It was found that among the variables include in MRA; number of rooms, fence, security post, condition, position, house type, are all significant variable in determining the residential property value in Birnin Kebbi. While Additional kitchen, water source, and boy's quarters found to be not significant in determining the residential value in Birnin Kebbi. A model was developed in the study area using the variables. Using a statistical test, the accuracy of the model was evaluated. The study was recommended that the model was accuracy to be use in the study area to improve the accuracy, objectivity and fairness of residential property in Birnin Kebbi.
... House price evaluation models constitute an important tool for informed decisionmaking in the housing market, and the physical characteristics of the urban environment have played a critical role in such models [1]. The assessment and modelling of house prices commonly include variables on such physical (i.e., objective) characteristics of the urban environment, and multiple features of the urban environment have been shown to affect house prices significantly, e.g., location information [2][3][4], properties of the street environment [5,6], walkability [7,8], or job and service accessibility [9]. ...
House prices have long been closely related to the built environment of cities, yet whether the subjective perception (SP) of these environments has a differing effect on prices at multiple urban scales is unclear. This study sheds light on the impact of people’s SP of the urban environment on house prices in a multi-scale urban morphology analysis. We trained a machine learning (ML) model to predict people’s SP of the urban environment around properties across Greater London with survey response data from an online survey evaluating people’s SP of street view image (SVI) and linked this to house price data. This information was used to construct a hedonic price model (HPM) and to evaluate the association between SP and house price data in a series of linear regression models controlling location information and urban morphological characteristics such as street network centralities at multiple urban scales, quantified using space syntax (SS) methods. The findings show that SP influences house prices, but this influence differs depending on the urban scale of analysis. Particularly, a sense of ‘enclosure’ and ‘comfort’ are important factors influencing house price variation. This study contributes by introducing SP of the urban environment as a new dimension into the traditional HPM and by exploring the economic impact of SP on the house price market at multiple urban scales.
... The research area covers the residential buildings close to the coastline along the Atlantic Ocean extending from one part of the Atlantic city called the east mole, which has a boundary with the most southerly part of Lagos State. The extent of the area to cover from the coastline inland is 500 m since researchers have suggested that such a threshold should be used for describing environmental amenities, which are proximal to the apartments analysed [29,43]. Figure 1 gives the map of the study area showing properties at an incremental distance of 250 m to the coastline of Lagos, Nigeria. ...
This paper evaluates how households consider environmental attributes alongside other housing attributes in their residential location decisions along the coastline in Victoria Island, Nigeria. The data were obtained from tenants’ revealed preference surveys where 204 respondents rated 15 identified and most common key factors in the order by which they influence their residential location choices. The factor analytical approach was then applied to understand how these factors influence such decisions. Thus, this study also gives bearing to the factors considered in making policy and/or investment decisions around residential location choice (RLC). The results revealed the presence of four key components with a total variance of 70.76%. Among the components, neighbourhood, critical dwelling cum socio-economic attributes are found to have a significant influence in explaining 39.78% of the variation in the factors influencing the study area’s selection as the residential location choice (RLC) for households. The findings have implications for households’ residential location choices. For residential locations to be equally attractive to tenants, policymakers and urban planners should pay attention to addressing the menace of the neighbourhoods including crime and traffic congestion. Moreover, property owners should respond to tenants’ needs by paying attention to the provision of utility facilities such as portable water and an appropriate mix of toilet/bathrooms to available bedrooms.
... Additionally, the results indicate that the distance from the oasis and its impact on willingness to pay were insignificant, with respondents showing minimal willingness to pay. This aligns with previous studies like Jim and Chen (2006), which also found the oasis to be the least preferred ecosystem service among respondents. Regarding greenhouse gas emissions, the results show that respondents closer in proximity were more eager to participate in its reduction compared to those farther away, consistent with similar studies conducted by (Ruto and Garrod (2009). ...
The importance of understanding people's preferences and the well-being of river systems cannot be overstated when it comes to the effective restoration and long-term management of these systems. This study aimed to determine the preferences of people in the Hei River Basin of China regarding the conservation, restoration, and development of ecological systems and their associated services. The research utilized a combination of random parameter logit models for distance decay. The study collected data using a choice experiment method and separated the study area into three distance-based groups: group I (within 25 km), group II (25 to 50 km), and group III (beyond 50 km). The findings showed that there was spatial heterogeneity among the people, with a higher willingness to pay for high-quality agricultural production and the lowest willingness to pay for oasis. The results revealed a complex pattern of spatial heterogeneity and indicated the need for increased awareness programs, environmental education, and the promotion of social responsibility towards environmental protection. It is essential to implement environmental policies, restore properties, and preserve ecological systems to achieve sustainable development and a sustainable environment. The findings highlight the importance of considering spatial heterogeneity and the need for increased environmental awareness, education, and policy implementation. This research can contribute to developing effective strategies for the preservation of river systems and ensuring sustainable development and a sustainable environment.
... Although greenery are generally thought to increase real estate prices by improving the living environment, research has shown that greenery can have either positive, negative or insignificant marginal effects on real estate prices (Song & Knaap, 2004;Chan et al., 2008;Wu et al., 2014). The magnitude and direction of these marginal effects may depend on vegetation types and their desirability (Tyrväinen, 1997;Belcher & Chisholm, 2018), accessibility of the greenery studied (Jim & Chen, 2006), and climatic zones (Bark et al., 2009). Although many such studies have examined the ecosystem services of urban greening through hedonic pricing, the vast majority are cross-sectional in time due to the paucity of historical longitudinal data. ...
... Thus, renters and homebuyers are willing to pay more for houses adjacent to urban landscapes. However, the amenity values provided by green space are usually difficult to assess and quantify because they are intangible and cannot be easily priced, especially in the residential housing market (Jim and Chen 2006;Liu and Hite 2013). ...
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Economy, Education, Social Science,
Supply Chain, Engineering, Technology and Tourism (ESSET23)
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 4th International Conference on Economy, Education,
Social Science, Supply Chain, Engineering, Technology and Tourism (ESSET23).
ESSET23 aims to provide a platform for connecting academic scholars and industry practitioners
world-wide to share the research findings from various disciplines and create a space for
intellectual discussion, exploration and reflection of key issues that are shaping the world today.
This is a great opportunity for delegates to expand knowledge, plan and implement innovative
strategies, overcome barriers and move forward with the initiatives that benefit the community.
There will be potential opportunities for networking, informed dialogues and collaborations.
