Abstract
Stormwater runoff from urban areas is a significant source of water pollution in the United States. Many states are promoting low impact development (LID) practices, which provide a variety of direct and ancillary ecosystem services. We describe a meta-analysis designed to evaluate the property value benefits of LID practices that reduce impervious surfaces and increase vegetated areas in developments, and present an example application to a hypothetical land use scenario. From the many hedonic property valuation studies of the benefits of general open space, we identified 35 studies that valued open spaces that were similar in nature to the small, dispersed open spaces characteristic of LID. The meta-regression estimates the percent change in a home’s value for an observed percent change in open space within a specific radius of a parcel, based on changes expected to result from LID approaches that increase green spaces. Our results indicate that the design and characteristics of a project affect the magnitude of benefits, and that values decline with distance. More broadly, the meta-analysis shows percent change and proximity are robust determinants of household willingness to pay for aesthetic and other services associated with local availability of small, dispersed open spaces resulting from LID, but that values for other features, including type of vegetation and recreational use may be site-specific. Policymakers and developers could draw on our synthesis of site characteristics’ effects to maximize benefits from open space associated with LID.
Highlights
Stormwater runoff from urban areas is a significant source of pollution to our nation’s waters.According to the National Research Council report Urban Stormwater Management in the UnitedStates, stormwater discharges from the built environment remain one of the greatest challenges of modern water pollution controls, “as this source of contamination is a principal contributor to water quality impairment of waterbodies nationwide [1]” Many states are using regulations, incentives, or educational campaigns to encourage use of low impact development (LID) or green infrastructure (GI) practices that harvest, infiltrate, and promote evapotranspiration to prevent stormwater runoff
We present a meta-analysis designed to evaluate the property value effects from the increased green spaces in areas developed using LID and GI practices, as compared to those provided by conventional development
Sample heterogeneity leading to differences in effect size estimated by the original studies is an important issue in meta-analysis
Summary
Stormwater runoff from urban areas is a significant source of pollution to our nation’s waters.According to the National Research Council report Urban Stormwater Management in the UnitedStates, stormwater discharges from the built environment remain one of the greatest challenges of modern water pollution controls, “as this source of contamination is a principal contributor to water quality impairment of waterbodies nationwide [1] (page vii)” Many states are using regulations, incentives, or educational campaigns to encourage use of low impact development (LID) or green infrastructure (GI) practices that harvest, infiltrate, and promote evapotranspiration to prevent stormwater runoff. Successful LID and GI practices provide ecosystem services by increasing the amount of stormwater retained on site, thereby improving surface water quality and hydrology in water bodies that receive stormwater runoff, enhancing groundwater recharge, reducing flood risk and preventing soil erosion [2]. Along with these primary benefits, many LID and GI practices can provide additional ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, air quality improvements, microclimate regulation, wildlife habitat, water purification, and aesthetic benefits of augmented landscape features. We present an example application of the meta-regression to a hypothetical land development scenario
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