Revisiting the Proximity Principle with Stakeholder Input: Investigating Property Values and Distance to Urban Green Space in Potchefstroom

Zene Combrinck, Elizelle Juanee Cilliers, Louis Lategan and Sarel Cilliers
Additional contact information
Zene Combrinck: Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Elizelle Juanee Cilliers: Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Louis Lategan: Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Sarel Cilliers: Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Nature is essential to urban quality of life, yet green spaces are under pressure. In an attempt to strengthen the case for urban greening and to reclaim nature into cities, this research considered green spaces from an economic spatial perspective. The proximity principle, as part of hedonic price analysis, is employed to determine the impact of green spaces on property value in specifically selected residential areas within Potchefstroom, South Africa. Our statistical analysis indicated a rejection of the proximity principle in some areas, contradicting internationally accepted theory. To investigate local trends and possible reasons for the rejection, supporting quantitative data was gathered through structured questionnaires disseminated to local residents of Potchefstroom and Professional Planners in South Africa. Challenges pertaining to the planning of green spaces were emphasised, despite residents’ willingness to pay more for such green spaces in close proximity to residential areas, according to the cross-tabulations conducted. The research results contributed to the discourse on the economic benefits of green spaces and presented the trends of such benefits within the local context of Potchefstroom. The results emphasised the need to rethink the planning of green spaces within the local context, and provided recommendations on how to reclaim nature into cities from a spatial planning perspective.

Keywords: green spaces; ecosystem services; ecosystem disservices; economic benefits; proximity principle; hedonic pricing analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/7/235/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/7/235/ (text/html)

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:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:7:p:235-:d:387156

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().