Considerations in the valuation of urban green space: Accounting for user participation

Matthew Dennis and Philip James

Ecosystem Services, 2016, vol. 21, issue PA, 120-129

Abstract: Within the ecosystem services framework, valuations of natural capital have primarily taken a landscape-scale approach. The generation of transferable monetary values for individual ecosystems has likewise depended on assessments carried out at large spatial scales. Such methods, however, lack adequate regard for complex natural habitats. This complexity is heightened in urban areas where green spaces provide multiple services according to use and participation. Hence, there is a need to acknowledge the unique value of urban nature, and the socially-mediated nature of its productivity. This need was addressed through a study of collectively managed green spaces in a north-west England conurbation (UK). Ninety-one sites were identified, followed by a case study of twelve sites assessing their value across four ecosystem services. A subsequent projection of the value of stakeholder-led land management was calculated and compared to an existing reference for the value of urban green space from The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity database. The study found that collectively managed sites contribute considerable added-value to urban natural capital. In addition, the work highlights the shortcomings of applying transferable values to multi-functional habitat types, calling for a closer consideration of social-ecological contexts in the valuation of ecosystem services.

Keywords: Ecosystem services valuation; Social-ecological; User participation; Urban ecology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041616302194
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:21:y:2016:i:pa:p:120-129

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.08.003

Access Statistics for this article

Ecosystem Services is currently edited by Leon C Braat

More articles in Ecosystem Services from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().