The Effects of Environmental Quality on Residential Choice Location

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of environmental conditions in a given area on the residential location and the consequences on urban sprawl and accessibility. In particular, the study focuses on the effects of environmental quality and landscaping on property values. To this aim, the paper presents some hedonic Multiple Linear Regression models (MLR) estimating the housing price in metropolitan areas as a function of real-estate, environmental and accessibility variables. The hedonic models have been estimated using data collected in the province of Taranto (South-Italy) where the biggest steel factory in Europe (namely, ILVA), and one of the most important industrial port in the Mediterranean Sea are located. The set of considered variables were carried out from a location choice survey and hedonic regression estimators are presented to verify to what extent a relationship between the accessibility conditions, environmental context and the dwelling market values does exist. The results indicate that the inclusion, in the model specification, of the environmental variables between zones fit the data significantly better.