Measuring the economic value of green roofing in South Korea: A contingent valuation approach

Abstract

Green roofs mitigate the adverse effects of urbanization, and provide multiple social, economic and environmental benefits. Many countries are taking bold initiatives to install green roofs to achieve these benefits. Considering the high construction and maintenance cost of green roofs, it is necessary to analyse the economic value of green roof projects and to assess their economic feasibility. This study analyses the public’s willingness to pay for the building of green roofs in South Korea, using the contingent valuation method. The results show that the public are willing to pay KRW 4,445 (USD 3.77) per household per year, and the total annual economic value of South Korea’s green roof projects is estimated to be KRW 90.5 billion (USD 76.7 million). The results of a cost–benefit analysis show that, in the three cities for which the empirical analysis was carried out, the green roof project was only economically feasible for Seoul, which implies that the economic feasibility of green roof projects strongly depends on the size and population of the city. Therefore, in terms of economic efficiency, it is desirable to implement such projects mainly in densely populated areas.