Your participation and submission of research papers in this conferenc is greatly appreciated and
on behalf of the Organizing Committee, I wish you all continued success and to keep up with the
good work. The post-covid19 issues such as inflation, economic instability, job and food security
are real and prevalent, however our research works must endure despite these challenges to
continue contributing to the body of knowledge from new research ideas, methods and problem
resolutions.
Thank you.
Dr. Safaie Mangir
Conference Chairman
... The interest of researchers in this topic is understandable: the changed information environment and the wide choice of specialized application packages allow us to consider what was not previously available from evaluation methods; see for example [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The method of hedonic pricing, linear regression models, logarithmic or partial-logarithmic dependence are considered in [7][8][9][10]. ...
... For instance, the impacts of green spaces situated within and near a development sites are examined for their impacts on housing price and to construct a housing price index (Anderson and Cordell, 1988;Willis and Garrod, 1993;Chattopadhyay, 1999;Bolitzer and Netusil, 2000;Luttik, 2000;Tyrv€ ainen and Miettinen, 2000;Geoghegan, 2002;Bengochea-Morancho, 2003;Ouyang and Wang, 2003;Price, 2003). Significant negative effects on housing values have been found to be associated with hazardous waste sites (Gayer et al., 2000), water pollution (Leggett and Bockstael, 2000), air pollution (Chay and Greenstone, 2004), pediatric leukemia risk (Davis, 2004), high urban development (Jim and Chen, 2006) and many others. ...
The increasing landscape urbanization, through goods and services production, as required by people needs, is often cause of environmental decay producing a sharp decrease in quality life for resident population. This paper aims to study some negative environmental feedbacks and the increase of geomorpho-logical hazards in the coastal area, roughly urbanized, of Bivona country (Vibo Valentia, Calabria, Southern Italy). The analysis shows how the wrong and chaotic urban development, without any appropriate town planning scheme, has produced growing conditions of environmental decay with time. Consequently, it has been detected a decrease of prices in market estate commonly used as a marker of Human Quality Life. For this purpose, it has been applied the Hedonic model able to supply useful information about the gained or the reduced values of building industry caused by the improvement or by the worsening of environmental health conditions. The results highlight, with quantitative data, how the sustainable development of landscape must be realized through goods and services production respecting the environmental limits, in order to avoid negative territorial feedbacks able to decrease Human Quality Life. It has also been proposed a graphical representation about the trend of Human Quality Life in function of goods and services production.
... Coastal areas have been always an important pole of development for mankind producing a high and, sometimes, an extreme urbanization beyond the limits of Bcarrying capacitiesô f the environmental system (Stankey 1984, Pearce and Kirk 1986, Romeril 1990, Canestrelli and Costa 1991, Moriani 1991, Butler 1996. These conditions have produced some losses in natural ecosystems with heavy consequences on environmental quality and on local economy (Girard 1993;Geoghegan 2002;Bengochea-Morancho 2003;Jim and Chen 2006;Ietto et al. 2014). As regards Italian coastal zone, 30% of national population, as 16.9 million of inhabitants, lives in littoral regions, concentrated in an area restricted to 13% of national territory (ISPRA 2013). ...
This paper introduces the need, in Italian countries, of a real integration of scientific knowledge into coastal policy. Actually, in Italy, still exists a gap between Science and Policy, interfering the implementation of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) process, while there is no coordination between local, regional and national authorities. This lack of an overall strategy has induced some regions to adopt regional plans for the sustainable development of their coastal areas, to compensate the shortcomings of a national planning. Besides, along Italian coasts, there is a heavy landscape urbanization producing conditions of environmental decay and highlighting the risk of erosions in littoral areas. In this critical context, it is necessary to adopt an effective Integrated Coastal Zone Management policy, to connect ecosystem and environmental approaches with the social and economic development of coastal areas. So, in Italian landscape, it is necessary to integrate the national cultural heritage into coastal management, joining scientific and cultural issues. In this framework, ICZM process could play an important role connecting scientists and policy makers towards an effective integration for the social and economic growth of local people.
... Coastal areas have been always an important pole of development for mankind producing a high and, sometimes, an extreme urbanization beyond the limits of Bcarrying capacitiesô f the environmental system (Stankey 1984, Pearce and Kirk 1986, Romeril 1990, Canestrelli and Costa 1991, Moriani 1991, Butler 1996. These conditions have produced some losses in natural ecosystems with heavy consequences on environmental quality and on local economy (Girard 1993;Geoghegan 2002;Bengochea-Morancho 2003;Jim and Chen 2006;Ietto et al. 2014). As regards Italian coastal zone, 30% of national population, as 16.9 million of inhabitants, lives in littoral regions, concentrated in an area restricted to 13% of national territory (ISPRA 2013). ...
This paper introduces the need, in Italian countries, of a real integration of scientific knowledge into coastal policy. Actually, in Italy, still exists a gap between Science and Policy, interfering the implementation of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) process, while there is no coordination between local, regional and national authorities. This lack of an overall strategy has induced some regions to adopt regional plans for the sustainable development of their coastal areas, to compensate the shortcomings of a national planning. Besides, along Italian coasts, there is a heavy landscape urbanization producing conditions of environmental decay and highlighting the risk of erosions in littoral areas. In this critical context, it is necessary to adopt an effective Integrated Coastal Zone Management policy, to connect ecosystem and environmental approaches with the social and economic development of coastal areas. So, in Italian landscape, it is necessary to integrate the national cultural heritage into coastal management, joining scientific and cultural issues. In this framework, ICZM process could play an important role connecting scientists and policy makers towards an effective integration for the social and economic growth of local people.
... High species richness in residential areas of Sanya may be related to the city's booming economy and real estate sector (Wu et al., 2015). Real estate growth coincides with investments by residents and real-estate developers in green space, and high-quality green spaces lead to increases in the sale price of residential properties (Jim and Chen, 2006;Samad et al., 2020;Schwarz et al., 2021). Thus, real estate companies are increasingly attaching great importance to the landscape design of residential green spaces (Xu and Li, 2011;Ratcliffe et al., 2021) and often seek unique landscaping palettes. ...
Drivers of patterns in plant diversity remain poorly understood in tropical cities. Therefore, we investigated diversity within the tropical city of Sanya in Hainan Province of southern China by sampling one to three plots within 154 urban functional units (UFUs) based on six primary and 18 secondary UFUs. To measure diversity, we determined the number of vascular plants (species richness; SR) within each functional unit based on vegetation plots. We computed Faith’s phylogenetic diversity (PDFaith) using a large megatree of plant life. To assess the potential drivers of SR and PDFaith, we performed multiple regressions using socioeconomic, biophysical, and vegetation management variables. The results showed significant differences in SR and PDFaith among the six primary UFUs. PDFaith of cultivated species was significantly higher than PDFaith of spontaneous species in all UFUs except in the wasteland area. Management measures were better predictors of SR and PDFaith than socioeconomic variables. The best predictor of SR and PDFaith of spontaneous species was the management of the urban green space. Our results provide clear guidelines for improved management strategies in Sanya, especially by showing how spontaneous and/or cultivated plant diversity can be encouraged depending on environmental, ecological, and cultural needs. Our work also adds to the presently scarce literature on drivers of urban plant diversity in tropical cities worldwide.
