IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i10p4331-d362753.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Varying Effects of Urban Tree Canopies on Residential Property Values across Neighborhoods

Author

Listed:
  • Youngme Seo

    (Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON M5G 2C3, Canada)

Abstract

As more land area than ever is covered with impermeable surfaces causing problems in the environment, urban trees are effective not only in mitigating environmental problems in the built environment and reducing buildings’ energy use, but also in increasing social and economic benefits. However, the benefits urban trees provide are not evenly distributed but rather disproportionately distributed in high-income neighborhoods. The purpose of this study is to estimate the varying effects of urban trees based on a variety of factors that have influence on tree canopy coverage, including land constraints, new developments, financial capacity to maintain trees, and neighborhood characteristics. Using a unique dataset that includes 24,203 single-family residential sales from 2007 to 2015 merged with Urban Tree Canopy (UTC), this study utilizes spatial models to empirically evaluate the impact of UTC on residential property values in the housing market. Multi-Level Mixed (MLM) models are used to capture the varying effects of tree cover, based on land constraints, new development, financial capacity, and neighborhood characteristics. The findings show the effect of trees is positive and varies across neighborhoods, and implication of the results to best achieve specific desired outcomes in tree-related policies and urban development are apparent.

Suggested Citation

  • Youngme Seo, 2020. "Varying Effects of Urban Tree Canopies on Residential Property Values across Neighborhoods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:10:p:4331-:d:362753
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/10/4331/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/10/4331/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Delores Conway & Christina Li & Jennifer Wolch & Christopher Kahle & Michael Jerrett, 2010. "A Spatial Autocorrelation Approach for Examining the Effects of Urban Greenspace on Residential Property Values," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 150-169, August.
    2. Kenneth Y. Chay & Michael Greenstone, 2005. "Does Air Quality Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(2), pages 376-424, April.
    3. Kirsten Schwarz & Michail Fragkias & Christopher G Boone & Weiqi Zhou & Melissa McHale & J Morgan Grove & Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne & Joseph P McFadden & Geoffrey L Buckley & Dan Childers & Laura Ogden & S, 2015. "Trees Grow on Money: Urban Tree Canopy Cover and Environmental Justice," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, April.
    4. Elena G. Irwin, 2002. "The Effects of Open Space on Residential Property Values," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 78(4), pages 465-480.
    5. Bertram, Christine & Rehdanz, Katrin, 2015. "The role of urban green space for human well-being," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 139-152.
    6. Robert A. Simons & Youngme Seo & Paul Rosenfeld, 2015. "Modeling The Effects Of Refinery Emissions On Residential Property Values," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 37(3), pages 321-342.
    7. Won Kim, Chong & Phipps, Tim T. & Anselin, Luc, 2003. "Measuring the benefits of air quality improvement: a spatial hedonic approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 24-39, January.
    8. Kelejian, Harry H & Prucha, Ingmar R, 1998. "A Generalized Spatial Two-Stage Least Squares Procedure for Estimating a Spatial Autoregressive Model with Autoregressive Disturbances," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 99-121, July.
    9. Kathleen L. Wolf, 2013. "The urban forest," Communities and Banking, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Spring, pages 25-27.
    10. Susan M. Wachter & Grace Wong, 2008. "What Is a Tree Worth? Green‐City Strategies, Signaling and Housing Prices," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 36(2), pages 213-239, June.
    11. Bivand, Roger & Piras, Gianfranco, 2015. "Comparing Implementations of Estimation Methods for Spatial Econometrics," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 63(i18).
    12. Sander, Heather & Polasky, Stephen & Haight, Robert G., 2010. "The value of urban tree cover: A hedonic property price model in Ramsey and Dakota Counties, Minnesota, USA," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1646-1656, June.
    13. Harrison, David Jr. & Rubinfeld, Daniel L., 1978. "Hedonic housing prices and the demand for clean air," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 81-102, March.
    14. Cho, Seong-Hoon & Poudyal, Neelam C. & Roberts, Roland K., 2008. "Spatial analysis of the amenity value of green open space," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 403-416, June.
