Open Space Preservation Research Articles

Public purchases and private preferences: Challenges for analyzing public open space acquisitions

The traditional hedonic model uses market purchases to estimate implicit prices. Hedonic models composed of only public land purchases violate key assumptions of hedonic model theory. The resulting implicit prices cannot be interpreted as the purchasing agency's maximum willingness to pay. The problems are illustrated using a hedonic model of public land purchases in the Town of Brookhaven, on Long Island, New York, USA. The model reveals negative elasticities for attributes for which the agency has stated positive preferences. For example, the presence of unique glacial landforms (a positive attribute) was associated with a 97% increase in property cost. However, if purchasing the open space property prevented development that is incompatible with existing land uses (also a positive attribute), the property cost decreased by 69%. The results confirm that elasticities and implicit prices derived from open space “public hedonic models” should be interpreted in the context of the broader market for land, not as the agency's willingness to pay. The work has implications for open space preservation policies in urbanizing regions.

Open Space and Urban Sprawl: The Effects of Zoning and Forest Conservation Regulations in Maryland

Rapid urbanization enhances the desirability of policies for preserving open space but policies intended to preserve open space may extend the urban boundary and create leapfrog development. We investigate this potential conflict between open space preservation and urban sprawl conceptually and empirically using data from the Baltimore-Washington suburbs. In accord with previous theoretical and empirical results, the estimated econometric model indicates that both zoning and forest planting requirements contribute to sprawl by increasing the amount of land needed to accommodate the current number of households. These results point to a conflict between preserving open space incorporated into private building lots or internal to subdivisions and public open space at the urban fringe.

Managing Climate Change Through Biological Sequestration: Open Space Law Redux

Climate change management involves strategies that mitigate its causes and adapt human communities to its consequences. This article describes a legal strategy that does both: a national biological sequestration policy. This policy will increase the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that biological sequestration currently removes from the atmosphere and will enable human settlements to adapt to the harsh effects of a changing climate, while realizing a number of other objectives that open space preservation achieves. The article sketches the influences of international and national climate change law, which largely ignore the benefits of biological sequestration on privately owned land in developed countries. It then turns to an analysis of climate change and its consequences before exploring how mitigation and adaptation can be accomplished by preserving and enhancing the natural landscape in both rural and urban areas. Open Space Law presents policy makers with readily available tools to protect the sequestering environment: the natural and man-made landscapes that capture and store carbon organically and provide ecosystem resiliency. This body of law has emerged spontaneously over the past few decades, responding to countless local perturbations, largely unaided by cogent federal strategies. The local and state initiatives that have evolved to preserve and enhance open space provide the basis for a broader sequestration policy, one that builds on available legal technology and existing norms to respond to the looming global perturbation of climate change.

Residential Density and Location Decisions: The Factors Affecting Homeowners’ Choice of Denser Neighborhoods

Since density is critical for sustainable development, it is important to know what factors associated with denser neighborhoods make them more attractive. Previous studies on density have been primarily based on people’s stated preferences, not their actual behaviors. We proposed hypotheses on the factors affecting the choice of denser neighborhoods and examined them using a survey data set on homeowners’ housing decisions in Columbus, Ohio. The findings showed that accessibility factors, neighborhood characteristics, and life cycle and characteristics of householders were all associated with choosing denser neighborhoods. Our findings suggested that higher density was perceived as having certain advantages (e.g., accessibility and diversity). Future higher density developments need to be accompanied by efforts to include accessibility and diversity. This study also suggests that not only do some attributes need to be improved (e.g., shops in denser areas and safety), but other potential benefits of higher density may need to be described more convincingly (e.g., traffic benefits and the preservation of open space).

Flächeninanspruchnahme 2020 und das 30-ha-Ziel: Regionale Verteilungsschlüssel und Anpassungserfordernisse


 
 
 The reduction of land development and the attainment of the national 30-ha-sustainability-target require all states, regions and municipalities in Germany to adjust. Up to now, however, regional targets for local jurisdictions have not been achieved. This paper presents a top-down mechanism by which a national target is subdivided according to the population and total area shares of each administrative unit. Distributional implications of this rule are analyzed on the level of states and regions. For this purpose, the derived sub-quantities are compared with the past and future land development rates. The future development of land consumption is estimated by the Panta Rhei Regio model, which projects growth rates of settlement and traffic areas until 2020. The results show that although land development will decline significantly in the next years, it will still clearly remain above the 30-ha-target level. As the simulation is modeled on county level the results also indicate the need to specify detailed quantity standards at regional level. A definition of subdivided targets for states, regions and municipalities offers the opportunity to improve the ongoing German debate on open space preservation and to initiate greater efforts on the way to a more efficient use of natural resource land.
 
