The Real Value of Public Spaces
I am interested to know how the design of public spaces alters the real estate economy, specifically, are their design elements which influence the market more than others. For example, if the design includes a river or stream running through it does this change the value of the flats? Is water universally valued in all real estate markets?
Cities and private developers can extract value from parks in more ways than the increase in property value.
• People go to public space to exercise their rights as citizens — despite the increase of surveillance and security. (For example, the massive street protests that have occurred in Seoul and Los Angelos in 2017)
• Public spaces (should) be test tube sites for culture. Where people come together and spontaneous, unexpected events merge and collide.
• Public spaces benefit the mental and physical well being of people in the city.
• Public spaces connect the city with necessary transportation routes
• Public spaces (often) control the hydrologic system with a logical scheme. The controlling of water, both surface and beneath the ground can benefit the long turn infrastructural demands of a city, saving the city money.
• Public spaces are often tourist attractions, supporting both local business owners and the larger brand of the city. Public spaces have the power to brand the city, Central Park in New York, Mont-Royal in Montreal, Hyde park in London, Vigelandsparken in Oslo, to name a few.
After some digging into this topic. I have found some general rules when it comes to the value public parks add to real estate prices.
Here are some of the soft rules (most of these seems obvious)
1) Proximity matters — buildings that are closer to a park have a higher value.
2) Quality of park matters — public spaces which are overrun by explicit activity can have a negative impact on surrounding property value, whereas a quality space can boost the market value
Imagine, when these types of factors can be typed into an algorithm to discover where the next great public park should be. Or perhaps instead of one large park, you see development in a speckling fashion all throughout future cities. This speckling of many great public spaces would increase the amount of park edge’s facing facades, thus increasing property values.
Not every aspect of a park can be quantified with an economic value. Surely you cannot put a price on the smell flowers, or sounds of trickling water and you certainly cannot put a price on the composition of a park as a whole. Or can you?