Race and income moderate the effect of parks on housing prices in a segregated city

Abstract

Parks provide environmental and recreational services to urban areas, and are valuable for human health and social cohesion. Current literature demonstrates the positive influence of urban parks on property values. This work, which typically examines the relationship between proximity or quality of parks and surrounding property values, assumes the value of park attributes is not influenced by neighborhood context. However, there is a gap in understanding how the value of park attributes varies across neighborhoods with different socio-economic and racial demographics, particularly in highly segregated cities. Using spatial data on park attributes, home values, and neighborhood demographics in the Twin-Cities area in the United States, we investigated how willingness to pay for park characteristics vary by neighborhood income and race characteristics. Some park attributes such as tree canopy and the presence of a dog park had positive and significant impacts on property values across neighborhoods of varying race and income characteristics, whereas park size, bike trail access, and presence of water bodies in parks had positive or negative effects on property values depending on race and income of the surrounding neighborhoods. Our analysis helps to understand how park investments in neighborhoods of varying race and income may differentially affect housing market dynamics with theoretical and practical implications for addressing green gentrification.