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Abstract
In highly industrialized areas open spaces such
as farmland and nature are under pressure since urban areas
are expanding at their expense. Because of the high
opportunity costs of development in urban areas, a high price
has to be paid for the maintenance or creation of open space.
The question is if this high price can be justified by the value of
the open space. We estimate the value residents attach to
surrounding open space in a hedonic pricing model. More
specifically, we investigate in a highly urbanized area in the
Netherlands how the externalities of farmland, nature, and
other uses, such as industrial areas and the sea affect
residential property prices. Moreover, spatial lag and error
dependence are corrected for in the hedonic pricing model
used to estimate the value of open space and other
externalities. According to our results premiums are paid by
residents who buy properties close to urban parks and the
North Sea and for properties with views on open space.