Considering the economic value of natural design elements at city scale

With increasing signs of climate change and the influence of national and international carbon-related laws and agreements, governments all over the world are grappling with how to rapidly transition to low-carbon living. This includes adapting to the impacts of climate change that are very likely t...

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Main Authors: el-Baghdadi, Omniya, Desha, Cheryl, Hargroves, Charlie
Format: Conference Paper
Published: 2013
Online Access:https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/152149
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80467
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author el-Baghdadi, Omniya
Desha, Cheryl
Hargroves, Charlie
author_facet el-Baghdadi, Omniya
Desha, Cheryl
Hargroves, Charlie
author_sort el-Baghdadi, Omniya
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description With increasing signs of climate change and the influence of national and international carbon-related laws and agreements, governments all over the world are grappling with how to rapidly transition to low-carbon living. This includes adapting to the impacts of climate change that are very likely to be experienced due to current emission levels (including extreme weather and sea level changes), and mitigating against further growth in greenhouse gas emissions that are likely to result in further impacts. Internationally, the concept of ‘Biophilic Urbanism’, a term coined by Professors Tim Beatley and Peter Newman to refer to the use of natural elements as design features in urban landscapes, is emerging as a key component in addressing such climate change challenges in rapidly growing urban contexts. However, the economics of incorporating such options is not well understood and requires further attention to underpin a mainstreaming of biophilic urbanism. Indeed, there appears to be an ad hoc, reactionary approach to creating economic arguments for or against the design, installation or maintenance of natural elements such as green walls, green roofs, streetscapes, and parklands. With this issue in mind, this paper will overview research as part of an industry collaborative research project that considers the potential for using a number of environmental economic valuation techniques that have evolved over the last several decades in agricultural and resource economics, to systematically value the economic value of biophilic elements in the urban context. Considering existing literature on environmental economic valuation techniques, the paper highlights opportunities for creating a standardised language for valuing biophilic elements. The conclusions have implications for expanding the field of environmental economic value to support the economic evaluations and planning of the greater use of natural elements in cities. Insights are also noted for the more mature fields of agricultural and resource economics.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-804672021-01-12T07:05:34Z Considering the economic value of natural design elements at city scale el-Baghdadi, Omniya Desha, Cheryl Hargroves, Charlie With increasing signs of climate change and the influence of national and international carbon-related laws and agreements, governments all over the world are grappling with how to rapidly transition to low-carbon living. This includes adapting to the impacts of climate change that are very likely to be experienced due to current emission levels (including extreme weather and sea level changes), and mitigating against further growth in greenhouse gas emissions that are likely to result in further impacts. Internationally, the concept of ‘Biophilic Urbanism’, a term coined by Professors Tim Beatley and Peter Newman to refer to the use of natural elements as design features in urban landscapes, is emerging as a key component in addressing such climate change challenges in rapidly growing urban contexts. However, the economics of incorporating such options is not well understood and requires further attention to underpin a mainstreaming of biophilic urbanism. Indeed, there appears to be an ad hoc, reactionary approach to creating economic arguments for or against the design, installation or maintenance of natural elements such as green walls, green roofs, streetscapes, and parklands. With this issue in mind, this paper will overview research as part of an industry collaborative research project that considers the potential for using a number of environmental economic valuation techniques that have evolved over the last several decades in agricultural and resource economics, to systematically value the economic value of biophilic elements in the urban context. Considering existing literature on environmental economic valuation techniques, the paper highlights opportunities for creating a standardised language for valuing biophilic elements. The conclusions have implications for expanding the field of environmental economic value to support the economic evaluations and planning of the greater use of natural elements in cities. Insights are also noted for the more mature fields of agricultural and resource economics. 2013 Conference Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80467 10.22004/ag.econ.152149 https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/152149 unknown
spellingShingle el-Baghdadi, Omniya
Desha, Cheryl
Hargroves, Charlie
Considering the economic value of natural design elements at city scale
title Considering the economic value of natural design elements at city scale
title_full Considering the economic value of natural design elements at city scale
title_fullStr Considering the economic value of natural design elements at city scale
title_full_unstemmed Considering the economic value of natural design elements at city scale
title_short Considering the economic value of natural design elements at city scale
title_sort considering the economic value of natural design elements at city scale
url https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/152149
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80467