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Quantitative evaluation of the environmental amenities (EAs) in urban recreation and leisure regions (URLRs) can provide stronger support for the government to enhance the quality of urban leisure space and improve the well-being of urban residents. Considering the diversity of leisure spaces and the complexity of environmental perception perspectives, this study proposes a comprehensive environmental measurement framework based on image and text fusion perception, which utilizes big data to perceive and quantify the EA features of URLRs comprehensively and efficiently. The study of the URLRs in Nanjing, China, was conducted as an empirical study. The results indicate the following: (1) When it comes to leisure environments, the top concerns for most people are service, hygiene, reputation, and walkability. (2) The EA level of URLRs in Nanjing generally decreases from the center to the outside and shows regional differentiation. (3) EA features in Nanjing's URLRs exhibit a spatial pattern of similarity in the center and at each district's edges. This study enhances our understanding of leisure regions' environmental features that contribute to quality. The measurement results support understanding the spatial heterogeneity patterns of urban leisure activities and vibrancy. Furthermore, valuable urban planning and policy suggestions are made to promote sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative evaluation of the environmental amenities (EAs) in urban recreation and leisure regions (URLRs) can provide stronger support for the government to enhance the quality of urban leisure space and improve the well-being of urban residents. Considering the diversity of leisure spaces and the complexity of environmental perception perspectives, this study proposes a comprehensive environmental measurement framework based on image and text fusion perception, which utilizes big data to perceive and quantify the EA features of URLRs comprehensively and efficiently. The study of the URLRs in Nanjing, China, was conducted as an empirical study. The results indicate the following: (1) When it comes to leisure environments, the top concerns for most people are service, hygiene, reputation, and walkability. (2) The EA level of URLRs in Nanjing generally decreases from the center to the outside and shows regional differentiation. (3) EA features in Nanjing’s URLRs exhibit a spatial pattern of similarity in the center and at each district’s edges. This study enhances our understanding of leisure regions’ environmental features that contribute to quality. The measurement results support understanding the spatial heterogeneity patterns of urban leisure activities and vibrancy. Furthermore, valuable urban planning and policy suggestions are made to promote sustainable urban development.

As an important environmental amenity, sunlight brings us a large number of benefits and improves the quality of our daily lives, and its welfare measurement depends on concrete living conditions. The purpose of this article is to empirically document the non-marketed value of sunlight in light of the view orientation of an apartment in the context of the housing market. Using a hedonic pricing model estimated with the real estate transaction data over 40,000 housing units in 2019–2021 in Shanghai, it is found that: (1) homeowners, on average, are willing to pay an extra 7.2% to choose the apartments with a high level of sunshine (facing south), relative to those with no direct access to sunlight (facing north); (2) the value of sunlight shrinks with pollution and becomes larger if living in a higher apartment; (3) residents living in higher units have a larger willingness to pay for the sunlight and environmental quality improvement. These empirical findings shed light on the welfare measurement of sunlight and have profound implications for the capitalization of environmental amenities reflected in housing prices.

This study estimates the economic value of local environmental amenities in Bahir Dar city which is one of the tourist attraction sites in Ethiopia. The study employed choice experiment valuation method by identifying four environmental amenities attributes (Lake Tana, urban park, palm tree and street cleanliness). The study used probability multi-stage random sampling technique. The analysis was based on primary data surveyed from households in Bahir Dar city. The study presented nine choices set for each respondent; each choice set has three alternatives including the status quo option. The study employed a mixed logit model. The result showed that all improved attribute levels have positive signs and statistically significant. As expected and consistent with economic theory the monetary cost has negative signs and significant. The mixed logit model showed that there is preference heterogeneity in some attribute levels. Based on the finding, the study recommends that the city administration and the concerned body expected to implement the hypothetical policy scenario so as to improve environmental amenity.