    15. Seong-Hoon Cho & Christopher D. Clark & William M. Park & Seung Gyu Kim, 2009. "Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Housing Market Values of Lot Size and Open Space," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 85(1), pages 51-73.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pierfrancesco De Paola & Francesco Tajani & Marco Locurcio, 2021. "Sustainable Real Estate: Management, Assessment and Innovations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-6, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yoo, James & Ready, Richard, 2016. "The impact of agricultural conservation easement on nearby house prices: Incorporating spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 78-93.
    2. Cao, Yangzhe & Swallow, Brent & Qiu, Feng, 2021. "Identifying the effects of a land-use policy on willingness to pay for open space using an endogenous switching regression model," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Matthew Chadourne & Seong-Hoon Cho & Roland Roberts, 2013. "Identifying priority target areas for the Knoxville–Knox County hillside and ridgetop protection plan: using the value of visual amenity during the real estate boom of 2002–2007 and the recession of 2," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 50(3), pages 911-934, June.
    4. Sanglim Yoo & John E. Wagner, 2016. "A review of the hedonic literatures in environmental amenities from open space: a traditional econometric vs. spatial econometric model," International Journal of Urban Sciences, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 141-166, March.
    5. Jay Mittal, 2017. "Valuing Visual Accessibility of Scenic Landscapes in a Single Family Housing Market: A Spatial Hedonic Approach," ERES eres2017_1, European Real Estate Society (ERES).
    6. repec:asg:wpaper:1006 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Marta Sylla & Tadeusz Lasota & Szymon Szewrański, 2019. "Valuing Environmental Amenities in Peri-Urban Areas: Evidence from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, January.
    8. Belcher, Richard N. & Chisholm, Ryan A., 2018. "Tropical Vegetation and Residential Property Value: A Hedonic Pricing Analysis in Singapore," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 149-159.
    9. Minmeng Tang & Deb Niemeier, 2021. "How Does Air Pollution Influence Housing Prices in the Bay Area?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-13, November.
    10. Franco, Sofia F. & Macdonald, Jacob L., 2018. "Measurement and valuation of urban greenness: Remote sensing and hedonic applications to Lisbon, Portugal," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 156-180.
    11. Joseph Hiebert & Karen Allen, 2019. "Valuing Environmental Amenities across Space: A Geographically Weighted Regression of Housing Preferences in Greenville County, SC," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Matthew Gnagey & Therese Grijalva, 2018. "The impact of trails on property values: a spatial analysis," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 60(1), pages 73-97, January.
    13. Marisa J. Mazzotta & Elena Besedin & Ann E. Speers, 2014. "A Meta-Analysis of Hedonic Studies to Assess the Property Value Effects of Low Impact Development," Resources, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-31, January.
    14. Luc Anselin & Julie Le Gallo, 2006. "Interpolation of Air Quality Measures in Hedonic House Price Models: Spatial Aspects This paper is part of a joint research effort with James Murdoch (University of Texas, Dallas) and Mark Thayer (San," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 31-52.
    15. Waltert, Fabian & Schläpfer, Felix, 2010. "Landscape amenities and local development: A review of migration, regional economic and hedonic pricing studies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 141-152, December.
    16. Abbott, Joshua K. & Klaiber, H. Allen, 2010. "Is all space created equal? Uncovering the relationship between competing land uses in subdivisions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 296-307, December.
    17. Koen van Ruijven & Joep Tijm, 2022. "Do people value environmental goods? Evidence from the Netherlands," CPB Discussion Paper 438, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    18. Jay Mittal & Sweta Byahut, 2019. "Scenic landscapes, visual accessibility and premium values in a single family housing market: A spatial hedonic approach," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 46(1), pages 66-83, January.
    19. Yoo, James & Simonit, Silvio & Connors, John P. & Maliszewski, Paul J. & Kinzig, Ann P. & Perrings, Charles, 2013. "The value of agricultural water rights in agricultural properties in the path of development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 57-68.
    20. Horsch, Eric J. & Lewis, David J., 2008. "The Effects of Aquatic Invasive Species on Property Values: Evidence from a Quasi-Random Experiment," Staff Papers 92216, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    21. Haiyong Zhang & Sanqin Mao & Xinyu Wang, 2021. "How Much Are People Willing to Pay for Clean Air? Analyzing Housing Prices in Response to the Smog Free Tower in Xi’an," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-16, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:10:p:4331-:d:362753. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.