... At the same time, in cadastral valuation, there are a lot more comparison objects, but less information about pricing factors. For these reasons, the scientific and the appraisal community keep searching for new, non-traditional evaluation methods; for instance, hedonic pricing methods, linear regression models, logarithmic or partiallogarithmic dependence methods as in Anselin and Lozano-Gracia [11], Benson, Hansen, Schwartz and Smersh [12], Debrezion, Pels and Rietveld [13], Jim and Chen [14], and Wena, Zhanga, and Zhang [15]. Data mining techniques are also applied, such as neural networks, as in Peterson and Flanagan [16], machine learning methods, such as "random forest" in Cordoba, Carranza, Piumetto, Monzani and Balzarini [17], and Yilmazer and Kocman [18], or support vector machines in Kontrimas and Verikas [19], and the results of methods, such as "decision trees," naive Bayesian classifier, and the algorithm AdaBoost, as in Park and Bae [20]. ...
Seventeen sustainable development goals were formulated to create a harmonious world order for the benefit of different nations and peoples. At the same time, economic practice provides a lot of examples of conflicts of an economic nature between individual sustainable development goals. One of these conflicts is the need for environmental imperatives and economic growth when a massive assessment of land used for crop production and green energy projects is needed. The present paper considers a non-traditional approach to the mass evaluation of land plots on the condition that geographic information systems provide the main source of information, such as the case of land allocation for green energy facilities and evaluation of agricultural plots. The novelty of the proposed approach firstly means the development of a comparative approach, which receives much less attention in the valuation literature than cost and income approaches, as it can give an adequate picture of the current state of the market. The model includes the study of the entire dataset, the selection of model distributions and the construction of estimates based on model distributions. The methodology of multivariate lognormal distribution of factors and prices of analogues is used. The peculiarity of the market evaluation of land plots in such cases is, as a rule, the absence of rank predictors and sufficient number of continuous predictors, which provides a base for the application of a novel approach. The method of express testing of hypotheses about joint normality of logarithms of values of pricing factors and prices is proposed. The market value is estimated as an estimate of the modal value of conditional lognormal price distribution. Secondly, the problem of market valuation is solved in case of the almost complete absence of information about price-forming factors in the areas being assessed, and thirdly, the factors are determined based on geoinformation databases (distance to the nearest large city, regional center, federal highway, large rivers, lakes, and solid waste landfills), which allow for market assessment in the absence of information on pricing factors for land plots, except for the offer price and the plot area. The research was necessitated by the claim to determine on a specific date the cadastral value of agricultural land for the purposes of taxation, corresponding to the market value, in the almost complete absence of information on pricing factors in the assessed areas. The value of land reflects a complex combination of factors, so the use of the proposed mathematical toolkit allows for building a consistent model for the evaluation of land where improvements are absent or have no value in terms of land acquisition purposes.
In an increasingly urbanised economic environment, with more and more cities, there is a strong incentive for people to seek innovative local solutions to reduce their exposure to the risks of climate change. Accelerating urbanisation affects people in different ways, increasing exposure to the impacts of climate change. Air and surface temperatures in urban built-up areas are higher than in surrounding rural areas, leading to increasing urban heat islands. The more favourable economic environment has led people to move from rural to urban areas, and urbanisation has resulted in a mix of agricultural land, commercial and transport centres, industrial estates, industrial parks, transport hubs and coherent residential communities, housing estates, health and education facilities. The need to develop urban living space and its feasibility within a framework of sustainability requires a systemic, historical approach. In this article, we present the results of our survey in the parks of residential areas in Debrecen and the impact of contiguous green space on the microclimate. Through our computational methodology, we illustrate the influence of green space rehabilitation and innovative park developments adaptable to the urban environment on property value growth in a booming economic environment.
Urban regenerations have always been a tool towards the improvement of the urban environment through environmental integration and thereafter the quality of life of citizens. However, all regenerations do not have the same success and impact on the surrounding properties. In this paper, two major urban regenerations of Thessaloniki, the second largest city of Greece, are studied through the scope of their effect on property values in combination with the analysis of the effect of traditional property characteristics on values. This study was necessary to fill the gap of determining that sustainable urban planning and environmental integration are nowadays proven more important than property characteristics, when population gathering in urban areas is at its highest point. The current study applied geographically weighted regression, spatial autocorrelation and hot-spot analysis through the environment of ArcGIS to determine which are the factors that citizens seek in their residential area and if these factors are more important than their property characteristics. The findings of the study indicate that citizens always seek for additional urban green and urban quality even in areas where the urban environment is already at a very good level. The difference appears in the fact that in areas where urban green or open spaces are upsent, the weight leans on the characteristics of the wider area and its citizens (socio-economic characteristics, habits etc.) rather than on the property characteristics, when determining property values. On the other hand, citizens living in areas with urban green and open spaces, move a step forward and seek for larger and more friendly green or regenerated areas as a counterpoint for already increased property values. In general, the result of this research underlines that a targeted urban planning for each sub-area is one of the keys toward property values stabilization against economic variations and towards the improvement of the quality of citizens’ lives through environmental integration. Therefore, decision makers and urban designers should take into account all different needs of the citizens in each area setting the goal of maximum possible urban sustainability and resilience and the minimum environmental degradation.
