THE BIG ISSUE THE ECONOMICS OF IRRIGATED URBAN PARKS • Research from the University of Western Australia has found that having an irrigated park nearby has a measurable impact on property prices for low and medium density housing.
Councils across Australia face the challenge of providing quality open spaces for a growing population while contending with increasing water scarcity. But research by PhD candidate Claire Doll points to a new approach to park design that could help councils reduce costs and water use while providing residents with the kind of parks they want.
• For high-density housing, being close to non-irrigated parks also resulted in higher property values.
First study to integrate irrigation data
SNAPSHOT
• Average property prices increase by up to $3800 for each one per cent increase in park area. • The study also found that people prefer park designs with more native vegetation and less irrigated grass than traditional park designs. • Councils and the community could benefit by rethinking park design.
New research from the University of Western Australia has found that having an irrigated park nearby can have a measurable impact on property prices. The work also shows that people prefer park designs with more native vegetation and less irrigated grass. By rethinking park design norms, councils, the environment, and the community could benefit.
A new approach to urban park design could benefit the environment, the community and council budgets.
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One question that Claire’s work addressed was how nearby parks, which differ in their watering requirements, influence property values. “Other studies have looked at the general influence of nearby parks on property prices,” says Claire. “But this was the first study to integrate information about how much water goes into maintaining different parks.” The research focussed on how distance to irrigated and non-irrigated parks influences property prices of low, medium and high-density properties. “We wanted to get a dollar-value estimate of irrigated versus non-irrigated parks,” Claire says. “We looked at property sales prices over the last five years and tried to explain them using information about the structural components of properties – things like size, number of bedrooms, whether they had a pool. “We also included neighbourhood components, such as nearby schools and suburbs. Finally, we separated out environmental values, one of these being the distance to nearby parks.”