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Abstract
This paper examines the influence of public greenspace on the life satisfaction of
residents of Australia’s capital cities. A positive relationship is found between the
percentage of public greenspace in a resident’s local area and their self-reported life
satisfaction. On average, it is found that a resident has an implicit willingness-to-pay of
$1,168 in annual household income for a one per cent (143m2) increase in public
greenspace. The relationship between public greenspace and life satisfaction however,
is non-linear. Additional results suggest that the value of greenspace increases with
population density and that lone parents, the less educated and those living in high rise
dwellings benefit to a greater extent from the provision of public greenspace than the
general population. In all, life satisfaction data supports existing evidence that public
greenspace is welfare enhancing for urban residents and adequate allowance should be
made for its provision when planning urban areas.