Moderating effect of forest cover on the effect of proximity to chemical facilities on property values

05/04/08

Moderating effect of forest cover on the effect of proximity to chemical facilities on property values

Abstract: Numerous studies on housing markets indicate that neighborhood amenities such as trees and open space increase property values while the presence of hazardous facilities, pollution and flooding risks decreases housing prices. However, previous studies have focused on the direct impacts of neighborhood characteristics on housing prices using the Hedonic Price Model (HPM). Potential interactive relationships among neighborhood characteristics have not been clearly tested. This study examines direct impacts of urban forest on property values and indirect impact on the relationship between Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) chemical facilities and tax base property values in Tarrant County, Texas. Distance to hazardous chemical sites and the amount of foliage coverage within neighborhoods are measured using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and regressed to tax base property values. To test the indirect impact of trees coverage on the relationship between TRI sites and property values, the moderation model is examined with more foliage coverage (MF) parcels and less foliage coverage (LF) parcels. The empirical result of this study confirms the findings of previous studies suggesting negative influences of hazardous facilities, and positive effects from trees on housing prices. Furthermore, this study uncovers that amount of tree coverage within a neighborhood have an indirect impact on housing values. Specifically, trees in neighborhood environments significantly reduce the negative influence of distance to TRI hazardous chemical facilities. Negative influences of TRI hazardous chemical facilities appear not to be significant in many-treed neighborhoods while hazardous chemical facilities show negative influences on housing values in neighborhoods less-covered by trees.

Keywords: Moderation effects; Trees; Vegetation; Tax base property values; Geographic; Information systems (GIS); Toxics release inventory (TRI)

by Sang-Woo Lee 1, Pat D. Taylor 2 and Sung-kwon Hong 1
1. Department of Environmental Science, Konkuk University
2. Program in Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Arlington, Box 19108, 601 West Nedderman Drive, Arlington, TX 76019-0108, USA

Landscape and Urban Planning via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 86, Issue 2; May 26, 2008; Pages 171-176
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2008.02.002

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Environmental Valuation & Cost-Benefit News

Environmental Valuation & Cost Benefit News covers legal, academic, and regulatory developments pertaining to the valuation of environmental amenities and disamenities, such as clean air, trees, parks, congestion, and noise. We apprise the reader about ways in which costs and benefits are measured, and the results of empirical studies. We hope that this information will allow public and private organizations to comprehend the risks and benefits of various actions, help disputants to resolve conflicts equitably and efficiently, and improve the quality of public policies. We will only discuss issues related to the empirical quantification of private and social costs and benefits and damages, and summarize information from daily newspapers, academic journals, legal publications, court decisions, professional newsletters commissioned studies, and on-line services. This newsletter is dedicated to the principal that all policies place values upon life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We believe that more information, explicit specification of assumptions, and rigorous analysis can help our society to better meet these ends. This site will increasingly serve, in conjunction with others, as a valuation database. We will include a wide range of studies, including non-environmental reports, because omission of a factor effectively values it at zero, and biases decisions. Heavy traffic has caused several site crashes. We are attempting to correct these problems. Apologies for any inconvenience.

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