The economics of public open spaces
under water scarcity

What are the benefits and costs of changing conventional public-open-space designs to alternatives that require less water?

Through 5 studies, this research addresses the environmental, social, and economic costs and benefits associated with different urban greening strategies. Highlights and full peer-reviewed papers are presented below.

Study 1: Rethinking urban park irrigation under climate change

with Maksym Polyakov, David Pannell, and Michael Burton

Using hedonic pricing methods, we find that having irrigated parks nearby has positively influenced property values for all housing types. Meanwhile, non-irrigated parks have only influenced high-density property prices. These findings suggest irrigation has historically been key to park values. But while these values are tied to irrigation extent, they do not capture differences across groundcovers. Furthermore, housing densities and preferences may be changing.

Study 2: Are greenspaces too green? Landscape preferences and water use in urban parks

with Michael Burton, David Pannell, and Curtis Rollins

Through a choice experiment survey of Perth residents, we find that the optimal extent of watered grass in local and neighbourhood (i.e., non-oval) parks may be lower than current practices. Depending on the population subset, the ideal extent of watered grass is between 0 and 62%. Overall, the most-preferred park groundcover mix is 44% watered grass and 56% native vegetation.

Study 3: Economic evaluation of alternative urban park designs that conserve irrigation water

with David Pannell and Michael Burton

With a series of benefit-cost analyses, we show that the highest net-present value park design has 40% watered grass and 60% native vegetation. This analysis uses benefit estimates from study 2 and best-available cost estimates from local governments. Analyses suggest that environmental, social welfare, and cost-saving gains can be made by rethinking park design norms away from watered-grass dominant, to a more balanced mix of watered grass and native vegetation.

Study 4: Encouraging ecological landscape designs on underutilized urban lands: Homeowner preferences for verge conversion programs

with Curtis Rollins, Michael Burton, David Pannell, Katrin Rehdanz, and Jürgen Meyerhoff

We use choice experiments to explore preferences for financial, technical, and labor support programs aimed at encouraging residential verge conversions to native gardens. Seedling subsidies are found to be highly valued. Incentivising early adopters in neighbourhoods can have beneficial spillover effects through the power of norms.

Study 5: Public preferences for water-conserving groundcovers on verges

with Curtis Rollins, Michael Burton, David Pannell, Katrin Rehdanz, and Jürgen Meyerhoff

We survey residents using best-worst scaling techniques. Individuals' preferences for verge design are largely split across two groundcovers: native vegetation (54%) and watered grass (35%). Those that regularly see native gardens are more likely to prefer them in neighbourhoods.