Renter willingness to pay for urban green space

Given that funds for biodiversity conservation are limited, there is a need to understand people’s preferences for its different components. To date, such preferences have largely been measured in monetary terms. However, how people value biodiversity may differ from economic theory, and there is little consensus over whether monetary metrics are always appropriate or the degree to which other methods offer alternative and complementary perspectives on value. We used a choice experiment to compare monetary amounts recreational visitors to urban green spaces were willing to pay for biodiversity enhancement (increases in species richness for birds, plants, and aquatic macroinvertebrates) with self-reported psychological gains in well-being derived from visiting the same sites. Willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates were significant and positive, and respondents reported high gains in well-being across 3 axes derived from environmental psychology theories (reflection, attachment, continuity with past). The 2 metrics were broadly congruent. Participants with above-median self-reported well-being scores were willing to pay significantly higher amounts for enhancing species richness than those with below-median scores, regardless of taxon. The socio-economic and demographic background of participants played little role in determining either their well-being or the probability of choosing a paying option within the choice experiment. Site-level environmental characteristics were only somewhat related to WTP, but showed strong associations with self-reported well-being. Both approaches are likely to reflect a combination of the environmental properties of a site and unobserved individual preference heterogeneity for the natural world. Our results suggest that either metric will deliver mutually consistent results in an assessment of environmental preferences, although which approach is preferable depends on why one wishes to measure values for the natural world.

This paper use the advanced experience of Japan in the area of disaster prevention green space planning and construction and, look at the status, gaps and challenges of China's construction and planning of Green Infrastructure, present the new thinking direction about the construction of disaster prevention green space combine with Green Infrastructure.Taking the construction of the disaster prevention green infrastructure network planning of Majiagou River in Harbin as an example and put forward related strategies.

Investigation of Adoption and Cognizance of Urban Green Spaces in India: Post COVID-19 Scenarios

This study deeply examines the livable environment in high-density cities like Macau, focusing on urban green spaces. The study introduces the “urban spatial naturalness degree” indicator, exploring its application with urban population growth and green space expansion. The research utilizes the planning indicator of “urban spatial naturalness degree”, and then explores the application paradigm of matching increments between urban population growth and green open space and a bottom-line planning indicator suitable for Macau. Among them, the “USND” indicator is defined as “the visual perception rate of blue and green natural elements in the three-dimensional space of urban land”, which is specifically expressed as “the average function of the occupation rate of urban green open space and the visibility rate of blue–green space of main street scenes”. Based on this, this paper estimates the incremental planning indicators of green open space in Macau and various urban areas during the implementation of the Master Plan of Macau (2020–2040). The results show the following: (1) The study found that the land increment in green open space in Macau basically matches the potential of reserve resources. (2) For Class I and Class II urban areas in Macau, the USND value is estimated to be 42.96% and 32.62% in 2040, respectively. These values are expected to reach the international excellent level. (3) For Class III and Class IV urban areas, the USND values could reach 20.14% and 15.14%, respectively, which are considered to be at the international middle level in 2040.

Perceptions of ecosystem services, disservices and willingness-to-pay for urban green space conservation

Urban green open space is areas in a city or town filled with vegetation to support socio-ecological functions. These areas have increasingly threatened as a result of being converted to urban infrastructures. As an essential feature of city infrastructure, urban green space should be monitored according to the spatial plan of the city area. However, the space that has been assigned to the urban green space is not a match for its current use. One of the problems that caused urban green space usage mismatch is difficulties in identifying urban green space changes. Planetscope satellite imagery is a high-resolution satellite image that can be used to identify open green spaces in urban areas. In this research, we used an artificial intelligence method to develop a pixel classification process for accurate and efficient identification of the green open space. The results showed that Planetscope satellite imagery and artificial intelligence methods had 99% accuracy in monitoring green open spaces. The use of this technology can assist in the early detection of green open space changes effectively and efficiently.

Expansion of built-up areas has consumed large areas of natural ecological patches in many cities around the world, affecting environmental and living quality of urban residents.  Managing urban landscape and urban trees has gained a special attention in Vietnam in recent years. The green space development plan for Hanoi to 2030 and a vision to 2050 has targeted to reach 62% of green spaces. However, there is lack of detailed green space development plan at the district and commune/ward levels. This study aims to assess urban green space area and quality in Hanoi at the commune/ward levels using remote sensing and population data. The study uses combined remote sensing data from Google Earth, Sentinel-2, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to analyze urban green quality and space for Hanoi. The urban green space will be combined with population data at commune/ward level to estimate urban tree cover per person. The research results can contribute to improve the credibility and scientifically of green space construction so that urban planning can adapt and serve the city and its residents and achieve green development.

