Planting urban trees to improve quality of life? The life satisfaction impacts of urban afforestation

Benjamin Jones

Forest Policy and Economics, 2021, vol. 125, issue C

Abstract: As cities around the world undertake large-scale urban afforestation projects, knowledge gaps continue to exist regarding their impacts on quality of life. Using individual-level life satisfaction (LS) data from the CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System over 2005–2010, this paper investigates the subjective well-being impacts of the MillionTreesNYC afforestation program in New York City. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I find that LS is higher by 0.018 points on a 4-point scale during the first 3-years of the program. Consistent with a causal story, impacts are growing in magnitude as more trees are planted and I show no impacts during the months when deciduous trees have no foliage. Between 2007 and 2010, MillionTreesNYC generated an externality equivalent to a $505 (6.5%) increase in average per capita monthly household income. Several robustness checks and falsification tests are performed. This work has important implications for global urban afforestation policy.

Keywords: Urban afforestation; Subjective well-being; Life satisfaction; Externalities; Environmental quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D62 I31 Q23 Q51 Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:forpol:v:125:y:2021:i:c:s1389934121000149

DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2021.102408

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