The property dispute in Cyprus emerged as a direct consequence of the War in the summer of 1974 when a Greek coup d’état for ENOSIS was carried out, and Turkiye intervened, using its Treaty right as a Guarantor State to preserve the 1960 Constitutional order. Ankara labeled the intervention a ‘Peace Operation’, but the Greeks decided to go to war, not only resisting the Turkish army, but attacking Turkish towns and villages, taking civilians prisoners. Greek Cypriots abandoned their homes and property in the face of advancing Turkish army. When Greeks failed in the war, the Greek Cypriot leadership accused Turkiye as an invader. As a result of the war, almost half of the island’s population was displaced by the fighting. About 2.5 million donums of land was abandoned by Greek Cypriots in the North who fled to the South, and nearly 0.5 million donums of Turkish Cypriot’s owned land was left behind in the South. Both ethnic landowners became dispossessed, blaming each other for violations of human rights and being unable to use their homes and property. The Greek Cypriots, in their thousands claiming restitution as original owners dispossessed by war, first sought remedy locally in the South and then applied to the European Court of Human Rights. In the Xenides Arestis test case, the Court proposed the creation of a body in Cyprus to act as a local remedy. Thus, the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) was established in 2006 by an action of the ECHR. It operates under the laws of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which, upon the request of the Greek Cypriot-controlled Republic of Cyprus, was declared “illegal” by the UN Security Council. The status of IPC is nevertheless de jure. Since 2006, IPC has received thousands of applications and settled almost a fifth with a total payment of 335 million Sterling Pounds, mostly as compensation.
We test whether local retail services are considered a nuisance or an amenity and how this distinction is capitalized into residential property values. Using a rich, micro-spatial dataset on property sales transactions and business activity in New York City, we estimate the impact of access to neighborhood retail services on residential sales prices. We construct two instruments to channel supply-side drivers of retail change and to address concerns of endogeneity between changes in retail activity and property values. Results show that retail services that are more frequently consumed and experiential, and are located in relatively more mixed-use neighborhoods are positively capitalized into property values. Residents also pay more to be closer to more diverse retail clusters, and relatively less to be closer to chains. This is true across smaller 1-to-4 family homes as well as larger condos/coops and multi-family rental buildings. The price effects from certain classifications of retail, like restaurants and personal services, are mixed depending on the kind of residential property and the local concentration of the retail. Therefore, the relative strength of the amenity or nuisance effect is very much conditioned on the type of service and the localized neighborhood context.
Environmental amenities provide a range of direct and indirect benefits in cities, and amenity provision often figures within policy portfolios to advance sustainability in urban areas. As environmental pressures and urban populations increase, it will be necessary to find ways to ensure that environmental policies do not contribute to existing inequalities in these areas. This report synthesises empirical research on the impact of environmental amenities on housing prices, examines implications on housing affordability, and offers perspectives on how negative impacts can be mitigated. The report finds that the provision of environmental amenities tends to raise housing prices, which reduces affordability, especially among renters and low-income households with reduced access to mortgages. The report concludes that there is scope to accompany amenity provision with complementary measures to mitigate distributional impacts and outlines policy avenues in that regard.
Purpose- While the declining rate of urban security and its potential effects have been globally acknowledged, the ways urban neighborhood security shapes real estate markets in African cities remain largely unexplained. The purpose of this paper therefore is to present the findings from a study of the nexus between urban neighborhood security and home rental prices in Lagos Nigeria.
Methodology/Approach- This paper is based on hedonic price theory, an objectively derived urban neighborhood security index (UNSI) and property rental price data in Ojo-Lagos Nigeria. This is a quantitative cross-sectional study that employs multi-stage sampling survey procedure. Data are analyzed using descriptive statistics, nonparametric correlation and hedonic price function with ordinary least squares (OLS).
Findings- Results show that nearly 50 percent of the study area is prone to insecurity and average rental values in Ojo-Lagos range from N151329.41 ($302.66) to N167333.33 ($334.67) per annum. Correlation analysis shows that home rental prices have high, positive and significant correlations (rs = 0.725, p<0.000) with urban neighborhood security index. After controlling for neighborhood and structural factors, it is found that urban neighborhood security positively influences home rental values as a unit improvement in security leads to N81000.00 ($162.00) increase in rental value per annum.
Practical/Policy implications- Urban neighborhood security risk threatens residential property values, creates unintended residential mobility and destabilizes families. Findings from this study point to the fact that security is a key component of urban housing values and developers and real estate investors must ensure that this component is well factored into property design, construction and valuation.
Originality- This is perhaps the first study that uses an objectively derived urban neighborhood security index to study home rental price dynamics in Nigeria. The study extends knowledge on urban housing price determinants and contributes to literature on the crucial place of security in property management.
KEY WORDS: Urban neighborhood security, urban property market, home rental prices, hedonic price theory, Lagos Nigeria
The valuation of real estate is a central tenet for all businesses. Land and property are factors of production and, as with any other asset, the value of the land flows from the use to which it is put, and that in turn is dependent upon the demand (and supply) for the product that is produced. Valuation, in its simplest form, is the determination of the amount for which the property will transact on a particular date. However, there is a wide range of purposes for which valuations are required. These range from valuations for purchase and sale, transfer, tax assessment, expropriation, inheritance or estate settlement, investment and financing. The objective of the paper is to provide a brief overview of the methods used in real estate valuation. Valuation methods can be grouped as traditional and advanced. The traditional methods are regression models, comparable, cost, income, profit and contractor’s method. The advanced methods are ANNs, hedonic pricing method, spatial analysis methods, fuzzy logic and ARIMA models.
This paper analyses the link between housing prices and urban green areas endowments using the hedonic technique as methodological approach. Together with the conventional variables used to explain housing prices, three environmental variables are considered: the existence of views of a park or a public garden, the distance from the dwelling to its nearest green area and the size of that open space. The sample is made up of 810 observations gathered from the city of Castellón (Spain). Results show housing size to be the most relevant variable on price. As far as the hedonic variables are concerned, there is an inverse relationship between the selling price of the dwelling and its distance from a green urban area.
New Urbanism and other metropolitan planning strategies may discount the importance of neighbourhood-open space relationships when dealing with some types of open spaces, particularly in city centre and urban fringe areas. In this paper I review a series of studies I have carried out over the past decade looking at people's perceptions and uses of urban open space. This research examined neighbourhood-open space relationships in the metropolitan area of Chicago, Illinois, USA at four scales of concern: quasi-public space within an immediate neighbourhood; a public park that spans different neighbourhoods; regional greenways; and a metropolitan bioreserve. In all of this work, my findings show how adjacent neighbourhoods are critical to the success of these open spaces, regardless of their scale. Lessons are drawn from each scale for how neighbourhood-open space relationships might be improved.
Parks and open spaces enhance the quality of life in urban areas. Over the last 15 years, the city of Boston has sponsored the most expensive urban infrastructure project in history. This project relocates an elevated highway underground and creates urban parks, increasing the city's green space. The study estimates the economic benefits of proximity to parks in Boston, Massachusetts, based on hedonic pricing methods. Using Boston's land use and assessed property price data, it is determined that proximity to urban open space has positive impacts on property values, while proximity to highways has negative impacts on property prices. Based on this observation, it is expected that the spatial alteration will cause a significant increase in nearby property prices.