Introduction : The demands of space for housing, industrial, commercial, and recreation space, are increasing as the human population continues to focus on urban areas. This implies an increase and constant degradation of natural environments. Despite the negative effect that the urban areas have on the biodiversity, these can be considered as important areas for the conservation of native flora and fauna. This is because urban areas have different types of land uses, where green spaces, represent an important component for the conservation of biological diversity. This study estimated the richness and abundance of rodents and bats in urban and non-urban green spaces in the city of San Cristobal de Las Casas (SCLC), Chiapas, Mexico. Given the great variety of types of green space in an urban area, the richness and abundance of rodents and bats in these areas will depend on the characteristics of the vegetation (richness and abundance of vegetal species) and the formation of the surrounding matrix (types of uses of soil around the green space). Methods: This study was conducted in 10 sites with presence of green spaces in the urban area and the periphery of SCLC. The rodents and bats were captured monthly from March to August 2013, for three consecutive nights per site. We compared the richness of species, relative abundance and diversity index between urban and non-urban green spaces. Results: There were a total of 12 species and 108 individuals, belonging to three families, Muridae, Phyllostomidae, and Vespertilionidae. In the non-urban green spaces were captured 55 individuals of four species of native rodents, and 19 individuals of three species of bats. In the urban green spaces were captured 11 individuals of three species of rodents (a species was native), and 23 individuals of four species of bats. For the richness of species of mammals, the correlation analysis showed very low values of relationship regarding to the independent variables. Discussion and conclusions: The number of species recorded in this study in the two groups of green spaces (urban and non-urban), show that these spaces can hold more than 40% of the total number of species recorded for the municipality of San Cristobal de Las Casas. The capture of larger number of individuals of species of native rodents in the non-urban green spaces may be that in these areas there is greater availability of resources such as food, shelter and breeding sites, since these sites are part of a remnant of forest. In the case of bats, there were not significant differences in their diversity between urban and non-urban green spaces. This study found that the urban and non-urban green spaces in the interior and periphery of the city of SCLC, are important for the native fauna of rodents and bats. In this way, preserving green areas on the periphery of an urban landscape is decisive for the conservation of the native fauna of the region, since they are reservoirs of their diversity.

Quantifying emotional differences in urban green spaces extracted from photos on social networking sites: A study of 34 parks in three cities in northern China

Uncovering the willingness-to-pay for urban green space conservation: A survey of the capital area in China

The sustainable development is an important issue for our society. Thus, urban green spaces are a key element in order to assure a sustainable urban development. Although, most often they are associated as having only an aesthetic function, the urban green spaces perform important socioeconomic and environmental functions. Therefore, ensuring the existence of a great number of green spaces within an urban area is one of the objectives of the new European policies for urban planning, taking into account the sustainable urban development trend promoted by the new European strategies and also the fact that in the last decade we have been confronted to an intensive land artificialization due to the extensive phenomenon of urban sprawl. Thus, the purpose of this research is to analyze the spatial distribution of green urban spaces in the Central and Eastern European post-socialist countries, members of the European Union, as well as the population accessibility to the green urban spaces. The main question of the study is how the EU urban planning policies has influenced the countries from the Central and Eastern Europe in maintaining and developing the urban green spaces. Do they assure an equitable accessibility to the urban green spaces for all the population in their fastest developing cities of their countries – the capitals? Or are there spatial disparities in what concerns their location patterns? Using a quantitative methodology, doubled by the use of GIS tools and statistics, this research aims to question the eventual typologies regarding the spatial distribution of green spaces as well as their quantitative aspects (their number, the area etc.).

