The Economic Value of Green Infrastructure An application of the Contingent Valuation Method

Green infrastructure has an important role in promoting the quality of urban life and supporting its economy. However, as urbanisation increases, green spaces have historically been identified as less valuable then other land uses and investments. The trend for green spaces loss is being addressed by VALUE (ëValuing Attractive Landscapes in the Urban Economyí), an international, interdisciplinary research project funded through the European INTERREG IVB programme for North West Europe. The main aim of the project is to demonstrate the economic value of green infrastructure and to show how to target green investments to maximise comparative benefits to communities. This paper discusses some of the initial results of the research, which assessed the economic value of green infrastructure by employing contingent valuation method and focuses on the decision of intervieweesí ìwillingness to payî for street tree investments. Focus group interviews with residents and business-holders were held in order to establish the application of the CV method and design the questionnaire. The paper reports on approximately 400 face-to-face interviews with both residents and commuters in the Oxford Road area of Manchester-UK. By taking the socio-economic profile and behavioural preferences of inhabitants into consideration, it is suggested that the results will provide a better understanding of how we value green investments economically in urban economy.