Modeling the Economic Value of Green Spaces in Residential Areas of Dar Es Salaam City, Tanzania

Abstract

The economic value of green spaces in residential areas has been advocated to raise the land and property values. However, the establishment of the economic value of green spaces need many data such that it is costly and needs expertise. The objective of this study was to develop a user-friendly mathematical model that employ few data to determine the economic value of green spaces in residential areas in Dar es Salaam City. The study was cross sectional and employed structured questionnaires as a data collection method. Linear regression model was developed by relating economic values of green spaces to various environmental and socio-economic conditions of households. The study revealed that the net economic value of home greenery was significantly influenced by income of the households, area covered, age of the respondents and green space type. The average net benefit calculated from the model (1,317USD per household per year) was not far from the normal arithmetic mean calculated through traditional methods (1,369USD per household per year). This implies that the model can best predict the overall mean of the net benefit by 96.2%. It is therefore, recommended that the model can be used to estimate the economic value of ecosystem services from home greenery, property value and can guide the establishment of compensation for households due to green space availability.