Offering a unifying theoretical perspective not readily available in any other text, this innovative guide to econometrics uses simple geometrical arguments to develop students' intuitive understanding of basic and advanced topics, emphasizing throughout the practical applications of modern theory and nonlinear techniques of estimation. One theme of the text is the use of artificial regressions for estimation, reference, and specification testing of nonlinear models, including diagnostic tests for parameter constancy, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and other types of mis-specification. Explaining how estimates can be obtained and tests can be carried out, the authors go beyond a mere algebraic description to one that can be easily translated into the commands of a standard econometric software package. Covering an unprecedented range of problems with a consistent emphasis on those that arise in applied work, this accessible and coherent guide to the most vital topics in econometrics today is indispensable for advanced students of econometrics and students of statistics interested in regression and related topics. It will also suit practising econometricians who want to update their skills. Flexibly designed to accommodate a variety of course levels, it offers both complete coverage of the basic material and separate chapters on areas of specialized interest.
This study provides estimates of the value of the view amenity in single-family residential real estate markets. A focus on Bellingham, Washington, a city with a variety of views, including ocean, lake, and mountain, allows for differentiation of the view amenity by both type and quality. Results from a hedonic model estimated for several recent years suggest that depending on the particular view, willingness to pay for this amenity is quite high. The highest-quality ocean views are found to increase the market price of an otherwise comparable home by almost 60%; the lowest-quality ocean views are found to add about 8%. For ocean views of all quality levels, the value of a view is found to vary inversely with distance from the water.
The rapidly expanding research record concerning aesthetic, emotional and physiological response to visual landscapes is summarized, with emphasis on aesthetic preferences for views containing trees and other vegetation. The survey is set within a conceptual perspective suggesting that affective responses such as aesthetic preference are central to a landscape observer's thoughts, conscious experience and behavior. Substantial progress has been made in developing models that relate aesthetic responses to specific visual properties of environments. When aesthetic preferences are compared for urban and unspectacular natural views, American and European adult groups evidence a strong tendency to prefer nature. However, liking for urban scenes usually increases when trees and other vegetation are present. Views of nature, compared to most urban scenes lacking natural elements such as trees, appear to have more positive influences on emotional and physiological states. The benefits of visual encounters with vegetation may be greatest for individuals experiencing stress or anxiety. Recent research demonstrates that responses to trees and other vegetation can be linked directly to health, and in turn related to economic benefits of visual quality.
The contingent valuation (CV) method is one of many economic valuation methods which can be used to estimate the benefits of environmental improvement. Presently, more than fifteen valuation methods are available to put a price on environmental goods (for an overview, see Mitchell and Carson, 1989). Some of these methods can be considered as potential alternatives to the CV method. This chapter reviews their advantages and disadvantages and compares them to the CV method.1
Deals with development in the post-war period beginning with a background to park planning, the existing facilities and park use and catchment areas. This is followed by exaaples of extended and remodelled parks as well as new parks, in various German towns. Plans of these parks are reproduced with activity areas identified. Previous planning trends have ignored passive recreation in favour of active recreation, possibly resulting in fewer park users in the future, if natural features are not retained and/or promoted. -M.Brug-Chmielenska
This article presents findings from a study on residential development patterns and urban heat island formation in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan region. High-resolution thermal imagery collected by the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) is used in conjunction with parcel-level tax records to examine the interaction between the design of single-family residential parcels and the emission of radiant heat energy. Results from a path analysis illustrate that lower density patterns of residential development contribute more radiant heat energy to surface heat island formation than higher density development patterns within the Atlanta region. Compact moderate-to-high-density new construction and area-based tree ordinances are recommended as policy strategies for mitigating the effects of urban development on regional climate change.
Recent research into the effects of woodland on the value of property is presented. Reviews of techniques available to measure the amenity value of trees are followed by a brief description of the data sources and the hedonic price method (HPM); the analytical technique adopted in the study. The results of the study are then outlined. The paper concludes with a brief discussion which places the amenity value of trees in context. Résumé On présente des recherches récentes sur les effets de la forêt claire sur la valeur des propriétés. On passe en revue les techniques dont on dispose pour mesurer la valeur des arbres en tant qu'agrément et l'on donne ensuite une description des sources des données et de la méthode du prix hédonique (HPM): la technique analytique choisie pour l'étude. Par la suite on ébauche les résultats de l'étude. L'article se termine par une discussion sommaire qui met en contexte la valeur des arbres en tant qu'agrément. Sumario Se presenta una reciente investigación de los efectos del arbolado sobre el valor de una propiedad. La revisión de las técnicas disponibles para medir el valor de amenidad de los árboles es seguido por una breve descripción de los recursos de datos y el método de precio hedónico (HMP), la técnica analítica adoptada en este estudio. Se esbozan los resultados del estudio. El trabajo concluye con un breve tratamiento que coloca el valor de amenidad de los árboles en su contexto.
The main part of the paper attempts to cover broad issues using such comparative data as can be readily assembled. The section following covers some issues which are particularly relevant to Less Developed Countries (LDCs), and of some general interest. The penultimate section discusses some issues currently under discussion in some countries which appear particularly relevant to the UK. The paper concludes with a summary of policy lessons which can be drawn from this material. Two short sections set the stage for the main part of the paper. A brief description of the World Bank's activities in urban development, emphasising shelter, will clarify the source of the information and ideas presented in this paper. A brief overview of how housing markets work will lend some coherence to the discussion. -from Author
All the usual methods for valuing non-market benefits and costs may be applied to the aesthetic values of urban trees. However, evaluation has most usually been undertaken by one of two apparently dissimilar methods. The expert approach uses a mixture of measurement and judgement. Different versions of the approach have different quantitative input, produce divergent results, and theoretical justifications of their cash value are lacking. The hedonic approach attempts to derive cash values from house prices. Here too problems of quantification arise, in choice of appropriate variables, in the form of relationships and in interaction of variables. An approach using the human eye's ability to synthesise disparate variables may overcome these problems, but there remain problems of collinearity between environmental and demographic variables. At least explicit recognition of judgement in the process allows open discussion of these problems.
Green spaces have important amenity values contributing to the quality of urban life. The deconstruction of green spaces cause negative externalities e.g. the loss of non-priced benefits. In land-use planning, therefore, amenity values should be systematically assessed and measured commensurately, i.e. in monetary terms with material values. This paper discusses the suitability of the contingent valuation method in assessing urban forest benefits, and presents the main results of an empirical study conducted in Joensuu, the capital of North Carelia, Finland. The study was designed to measure the use-values of urban wooded recreation areas, and the residents' willingness to pay for small forest parks contributing to the quality of the housing environment. The results suggest that most visitors were willing to pay for the use of wooded recreation areas. Furthermore, approximately half of the respondents were willing to pay to prevent the conversion of forested parks to another land-use. The results can be used to assess the profitability of the management of urban forests. In addition, the results are useful in assessing the value of green space benefits in different land use options.