This study estimates the economic value of local environmental amenities in Bahir Dar city which is one of the tourist attraction sites in Ethiopia. The study employed choice experiment valuation method by identifying four environmental amenities attributes (Lake Tana, urban park, palm tree and street cleanliness). The study used probability multi-stage random sampling technique. The analysis was based on primary data surveyed from households in Bahir Dar city. The study presented nine choices set for each respondent; each choice set has three alternatives including the status quo option. The study employed a mixed logit model. The result showed that all improved attribute levels have positive signs and statistically significant. As expected and consistent with economic theory the monetary cost has negative signs and significant. The mixed logit model showed that there is preference heterogeneity in some attribute levels. Based on the finding, the study recommends that the city administration and the concerned body expected to implement the hypothetical policy scenario so as to improve environmental amenity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing a unique database of residential real estate transactions, we examine the price change near the boundary of the Bushfire Prone Area (BPA), a planning zone indicating high wildfire risk, after experiencing a salient wildfire event in Australia from 2015 to 2016. While the properties within the BPA are valued more by 1.6%–1.9% in general, home buyers pay less for the properties in the BPA by 0.9%–1.7% after experiencing a salient wildfire event compared with the properties located outside of the BPA. Moreover, the properties in the BPA with greater environmental amenities are more resilient to the impact of wildfire risk salience than the rest BPA, necessitating an analysis of the role of environmental amenities in the research on wildfire risk in the housing market context. • Housing values within the Bushfire Prone Area (BPA) in Australia are valued more than those outside the BPA. • The negative impact of the enhancement of wildfire risk salience by major wildfire events on housing value in BPA lasted for two years. • Housing values in the BPA with greater environmental amenities are more resilient to the impact of wildfire risk salience than in the rest of BPA. • Focusing on the BPA boundary area can control biased casued by the heterogeneity of geographical and vegetational features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a simple and straight-forward static model of the micro-foundations of the environmental Kuznets curve, in which the relationship between income and pollution depends on the relative magnitudes of the diminishing income-compensated price elasticity of environmental amenity and increasing marginal propensity to earn environmental amenity out of non-environment income. The smaller the income-compensated price elasticity and the larger the marginal propensity to earn out of non-environment income, the earlier the turning point emerges. This key feature of our model generalizes the specific features of many existing models and generates many of their implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is a limiting factor of agricultural production in an increasing number of regions. There is also ample empirical evidence to suggest that the economic value of agricultural landscape is substantial, which has been used to justify agricultural support programs in developed economies. We investigate the link between the environmental amenity of agricultural landscape and the value of water in crop production. We find that the environmental externality gives rise to a social derived demand for water which differs from the market-based (private) derived demand for water. Policy implications regarding irrigation water allocation and pricing are drawn. An empirical example illustrates the methodology and main findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research suggests that consumers' marginal willingness to pay for environmental landscape attributes, such as water view, developed open space and forest-land open space, decreased during the 2008 recession compared to the 2000-2006 real estate boom. Estimates were obtained from a spatial hedonic housing price model after controlling for household location patterns and structural differences between the periods. Because the decline in amenity values was probably due to a temporary deterioration in economic conditions, the amenity values will probably rebound with economic recovery. Thus, development decisions based on the lower estimated amenity values measured during a temporary deterioration in economic conditions may be determined suboptimal post-economic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We explore the equity of tree distribution across Phoenix, AZ. • LiDAR identified 2.7 million individual tree locations across the study area. • Geographically Weighted Regression determined local variation in tree distribution. • The results revealed significant inequity related to socio-economic variables. Trees are critical assets in the urban environment. From reducing pollution and the effects of urban heat islands, decreasing energy consumption, and improving the overall quality of life for individuals and communities, trees are vital environmental amenities that promote and enhance public health, facilitating a more sustainable urban footprint. While many cities are making concerted efforts to plant more trees, empirical work suggests that the distribution of trees within these communities is unequal, fueled by a constellation of factors that include cost, maintenance, culture, and value systems. In order to identify and mitigate the inequities associated with the geographic distribution of trees within a community, it is important to deepen our understanding of the social, environmental, operational, and geographic nuances of tree distribution(s). In this study, we employ geocomputational and spatial statistical methods to analyze a database of 2.7 million trees in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. The results of this analysis highlight local variations in the relationship between tree density and social and environmental correlates, and offer a more geographically nuanced snapshot of the tree distribution for one of the hottest U.S. cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]