Impacts of Greenery on Health and Property Prices

The upcoming Natural Capital Singapore Seminar will feature the works of two speakers, Zhang Liqing from the National University of Singapore and Richard Belcher from the Future Cities Laboratory, covering the effects of urban greenery on health and property prices.

The Effects of Urban Green Space on Self-reported Health at Different Spatial Scales in Singapore

Zhang Liqing from the Department of Architecture at the National University of Singapore set out to study whether the relationship between urban green space (UGS) and health is scale-dependent. To investigate the population-level relationship between UGS and health at different spatial scales in Singapore, she conducted a national representative cross-sectional study and found that UGS at certain scales has positive effects on health and the strongest associations were found at the medium scale.

Zhang Liqing is a PhD candidate from Department of Architecture, NUS, working in the field of urban ecology.

Impacts of Tropical Vegetation on real estate prices: Analysis Using the Hedonic Pricing Method in Singapore

Currently, little research has been conducted on homebuyers’ revealed preference for urban vegetation in the tropics. The hedonic pricing method can be used to estimate the preference and economic value that homebuyers place on tropical vegetation. This should be an important consideration in effective urban planning for amenities and biodiversity. This research found that vegetation in the neighbourhood fetched a total premium of S$179 million based on resale transactions of all public housing apartments over 13 months.

Richard Belcher is a researcher at the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) in the Dense and Green Buildings Typologies research project, where he works on quantifying the economic value and environmental benefits of having vegetation on and around large-scale buildings.