What Is a Tree Worth? Green-City Strategies, Signaling and Housing Prices

05/17/08

What Is a Tree Worth? Green-City Strategies, Signaling and Housing Prices

Abstract: Susan M. Wachter and Grace Wong investigate the correlation between curbside tree plantings and housing price movements in Philadelphia from 1998 to 2003, comparing two programs, one by the Philadelphia Horticultural Society (PHS) that requires block-group effort that focuses on low-income neighborhoods and the other by the Fairmount Park Commission that is individual-based without specific target areas. A 7 to 11% price differential is identified within 4,000 feet of the Fairmount tree plantings. The authors argue that this is largely driven by either social capital creation or a signaling mechanism, on top of an intrinsic tree value (around 2%). Findings using the PHS tree program suggest that development of social capital or environmentally conscious behavior might be a less important channel. Any positive changes brought by the PHS tree plantings were not detected with sufficient statistical power.

by Susan M. Wachter and Grace Wong
1. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 email: wachter@wharton.upenn.edu
2. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104; email: wongg@wharton.upenn.edu.

Real Estate Economics via Blackwell Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
Volume 36, Issue 2; Summer, 2008; Pages 213-239
doi:10.1111/j.1540-6229.2008.00212.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6229.2008.00212.x

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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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