Today, one in two people live in urban environments, and this number is expected to rise. Urban ecology is among the main concepts of the ecological urban planning agenda for cities where the consequences of global warming and climate change are increasing day by day. Urban open green spaces provide a variety of ecosystem services for city dwellers. It is important that green spaces are accessible, efficient, walkable and properly planned in the city. Within this framework, via the relevant theoretical evaluation, a conceptual framework was constructed to redefine the urban neighborhood green index. Regarding the existing definitions within the related literature, this developed index includes quantitative, qualitative and perceptual parameters and has been newly introduced to measure and analyze green spaces in a more comprehensive layout. There is also a need to establish an ecological approach to urban planning to increase the quantity and quality of urban green spaces in Cyprus, including in Northern Nicosia. Therefore, Northern Nicosia, with its three selected neighborhoods, was chosen as the study area. As the main methodology of the study, a thorough assessment of the quantitative component of the developed index with its four parameters of per-capita green space, proximity to green space, area percentages and type of green spaces is made. Maps from the Town Planning Department and satellite images from the Nicosia Turkish Municipality and GIS were used for this quantitative measurement. Based on the findings, it can be argued that the urban green spaces are not sufficient when assessed based on most of the parameters evaluated within the study to construct a comprehensive green space index. It was found that the green spaces in the city are accessible, being within 337 m, which is reasonable. However, there are very few active and accessible open green areas in these neighborhoods within the 300 and 500 m buffers, as a remarkable number of the green spaces, which are shown on the map, are in an abandoned condition. In addition, the amount of active green space per capita is 3.35 m2, which is well below the 9 m2 predicted by WHO. The area percentages of the neighborhoods are also below the required standards. Therefore, the findings show that Northern Nicosia can benefit by addressing these deficiencies to achieve a higher urban neighborhood green index. Furthermore, the theoretical model is efficient for the assessment of urban spaces at the neighborhood scale and can be used in other cities worldwide, especially in cities with a relatively low density. In sum, this study, which considered not only the quantitative parameters but also the qualitative and perceptual features, has the potential to expand scientific knowledge on measuring and analyzing urban neighborhood green spaces.

Peri-urban and urban green are considered among the basic priorities of the local government’s regional policy agenda, in line with the principles of spatial planning. This agenda is promoted at both the national and European levels through a variety of technical and institutional measures. Green spaces in urban and suburban areas are directly linked to the quality of life of urban residents and their environment. In this context, the purpose of this study is to investigate and identify the characteristics and factors that influence the residents of a small Greek city in terms of the value they attach to urban and suburban green spaces. These factors are identified through the residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) using the contingent valuation method (CVM). In general, the analysis aims to document the value of environmental economic methods as a tool in the management of natural heritage. According to the research, income and knowledge of environmental issues (global and local) as well as the benefits of green spaces (urban and suburban) are the key factors that drive residents to place a higher value on them. Future work may explore whether or how the COVID-19 pandemic affected city residents’ willingness to pay for green spaces.

Valuing urban green spaces for enhanced public health and sustainability: A study on public willingness-to-pay in an emerging economy

The population growth is make conversion of green space area to be settlement. This situation supports degradation of environmental quality in urban areas whereas the function of urban forest is affecting the surrounding air directly or indirectly by altering the atmospheric conditions. Conversion of green space area to non-green green space area is a frequently encountered problem lately. Therefore, this research showed that relationship between vegetation index with urban green space. The objectives of this research are: (a) to assess the ability of remote sensing data especially ALOS AVNIR-2 imagery for extraction of vegetation density through vegetation index analysis, (b) to analyze the availability of green space using remote sensing data; and (c) to analyze the density of vegetation on land-use planning based on Urban Land Use Planning (RDTRK) in Ngaglik District.This study was conducted in Ngaglik area using ALOS imagery ANVIR-2 recording in 2009. Distribution of green open space transformation used Normalized Difference Transformation Index (NDVI) and RDTRK documents. The results of this study indicated that urban green space and NDVI can be extracted using ALOS AVNIR-2 imagery. The formula of NDVI was 188.1 x (NDVI)) -0.5617. The vegetation densities can be divided into five classes, non-vegetated area was 13,398,739.48 m² (34.24%), very low vegetation density was 5,381,133.12 m² (13.75%), low vegetation density was 8,143,116.62 m² (20.81%), medium vegetation density was 10,022,040.95 m² (25.61%), high vegetation density was 1,878,236.10 m² (4.80%), and very high vegetation density was 7181.22 m² (0.02%). The area of green open space was in conformity with the laws in force in the amount of 25.480.722 m² (64.86 %).