Environmental value of green spaces in Japan: An application of the life satisfaction approach

- We apply Life Satisfaction Approach to identify the economic value of green spaces around residences in Japan.
- We show how the marginal willingness-to-pays (MWTPs) for green spaces differ in terms of its coverage and distance.
- We also show how the MWTPs differ in terms of people's preference for greenery

This study applies the Life Satisfaction Approach to evaluate green spaces in terms of its affluence, people's preference for greenery, and distance from people's houses. Data are derived from a survey of 2158 respondents in the two largest regions of Japan (Kanto and Kansai) and the green coverage rate is derived from Geographic Information System (GIS) data. The estimation results show that (1) people's marginal willingness to pay (WTP) for green space decreases as the current amount of green space increases; (2) they show how people's marginal WTP increases in proportion with their affection for it, the amount of interaction they have with it, their knowledge of its multiple functions, and the quality of greenery with which they normally come in contact; and (3) the results reveal the various marginal WTP values for green spaces in terms of distance from respondents' houses.