A survey of the sales of 844 single family residential properties in Athens, Georgia, U.S.A., indicated that landscaping with trees was associated with 3.5%–4.5% increase in sales prices. During the 1978–1980 study period, the average house sold for about $38 100 (in 1978 constant dollars) and had five trees in its front yard. The average sales price increase due to trees was between $1475 and $1750 ($2869 and $3073 in 1985 dollars) and was largely due to trees in the intermediate and large size classes, regardless of species. This increase in property value results in an estimated increase of $100 000 (1978 dollars) in the city's property tax revenues.
The purpose of this chapter is to survey recent research on housing markets and policy in what used to be called the “second” and “third” worlds. We adopt the labels “transition” economies to refer to countries as disparate as Russia and Vietnam, and “developing” to refer to countries as disparate as Korea and Singapore (arguably now developed) and countries like Mozambique and Laos. It is therefore quite interesting that the bulk of the research surveyed finds that housing market behavior is remarkably similar from place to place. Institutions and constraints, particularly the amount of income available for housing and other goods and services certainly do vary dramatically from place to place. And the stakes of how well housing markets work vary from place to place. But these differences in institutions and constraints do not obscure regularities in behavior. The first major section, on housing markets (Section 2), examines property rights, supply, demand and tenure. Section 3 presents research on the related markets for land, finance and infrastructure. Housing policy is covered in Section 4, including housing subsidy systems, privatization, taxation and regulation. Section 5 concludes with a discussion of current issues and research.
Contemporary provision of open spaces within cities rests largely on professional assumptions about its significance in the lives of residents. This paper presents results from the Greenwich Open Space Project which used qualitative research with four, in-depth discussion groups to determine the design of a questionnaire survey of households in the borough. The research shows that the most highly valued open spaces are those which enhance the positive qualities of urban life : variety of opportunities and physical settings; sociability and cultural diversity. The findings lend some support to the approach of the urban conservation movement but present a fundamental challenge to the open-space hierarchy embodied in the Greater London Development Plan. The Project identifies a great need for diversity of both natural settings and social facilities within local areas and highlights the potential of urban green space to improve the quality of life of all citizens.
Real estate market data often contain outliers in the observations. Since outliers have a large influence on least squares estimates, robust regression methods have been recommended for this situation. Compares the performance of least squares and least median of squares, a robust method, in the estimation of price/income relationships for apartment buildings. Multiplicative models with multiplicative errors are estimated by means of natural log transformations. The study confirms the importance of employing robust methods for this application and implies this may well be so for real estate data sets more generally.
sing a sample of recently completed 'commodity housing' in Guangzhou, i.e. dwellings that were built by development companies and sold or rented at full market price in the primary market, a multi-level logit analysis of the housing allocation process and of tenure decisions was conducted. The results of the statistical analysis are generally in line with the nature of housing market segmentation and the forces governing housing allocation and consumption in China in general and Guangzhou in particular. Residents in open market housing generally have higher incomes and hold higher-status jobs than those in the subsidised sectors. However, at the same time, the getihu or petty traders, who rank low in terms of occupational status, are also likely to be occupants of open market housing. Household characteristics also show systematic variations between occupants of different types of subsidised housing. In particular, residents of resettlement housing tend to occupy lower-status jobs. In terms of tenure choice, the results for the open market housing residents are to some extent consistent with studies conducted in market economies. In the subsidised sectors, the factors underlying homeownership are quite different between housing types. Occupation, for example, has significant effects on homeownership in both work unit housing and housing bureau housing, but the nature of the influence is quite different in each case. In the case of resettlement housing, none of the household attributes, with the exception of the head's year of service in present employment organisation, was found to be significant.
Housing provision in a socialist country is generally characterised by the dominance of public housing. However, provision of public housing is a complicated process, which involves various social agencies. In the case of China, the simple notion of 'state provision' covers huge differences between municipally-managed and work-unit housing. The lack of understanding in the structure of public housing provision has led to unsuccessful efforts in promoting the 'commercialisation' of housing in recent years. This paper, adopting a perspective of structure of housing provision (SHP), attempts to examine the changes in public-sector housing in China and to reveal the critical role of state work-units in the SHP. Housing reform has led to some significant changes in the SHP. The transformation, however, is far from a process of commercialisation or privatisation of public housing stock. On the production side, work-units do withdraw themselves from direct involvement in housing construction. However, on the consumption side, the low incomes of state workers, due to the political economy, have forced the work-unit system to remain as an indispensable part of the SHP. The increasing role played by state work-units shows the contradiction embedded in a socialist market economy—i.e. the reproduction of labour through market mechanisms and the persistence of public ownership of production. The changes certainly have profound implications for the nation's urban development and urban spatial structure.
The role of the state in housing has been the subject of controversial debate recently in China. More and more decision-makers consider that the supply of housing should be left to market forces of demand and supply. Various new policies have been introduced from as early as 1979, designed to commercialise and reform the public-sector-dominated housing system. This paper provides a review of housing reforms and a systematic account of the key features of the commercialisation process. It focuses principally on the attempts to privatise public-sector housing in urban areas in the context of the major characteristics and problems of the urban housing system, the development of reform policies and legislation and current reform practice.
Urban forests have various environmental benefits that contribute to the quality of urban life. These values, however, have been underestimated or have never been reflected in urban development planning in Korea. As a result, a number of forests in urban areas were either partly or wholly destroyed without their public's value being assessed explicitly. The objective of this paper is to estimate the value attached by the public to Kwanggyo Mountain in the Seoul Metropolitan Area of Korea using a contingent valuation survey, aimed at providing policy-makers with useful information to make an informed public decision in urban development planning. The survey was carefully designed and implemented to meet a number of recommendation rules suggested in the literature. The overall results show that the respondents received the hypothetical scenario well and would be willing to pay a significant amount for the proposed programme of conserving the mountain. The total value stated by the public amounted to approximately 3.77 billion Korean won (US$2.9 million) per year. This quantitative information can be used in policy-making process for urban development plans.
This paper examines the ability of the hedonic price method to estimate the premium offered by particular housing attributes or environmental characteristics in an urban setting. Problems of non‐separability in variables within an empirical model, suggest that this methodology is not always suitable for the estimation of specific housing attributes, and an alternative approach to this problem is suggested.
