Urban green spaces and housing prices in developing countries: A Two-stage quantile spatial regression analysis

The objective of this study is to investigate elevated parks as urban green spaces using social media data analytics. Two popular elevated parks, the High Line Park in New York and the 606 in Chicago, were selected as the study sites. Tweets mentioning the two parks were collected from 2015 to 2019. By using text mining, social media users’ sentiments and conveyed perceptions about the elevated parks were studied. In addition, users’ activities and their satisfaction were analyzed. For the 606, users mainly enjoyed the free events at the park and worried about possible increases in housing prices and taxes because of the 606. They tended to participate in physical activities such as biking and walking. Although the 606 provides scenic observation points, users did not seem to enjoy these. Regarding the High Line, users frequently mentioned New York City, which is an important aspect of the identity of the park. The High Line users also frequently mentioned arts and relaxation. Overall, this study supports the idea that social media analytics can be used to gain an understanding of the public’s use of urban green spaces and their attitudes and concerns.

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Use of Urban Green Spaces in the Context of Lifestyle Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Tokyo

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13179817 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (17) ◽

pp. 9817

Author(s):

Takahiro Yamazaki ◽

Akiko Iida ◽

Kimihiro Hino ◽

Akito Murayama ◽

U Hiroi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Well Being ◽

Lifestyle Changes ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Spaces ◽

Lack Of Exercise ◽

Families With Children

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020 drastically changed urban lifestyles. Workers were forced to minimize commuting to their workplaces, older adults were banned from using meeting facilities, and children were prohibited from going to school. The consequent lack of exercise, accumulated stress, and reduced well-being are likely to have become problems, which may be improved by using urban green spaces (UGS). This study clarified the characteristics of users of UGS in Tokyo during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on telecommuters, older adults, and families with children. An online questionnaire survey was conducted among Tokyo residents, and 3085 responses were obtained. A binomial logistic regression analysis was conducted with the use and evaluation of UGS as the objective variables. The results showed that older adults and families with children who had been using UGS before the pandemic and telecommuters who newly started using UGS during the pandemic used UGS differently. Older adults and families with children tended to use small parks and appreciated human connections. Telecommuters often used greenways, temples, and shrines, valuing stress-reducing functions. Given that a changing lifestyle brings new UGS users new preferences, urban planners should consider that UGS require change with the time.

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The influence of urban landscape spatial patterns on single-family housing prices

Environment and Planning B Urban Analytics and City Science ◽

10.1177/0265813516663932 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 26-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jun-Hyun Kim ◽

Wei Li ◽

Galen Newman ◽

Sung-Ho Kil ◽

Sun Young Park

Keyword(s):

Spatial Patterns ◽

Green Space ◽

Urban Forest ◽

Housing Prices ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Single Family ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Spaces

Many empirical studies assessing the economic benefits of urban green space have continually documented that green space tends to increase both value and sale price of nearby residential properties. Previous studies, however, have not fully captured the quality of neighborhood level landscape spatial patterns on housing prices. To fill this literature gap, this study examined the association between landscape spatial patterns of urban green spaces and single-family home sale transactions using a spatial regression model. The research was conducted through the analysis of 11,326 housing transaction records from 2010 to 2012 in Austin, TX, USA. Variables measuring the structural, locational and neighborhood characteristics of housing were coupled with Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing and FRAGSTATS to calculate several landscape indices measuring the quality of existing landscape spatial patterns. After controlling for any spatial autocorrelation effects, we found that that larger tree and urban forest areas surrounding single-family homes positively contributed to property values, while more fragmented, isolated and irregularly shaped landscape spatial patterns resulted in the inverse. The results of this research increase awareness of the role of urban green spaces while informing community design/planning practices about the linkages between landscape spatial structure and economic benefits.