 

Relationship between value of open space and distance from housing locations within a community

This research uses a sequence of hedonic spatial regressions for a metropolitan housing market in the Southeastern United States to explore a new procedure that establishes the relationship between the value attributable to open space and distance from housing locations (a “distance-decay function”) within a given community. A distance-decay function allows identification of the range of distance over which open space affects housing values and the estimation of a proxy for the value added to nearby houses resulting from hypothetical open space preservation. Ex post analyses of the open-space regression coefficients suggest marginal implicit price functions for three types of open space that decay as open space area increases with respect to house location. After controlling for other factors in the spatial hedonic model, simple distance-decay functional relationships were established between the implicit prices of developed open space, forest-land open space, and agriculture-wetland open space and the buffer radius of the open-space areas surrounding a given housing location. The proposed method may be useful for identifying the range over which preferences for different types of open space are exhibited.

The Value of Land Use Patterns and Preservation Policies

Abstract In many communities, land-use and open-space preservation have become important concerns. Using a large dataset containing every home sale in the state of Massachusetts over 8 years, this paper simultaneously measures the impact of the mix of land-uses in the immediate neighborhood of a home on property values and the impact of a locally-implemented program, the Community Preservation Act (CPA), which provides funds for local open-space and historic preservation as well as affordable housing. I exploit the panel nature of the dataset to conduct a difference-in-differences analysis using local as well as house level fixed effects to overcome omitted variables bias. My results indicate that, on average, passage of the CPA reduces property values by about 1.5% in Massachusetts towns. However, when I allow the CPA effect to differ by county, I find some heterogeneity -- it increases property values in some communities and reduces them in others. Variation in local spending priorities appears to have little impact on property values or the effect of the CPA. Finally, I find that cropland and pasture, as well as low-density residential development, are the most preferred local land-uses, and that homes are more expensive as one increases distance to highways and active rail lines.

Forecasting Open Space with a Two-Rate Property Tax

A two-rate property tax (TPT) imparts different tax rates on land and structures. A hypothetical TPT is evaluated as an instrument to promote open space preservation. The potential TPT effects on open space equilibrium levels were compared with simulated equilibrium levels reflecting the TPT policy shock. Ex ante results suggest that equilibrium open space levels were positively displaced following a revenue-neutral tax policy on land. About 76% of the households valued open space more following a land value tax rate of 9.04%, which suggests that households in certain locations are likely to support programs or policies preserving open space. <i>(JEL Q58, R11)</i>

Tradable planning permits for land-use control in Germany

In addition to a broad range of qualitative land development objectives, the German Federal Government has committed itself to reduce the growth of settlement and traffic areas from currently 113ha (2004–2007) to 30ha per day by 2020. In order to attain this ambitious quantitative goal, our paper presents a market-based policy of ‘tradable planning permits’. This system would control land development by fixing the total amount of open space loss in a period with allocated planning permits, which can be traded between local jurisdictions. Since this approach is based on the cap-and-trade principle, we evaluate the transfer of traditional emission trading concepts to land-use control and explore regulatory options of potential systems: an undifferentiated permit system, a trading-ratio system and variations of zonal permit systems. We subject these alternative approaches to critical evaluation by using a variety of important criteria including efficiency gains, ecological effectiveness, hot spot formation and transaction costs. Finally, we summarize the potentials, limitations and risks of a permit trading system in general while reflecting the ongoing German debate on open space preservation.

Are we growing smart?: New vision for urban development in Asia and the Pacific

The present paper explores the implications of smart growth principles for Asia-Pacific urbanization, and discusses how to use such principles for development in this region over the coming decades. After the United States of America experienced urban pathology due to sprawl, the country implemented growth management policies, and later adopted smart growth policies. While Asian cities experience rapid growth and concentration, the principles of American urban planning can benefit future urban policy and public investment in the region. The paper also argues that smart growth policies can lead to more sustainable and equitable urban development by overcoming the current unplanned sprawl. The concept of smart growth emphasizes a sense of community, the preservation of natural resources and open space, support for existing communities, and predictability in decisions and plans.