This article reviews existing studies that have used the house price hedonic technique to estimate the prices that consumers are willing to pay for environmental goods such as air quality, water quality, and distance from toxic or potentially toxic sites. We examine whether the results obtained are consistent over the studies, if the estimated prices change over time and what role changes in information play in consumers' behavior. We also discuss what housing and neighborhood variables are included. Finally, we focus on those studies that have included more than one environmental good to see whether multiple measures yield different results.
This study is the first to lend empirical support to the common belief that traffic intensity affects property values. Using a standard hedonic pricing model, this paper investigates the price effects on housing of traffic within a neighborhood. Results using data on single-family housing transactions for two different locations in a medium-sized city show a substantial negative price effect of traffic externalities. The magnitude of the effect is shown to be location specific.
The Dallas area housing market is examined before, during, and after the closure and cleanup of a 50-year-old lead smelter west of downtown Dallas, using a pooled time series and cross-sectional data set that covered all single family homes sold through the multiple-listing service from 1979 through 1995-over 200,000 observations. Consistent with the existing literature, property values around the smelter were lower before the cleanup. However, after the cleanup, the prices consistently rebounded across all neighborhood types, although the areas that were nearest and poorest did so more slowly.
This paper combines a new, large household-level data set with the two-stage hedonic- estimation technique to derive new estimates of willingness to pay (WTP) for reduced air pollution. The WTP estimates are found robust against functional-form specification. Marginal WTP estimates for a reduction in particulate matter (PM-10) are found to be quite comparable with some previous estimates. Benefits of nonmarginal changes exhibit consistently higher monetary returns in the case of PM-10 than in the case of SO2, signifying that households dislike particulate pollution more than they do sulfur.
The amenity value to Kentucky residents from horse farm land was estimated using both the contingent valuation method and the hedonic pricing method. The hedonic pricing model included both the housing and labor markets. A value function estimated from dichotomous choice contingent valuation responses showed that the value of a change in the level of the horse farm amenity was sensitive to the size of the change, with no evidence of value that is independent of the size of the change. The two methods generated estimates of the external benefits from horse farm land that were within 20 percent of each other.
Urban and agricultural developments in Hong Kong are intensive and spatially concentrated in a quarter of the land, leaving a sizeable area of hilly countryside with unrestricted access, relatively empty and unspoilt. Care for this common heritage, in the past, focused on afforestation of the denuded hillslopes especially in reservoir catchments. The remaining parts, covered by grasses and shrubs, hardly received attention. The rapid population growth, urban encroachment and unplanned recreational use, threatened to engulf and ruin the countryside from the 1960s. A country parks programme was initiated belatedly in 1972, and was rapidly accomplished, so that in 1979 40 percent of the land was designated. The parks are broadly divided into high-intensity recreation, low-intensity recreation, and conservation zones. The programme has been successful in encouraging informal outdoor recreation, but has also engendered environmental problems which contradict the principal conservation goal. The overuse of sites and footpaths causes soil and vegetation damage. Hill fires, ignited by, and widely dispersed litter, left by, irresponsible and careless visitors, are additional forces of degradation. Long-term management should aim at containing these problems and plan for the anticipated changing recreational demands in the future.
In this paper a hedonic price function forPrince George, a northern British Columbiacommunity, is estimated. In light of the lackof consensus regarding appropriate functionalform of a hedonic price function, a linearmodel is estimated and a battery of diagnostictests of model adequacy is performed. Twoestimation procedures are used, namely,ordinary least squares (OLS) and Least AbsoluteDeviation (LAD). The estimation results areused to form appropriate valuations ofcharacteristics of residential houses in PrinceGeorge.
This paper looks at new, high-profile redevelopment projects in Tokyo and New York City and their surroundings for examples of trends in the design of urban public spaces and changing patterns in how they are used. This includes new parks and other open spaces, landscaped plazas or public squares associated with new office towers, shopping centers and other large-scale commercial developments, and various popular “festival sites” such as those along recreation waterfronts. A comparison indicates that both cities have quite a few new public spaces that enhance the quality of urban life and add aesthetic appeal, but that also reflect certain social problems and divisions. We see the following common trends: (1) increasing privatization of spaces that were once more clearly in the public domain; (2) increasing surveillance of public spaces and control of access to them in order to improve security; and (3) increasing use of design themes that employ “theme park” simulations and break connections with local history and geography. In the Tokyo area there is also a curious trend to create large, landscaped open areas near new development projects that few people use. They can be called “planned wastelands” or “new urban deserts”. New York City, on the other hand, has succeeded in having more people come together for enjoyment in parts of the city that were once all but abandoned. The paper is illustrated with photographs, and draws on the examples of Times Square, South Street Seaport and Battery Park City in New York, and Yebisu Garden Place, Teleport–Daiba, Makuhari New Town and Minato Mirai 21 in the Tokyo–Yokohama area.
Recreational opportunities and amenities are important human-use services generated by urban greenspaces. This study explored the use of pattern and behavior of urban greenspaces in Guangzhou city, south China. The monetary value of the non-priced benefits was gauged by the contingent valuation method using willingness-to-pay and open-ended payment card approaches. A questionnaire gleaned data by face-to-face interviews of 340 respondents in the 18–70 age group, dwelling in 34 residential street blocks selected by clustered sampling. Guangzhou residents actively used urban greenspaces, accompanied mainly by family members. Parks were the most popular venues, whereas institutional greenspaces served as surrogate parks. Visitation is mainly induced by accessibility, followed by high green coverage and quality of the ambience. Small and low-quality sites near homes were shunned. Residents of the compact city harbored subdued expectation for privacy and solitude. They are accustomed to paying greenspace entrance fees. Ninety-six point six per cent of respondents were willing to pay to use urban greenspaces, notably more than other cities, and indicating the importance of salubrious outdoor recreation as a leisure pursuit. Conservative estimate of average willingness-to-pay was RMB17.40/person/month (US$1.00 = RMB8.26), higher than actual entrance-fee payment. Willingness-to-pay was significantly associated with income, and its marginal effect verified by an ordered probit model which hinted the treatment of urban greenspaces as superior goods. Aggregate monetary value of urban greenspaces attained RMB547 million per year which outstripped Guangzhou's annual expenditures on urban greenspaces by six times. This study verified the applicability of contingent valuation to urban greenspaces in China with socioeconomic, cultural and political backgrounds that are different from many countries. The results could assist cost-benefit analysis to justify more resources for development and management of urban greenspaces, with implications on incorporating public opinions in a precision planning process in the quest towards sustainable cities.