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Habitat patch size and tree species richness shape the bird community in urban green spaces of rapidly urbanizing region of India

10.1101/2020.10.23.348391 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Monica Kaushik ◽

Samakshi Tiwari ◽

Kumari Manisha

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Species Richness ◽

Bird Species ◽

Bird Community ◽

Local Scale ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Bird Species Richness ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Spaces ◽

Landscape Level

AbstractRapid urbanization and associated biodiversity loss is rampant globally but especially a cause of concern for developing countries. However, numerous studies investigating the role of urban green spaces have established their key role in conserving larger suites of species in urban area. Yet our knowledge is lopsided due to lag in research in developing countries. We examined how landscape and local scale features of urban green spaces influence bird species richness, density, fine-foraging guild richness and composition during breeding and non-breeding season. This is the first study of this nature in one the Himalayan states of India. We quantified landscape level variables in the 250m buffer around 18 urban green spaces. We sampled vegetation and bird community during breeding and non-breeding season through 52 intensive sampling point spread across 18 urban green spaces. Size of the urban green space at landscape level and tree richness at the local scale emerged as important predictor variables influencing bird species richness, density and richness of imperiled insectivorous guild across seasons. Urban green spaces within education institutions and offices experiencing much less management supported higher bird richness and density whereas city parks were the most species poor. Community composition was affected more strongly by built-up cover and barren area in the matrix and also by tree species richness within urban green spaces. City planners should focus on establishing larger city parks during design stage whereas biodiversity potential of the existing urban green spaces could be enhanced by selecting native tree and shrub species to increase overall habitat complexity.

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Urban Community Power: Enhancing Urban Forest Diversity and Reversing Ecosystem Disservices in Zomba City, Malawi

Land ◽

10.3390/land10111258 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 1258

Author(s):

Patrick J. Likongwe ◽

Frank B. Chimaimba ◽

Sosten S. Chiotha ◽

Treaser Mandevu ◽

Lois Kamuyango ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Community Involvement ◽

Urban Forest ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Spaces ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Impact

Tree species diversity in urban green spaces supports the provision of a wide range of urban ecosystem services, well studied in developed countries and less so in developing countries, where little is discussed concerning the role of urban communities in addressing the eminent threat facing green spaces. A study was, therefore, conducted to assess the impact of community involvement in the management of urban green spaces, which is mostly left in the hands of the central government in most developing countries. Two hills, namely, Sadzi and Chiperoni hills, were selected within Zomba city, where the latter has no community involvement in managing it. Trees with diameters at breast height (DBH) of ≥5 cm were measured and identified to species level from 25 sampled plots (20 × 20 m each). The results found a total of 51 species, 40 genera and 17 families, with the Fabaceae family dominant in both hills. A Shannon index of above 3.0 was recorded from both hills, with a greater tree density for Sadzi hill at 695 trees/ha. Sadzi hill has gained more than a twofold increase in green cover, while Chiperoni has lost 10%. Despite being in the regenerating phase, the community management is contributing to urban green space provision, ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation.

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Urban Green Spaces and Housing Prices: An Alternative Perspective

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11133707 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (13) ◽

pp. 3707 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Veronika Liebelt ◽

Stephan Bartke ◽

Nina Schwarz

Keyword(s):

Urban Economics ◽

Housing Prices ◽

Hedonic Pricing ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Urban Residents ◽

Buffer Zones ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Spaces ◽

Alternative Perspective ◽

Essential Components

Urban green spaces (UGS) are essential components of sustainable cities that provide many benefits to urban residents, such as recreation or aesthetics. Urban residents may be willing to pay for some of these ecosystem services. Indeed, studies investigating the formation of housing prices through hedonic pricing analysis have shown that UGS can influence housing prices. Hedonic pricing analysis puts housing units at the center of analysis. In this study, we investigate whether an alternative perspective provides additional insights into the effects of UGS on pricing. The proposed approach puts UGS into the center of analysis by applying an analysis of buffer zones to housing prices, thus, linking approaches from urban economics and landscape ecology. Such an analysis could deepen our understanding of the effects of UGS on housing prices by analyzing price–distance slopes around UGS-thus supporting more informed decisions on efficient UGS management and urban planning. Our results using a case study on Leipzig, Germany, demonstrate that the size of UGS affects price–distance slopes around them. We conclude that further investigations should be fathomed to unleash the potential of applying the analysis of buffer zones around UGS as a method to inform sustainable UGS design in cities.

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