Economic Impacts of Alternative Approaches to Storm-Water Management and Land Development

This paper explores how estimated construction costs and projected revenue from sales could influence the decision to maintain open spaces in predevelopment condition and to implement a decentralized swale-based storm-water management system characteristic of low impact development. Four development alternatives were explored for a hypothetical residential subdivision. Hedonic price analysis was used to develop a price equation for the Gainesville, Fla. residential market. The hedonic analysis indicated that reduction in lot size to preserve open-space and conversion from a curb and gutter storm-water drainage system to a swale-based system would both result in a lower sale price per lot. Estimated construction costs indicated that this same combination of site planning and storm-water system design would result in the lowest per lot construction cost. The ratio of revenue (sale price) to construction cost showed that a development incorporating lot size reductions for open-space preservation and a swale-based storm-water management system was the preferred option over the first half of the study period, but was not in the second half.

Who is in Charge of the Urban Fringe? Neoliberalism, Open Space Preservation and Growth Control

Cities throughout the world continue to physically expand, complicating access to regional open space for the ever-larger share of the world population that lives in cities. As the importance of a green living environment receives increasing attention, the implementation of strategies for controlling where the urban fringe can and cannot move becomes a prominent issue. European governments face the challenge of designing instruments to effectively guide spatial development against the backdrop of neoliberalism. In search of examples of market-based open space preservation, this paper assesses the mechanisms used to steer urban growth in the metropolitan fringe of two multi-million city regions in the Northwest of America—metropoles with populations growing at a staggering rate that control urban expansion in a liberal planning culture, managing to retain a reputation of liveable and green places. Market-based planning appears to be of limited importance. Explanations and relevance for the European debate are discussed.

SPATIALLY‐VARYING EFFECTS OF REZONING ON HOUSING PRICE

A hedonic price equation is estimated at the parcel level to capture the spatially‐varying effects of rezoning on housing prices using a geographically weighted regression ‐ spatial autoregressive error model (GWR‐SEM). The empirical results highlight a number of points. Firstly, the positive amenities from rezoning to office use act as a buffer and transition the zones between single family housing to commercial zones near downtown areas may be applicable to approving the same kind of rezoning in other areas. Secondly, when approving rezoning from agriculture to residential or commercial use, it may be necessary to anticipate the positive amenities from rezoning in less well‐off neighborhoods and the negative amenities from rezoning in well‐off neighborhoods. Thirdly, the positive amenities from well‐designed open space preservation districts may encourage county planners to consider similar types of projects in the future.

Is Open-Space Preservation a Form of Exclusionary Zoning?

This article examines the evolving policy context of municipal open-space acquisition in New Jersey. The authors hypothesize that voters’ interest in open-space protection is sensitive to changes in state policy and that municipal acquisition may have exclusionary effects. The authors examine local acquisition practices using three different approaches: voting behavior, municipal acquisition, and parcel-level characteristics of acquired lands. They find that support for preservation is responsive to growth pressures and changing state policy environments. They also present evidence that municipalities are targeting land able to accommodate higher-density development in their preservation efforts and that municipalities that preserve open space are also active in transferring away their affordable housing obligations.

To populate or preserve? Evolving political-demographic and environmental paradigms in Israeli land-use policy

There has been a recent proliferation of national land-use policies that emphasize protecting open space and ecosystem integrity. However, countries grappling with internal political conflict, or that are engaged in military conflicts with neighboring countries, have priorities that focus on control of land in areas where state sovereignty is perceived to be threatened. These two concerns, political-demographic control and environmental protection, create very different paradigms for how to think about open space policy. The objective of this paper is to consider the impact of competing paradigms in land-use policy formulation and implementation—one that encourages sprawl and the other that encourages compact development and the preservation of open space. We use Israel as a case study where both political demography and environmental land-use paradigms are currently influencing policy and planning. We explore the historical evolution of both land-use paradigms and consider how they are currently competing in the formulation and execution of land-use policy decisions. We consider how these distinct priorities are playing out in current discourse and policy implementation, and characterize the past, current and prospective future physical outcomes of policies on the landscape. Our goal is to alert policy makers and land-use scholars of the subtle and contradictory influence of political-demographic land-use priorities with regard to their potential impact on the successful implementation of environmental policies. The Israeli case study is indicative of a diversity of countries that have a history of political-demographic land-use policies, but have also begun to adopt environmentally motivated policies.