Urban greenspaces are universally valued as amenity-recreation venues, wildlife refuges and essential livable-city ingredients. Western strategies of urban greenspace provision are difficult to implement or retrofit in most Asian cities, commonly constrained by a high-density compact form. With recent rapid urbanization and associated brown and green field developments, ample opportunities arise to overhaul greenspace standards and patterns. The case study of the ancient city of Nanjing in China permits planning for an integrated greenspace network, aiming at flexibility for future urban expansion, green field acquisition, recreational functions, wildlife habitats and environmental benefits. It consists of green wedges, greenways and green extensions that incorporate urban green areas at three landscape scales. At the metropolis scale, through normative and substantive analyses of urban form and urban expansion, and assessment of suburban uplands, five green wedges are demarcated to generate a star urban form. The green wedges link the extensive countryside to the central city, and define elongated finger-like spaces between them for urban expansion to avoid conflicts with green fields. At the city scale, three major greenways, including city-wall circular greenway, Inner-Qinhuai River greenway, and canopy-road greenway, are designed as a permeating framework to guide new greenspace location, configuration and continuity, and to link existing parks. These greenways are equipped with a comprehensive trail system to foster pedestrian and cycling movements that are preferred by the public and the government. At the neighborhood scale, a greenspace organization, consisting of residential public open spaces, shaded sidewalks and riparian strips, conforms to the network geometry. As well-connected entities, these small proximate enclaves provide opportunities for residents to have day-to-day contact with nature. They also serve to resist undue urban influences and intrusions. Overall, the three-tiered greenspace system provides an alternative mode for urban development to the conventional transport-dominated one, to usher substantial improvement in landscape-environmental quality and to augment the sustainable-city notion.
This paper develops a spatial hedonic model to explain residential values in a region within a 30-mile radius of Washington DC. Hedonic models of housing or land values are commonplace, but are rarely estimated for non-urban problems and never using the type of spatial data (geographical information system or GIS) available to us. Our approach offers the potential for a richer model, one that allows for spatial heterogeneity in estimation, and one that ties residential land values to features of the landscape. Beyond the traditional variables to explain residential values, such as man-made and ecological features of the parcel and distance to cities and natural amenities, we also hypothesize that the value of a parcel in residential land use is affected by the pattern of surrounding land uses, not just specific features of point locations. We have also created and added these variables to the hedonic model by choosing an appropriate area around an observation, and calculating measures of percent open space, diversity, and fragmentation of land uses, measured at different scales around that observation. These indices have, for the most part, been significant in the models. By including two of the landscape indices developed by landscape ecologists, we have developed a model that explains land and housing values more completely, by capturing how individuals value the diversity and fragmentation of land uses around their homes.
Urban sprawl and renewed concern for the environment have helped create new policies and initiatives designed to enhance community quality of life. Among these are transportation enhancements mandated in ISTEA and TEA21. Funding through transportation enhancements has helped to spur the designation and development of greenway trails with the intent of fostering alternative transportation and generally making cities more livable. This paper presents research conducted on three greenway trails in Texas. The research was based on the human ecosystem concept and was intended to determine if and how such greenway facilities were contributing to quality of life and how people might perceive such contributions based on the way they used the trail (e.g. for transportation or recreation). Results indicated that most people used greenway trails for recreation but that trails differed in user types and activities based on location and policy. Users felt that these urban greenway trails were contributing most to community quality of life through resident health/fitness, the natural areas they provide, better land use and resident pride. They felt that they contributed least to diversifying industry, business development and access to shopping areas or public transportation. Those who used trails for transportation scored trails as contributing more toward reducing pollution, reducing transportation costs and providing better access to work than did those who used trails only for recreation. Implications for understanding use and users in the designation, design and development of urban greenway trails are discussed.
The majority of urban forest benefits represent non-consumptive use values, which include benefits derived from pleasant landscape, clean air, peace and quiet and screening, as well as recreational activities. The hedonic pricing method examines external benefits and costs of urban forests associated with housing. This investigation studied whether and how urban forest benefits are capitalized in property prices. It also searches for suitable variables for describing the green space benefits in hedonic pricing studies.Apartment sales data (1006 apartments) were collected in Joensuu, a town of 48000 inhabitants in North Carelia, Finland. Hedonic models were designed to explain purchase prices. Apartment characteristics, location, and environmental quality variables were used as explanatory variables in the models. Environmental and locality data were measured with respect to each specific house.Results indicate that urban forests are an appreciated environmental characteristic and that their benefits are reflected in the property prices Proximity of watercourses and wooded recreation areas as well as increasing proportion of total forested area in the housing district had a positive influence on apartment price. However, the effect of small forest parks was not clear. The range of the variable values was small, because there were many small wooded green spaces in the study locale. In addition, data concerning the views from the apartment or the composition of the forests was not available.
Quantitative information on residents' valuations attached to urban forests is needed for assessing urban land-use. The aim of this study is to value implicitly non-priced urban forest amenities by comparing dwelling prices and specific amounts of amenities associated with dwelling units. The empirical study is based on data from the sales of terraced houses in the district of Salo in Finland. According to the estimation results a one kilometer increase in the distance to the nearest forested area leads to an average 5.9 percent decrease in the market price of the dwelling. Dwellings with a view onto forests are on average 4.9 percent more expensive than dwellings with otherwise similar characteristics.
The preservation of open spaces has become an important policy topic in many regions. Policy tools that have been used include: cluster zoning; transferable development rights; proposed land taxes to fund purchases of remaining open spaces; and private organizations that buy land. This paper develops a theoretical model of how different types of open spaces are valued by residential land owners living near these open spaces, and then, using a hedonic pricing model, tests hypotheses concerning the extent to which these different types of open spaces are capitalized into housing prices. The empirical results from Howard County, a rapidly developing county in Maryland, USA, show that “permanent” open space increases near-by residential land values over three times as much as an equivalent amount of “developable” open space. This methodology can be used to help inform policy decisions concerning open space preservation, such as effectively targeting certain areas for preservation, or as a means of creative financing of the purchase of conservation easements, through the increase in property taxes, resulting from the associated increase in property values.
This study examines the effect of selected countryside characteristics on house prices in a rural area of the United Kingdom centred around the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. Data are gathered from a variety of sources and the hedonic price method is then used to derive a model of property prices from which the marginal costs of particular characteristics can be estimated. Some countryside characteristics, for example woodland, are observed to have a positive influence on house prices while others, like open water, are found to have no observable effect. The proximity of less desirable characteristics, such as marshland, are shown to have the effect of reducing house prices.