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Estimating the economic value of cultural ecosystem services in an urbanizing area using hedonic pricing
Citation:
SANDER, H. AND R. G. Haight. Estimating the economic value of cultural ecosystem services in an urbanizing area using hedonic pricing. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 113(2012):194-205, (2013).
Impact/Purpose:
The results illustrate the effectiveness of hedonic pricing in identifying partial values for ecosystem services and amenities that are highly relevant to local and regional planning and which could be used to increase policy-maker and public awareness of these values so that they might be better considered in planning and policy decisions.
Description:
Ecosystem services and amenities are undeniable valuable. However, their values are poorly recognized and, as a result, ecosystem services and amenities tend to be treated as though valueless. A need thus exists to increase both knowledge and recognition of these values. In this article, we explore the use of hedonic pricing as a tool for eliciting the values of ecosystem services. We take a case study approach, valuing several services provided by ecosystems, namely aesthetic quality, access to outdoor recreation, and the aesthetic and local climate regulating benefits provided by tree cover in Dakota County, Minnesota, USA. Our results indicate that these services are valued by local residents and that hedonic pricing can be used to elicit at least a portion of this value.
