Does Park Size Affect Green Gentrification? Insights from Chongqing, China

Abstract

International studies have shown that urban parks lead to rising residential prices and, consequently, gentrification effects. However, the studies on whether the size of the park drives gentrification are controversial. In this article, using the insight from Chongqing China, a hedonic price model is used to evaluate the influence of park size on residential prices, a geographically weighted regression model is employed to explore the spatial differentiation characteristics of park premiums, and a questionnaire survey is conducted to study residential socio-economic characteristics and attitudes toward green gentrification. We find that park premium is a strong predictor of gentrification, while park size is not. Most medium and large parks do not lead to green gentrification. The parks with high premiums that will lead to green gentrification are a small percentage of parks, only about 20% in Chongqing, China. Green gentrification in China is not due to the crowding out of low-income by middle- and high-income residents, but mainly due to the filtering of the real estate market. These findings provide new explanations for the relationship between parks and gentrification.