Green spaces: Assets or liabilities? An economic study on the urban residential neighbourhood of Dhaka

Within the context of the economic valuation of open space, the presence and absence of green space has an effect on the residential property value in urban areas. This study only concerns with the valuation of open spaces; especially green parks and water bodies of different urban residential neighborhoods of Dhaka city in Economic terms. To analyze the impact of open space attributes on real price of residential properties, an empirical analysis is carried out by employing Hedonic Price Method (HPM). Together with a set of structural, location and socio-economic variables use to explain residential property prices; the study focuses on three amenity or environmental variables which include the existence of views of park, the distance from the housing unit to the nearest open space, and the size of that open space. The regression analysis results from the first stage hedonic estimation reveal that homebuyers are willing to pay only for scenic views and living in the closest proximity to open spaces especially green parks. In contrast results for the size of the nearest open space for houses do not show a significant relationship on nearby property values. This estimated valuation of open spaces and their amenity benefits will be useful for decision making in urban design, land use planning and green space preservation.