A hedonic analysis of the demand for and benefits of urban recreation parks

Increasing population and urbanization in U.S. cities is not only contributing to the congestion in urban recreation parks but also is likely to exceed the capacity of these parks’ recreational and amenity benefits. In order to estimate the demand for and benefit of parks, we employed a typical hedonic model, which confirmed that the urban recreation park acres increase nearby property values. Two Step Clustering, which is capable of defining the optimum number of submarkets based on the data, was employed to define the submarkets within Roanoke, Virginia and to obtain enough implicit price points to further estimate the demand for urban park acres in the second stage. Results from the second stage hedonic estimation revealed that demand for urban park acres was inelastic in price and income; and the size of the park was a substitute for living space and proximity to park. In addition, increasing the average size of parks by 20% from the current level increased the per household consumer surplus by $160. The estimated amenity benefits of urban recreation parks will be useful in urban landuse planning and open space preservation.

Who Would Pay for Rural Open Space Preservation and Inner-city Redevelopment? Identifying Support for Policies that Can Contribute to Regional Land Use Governance

A growing literature has made the case for preserving rural open space and redeveloping inner cities. Together, these polices can contribute to the inside—outside strategy of `new regionalism'. However, it is unclear whether citizens are willing to pay for these two polices. Using data from a survey of Michigan's citizens, statistical analyses were employed to ascertain who would pay for both policies. Of the respondents, 37 per cent would pay for both policies. The coalition of support is centred on younger people, liberals and Whites, and people who are generally satisfied with their communities but are concerned about sprawl. When compared with the results for those who would pay only for one policy, the findings suggest that policy-makers may be able to broaden the coalition of support for policies that can contribute to regional land use governance if measures are taken to ensure that benefits are widely spread.

From Pro-Growth to Slow-Growth in Suburban New Jersey

This article examines the process by which municipalities switch strategies in response to growth pressure. Utilizing a case study approach of three New Jersey communities, this article argues that changes in local growth strategies are brought about by advocates who incorporate fiscal arguments with quality-of-life concerns and capitalize on a perceived development threat to achieve a more favorable political environment. By reframing local debate over formerly contentious issues such as open-space preservation and environmental quality, advocates are able to permanently change the local political culture. However, such action can have exclusionary consequences and act as a hindrance to the implementation of a balanced-growth approach to urban development.

Space Matters: Historic Drivers and Turning Points in Israel's Open Space Protection Policy

The article considers the history of open space preservation in Israel from the inception of the state until the present. The primary modes for protecting open spaces are assessed: nature reserves, forests, and agriculturally designated lands. While present frameworks ensure that reserves and forests remain well-protected, there has been significant erosion in the normative protection of agricultural lands, reflected in their steady decline. Three encouraging recent developments are considered. The first is a new masterplan for Israel (number 35) that was approved by the government in 2005. While not without its flaws, the plan constitutes an important formal open space for Israel. Economic analysis, previously unexploited, is also increasingly quantifying the benefits of open spaces. Relentless activism across the country has produced a litany of achievements for open space preservation advocates. The article closes with a review of present challenges to open spaces including illegal construction in the agricultural and Bedouin sectors as well as the isolated settlement program. While Israeli public policy has made open space preservation a higher priority, as population density rises, the demand for land promises make open space preservation an ongoing national challenge.

ANALYSING THE SUCCESS OF OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION IN THE NETHERLANDS: THE MIDDEN‐DELFLAND CASE

ABSTRACTOpen space preservation is an important aim of spatial planning. In the Netherlands, the recreational, ecological and historic values of open spaces between cities, the buffer zones, are recognised and thus receive ample attention from policy‐makers. This paper focuses on Midden‐Delfland, an open area in the metropolitan western part of the country. A specific combination of policy instruments and government regulation has made the preservation of open space in this area very successful even compared to other buffer zones. A quantitative analysis of the land‐use changes and a more qualitative review of the applied policy instruments are presented here in an attempt to explain this success. The analysis can help planners in finding ways to effectively protect contested open areas.