Recreation–amenity use and contingent valuation of urban greenspaces in Guangzhou, China

Landscape and Urban Planning 75 (2006) 81–96

Recreation–amenity use and contingent valuation of urban greenspaces in Guangzhou, China C.Y. Jim ∗ , Wendy Y. Chen Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China Received 6 February 2004; received in revised form 12 July 2004; accepted 12 August 2004 Available online 16 February 2005

Abstract Recreational opportunities and amenities are important human-use services generated by urban greenspaces. This study explored the use of pattern and behavior of urban greenspaces in Guangzhou city, south China. The monetary value of the non-priced benefits was gauged by the contingent valuation method using willingness-to-pay and open-ended payment card approaches. A questionnaire gleaned data by face-to-face interviews of 340 respondents in the 18–70 age group, dwelling in 34 residential street blocks selected by clustered sampling. Guangzhou residents actively used urban greenspaces, accompanied mainly by family members. Parks were the most popular venues, whereas institutional greenspaces served as surrogate parks. Visitation is mainly induced by accessibility, followed by high green coverage and quality of the ambience. Small and low-quality sites near homes were shunned. Residents of the compact city harbored subdued expectation for privacy and solitude. They are accustomed to paying greenspace entrance fees. Ninety-six point six per cent of respondents were willing to pay to use urban greenspaces, notably more than other cities, and indicating the importance of salubrious outdoor recreation as a leisure pursuit. Conservative estimate of average willingness-to-pay was RMB17.40/person/month (US$1.00 = RMB8.26), higher than actual entrance-fee payment. Willingness-to-pay was significantly associated with income, and its marginal effect verified by an ordered probit model which hinted the treatment of urban greenspaces as superior goods. Aggregate monetary value of urban greenspaces attained RMB547 million per year which outstripped Guangzhou’s annual expenditures on urban greenspaces by six times. This study verified the applicability of contingent valuation to urban greenspaces in China with socioeconomic, cultural and political backgrounds that are different from many countries. The results could assist cost-benefit analysis to justify more resources for development and management of urban greenspaces, with implications on incorporating public opinions in a precision planning process in the quest towards sustainable cities. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Urban greenspace; Urban park; Recreation planning; Environmental goods; Natural capital; Contingent valuation; Willingness-topay; Sustainable city; Guangzhou; China

1. Introduction ∗

Corresponding author. Tel.: +852 2859 7020; fax: +852 2559 8994. E-mail address: [email protected] (C.Y. Jim). 0169-2046/$20.00 © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2004.08.008

The affinity of humans to greenery tends to transcend geographical and cultural divides. The desire to

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recreate in green areas and live near them has universal appeal. A livable and sustainable city is often characterized by ample provision of high-caliber urban greenspaces at strategic locations for enjoyment of residents, workers and visitors. Recreational opportunities and amenities have been identified as important human-use services generated by urban greenspaces (Robinette, 1972; Grey and Deneke, 1986; Smardon, 1988; Botkin and Beveridge, 1997; Baines, 2000; Lorenzo et al., 2000). Residents usually highly value greenspaces and some are willing to pay directly or indirectly for their benefits and amenities (Bolund and Hunhammar, 1999; Tyrv¨ainen and Miettinen, 2000; Tyrv¨ainen, 2001). The valuation of nature’s contribution to humanity has extended from extra-urban areas to cities, including the important functions furnished by urban greenspaces. High quality greenspaces can bring joy and a healthy life style to people, and their design and location constitute a key component of urban planning (Tyrv¨ainen and V¨aa¨ n¨anen, 1998; Tyrv¨ainen, 2001) in the quest for healthy communities and sustainable cities. Many intangible and indirect benefits of urban greenspaces, as a non-market commodity, could be usefully translated into monetary terms. Citizens and policy makers can understand their contributions and justify resources for their provision and upkeep. Methods to price non-market benefits could assess recreational and aesthetic values of greenspaces (Garrod and Willis, 1999; Price, 2003). Although different approaches might not generate convergent valuation results, careful selection of variables could reduce uncertainties. The contingent valuation method, widely adopted in assessing environmental assets, affords suitable monetary valuation of non-priced services (Mitchell and Carson, 1989; Bishop et al., 1997; Garrod and Willis, 1999; Nunes, 2002; Bateman et al., 2002). Contingent valuation could measure the value of recreational opportunities and amenities by gauging peoples’ willingness-to-pay to use such services. In China, the method has rarely been applied, partly because public opinions were seldom considered in decision making during the era of centralized government control (Xu et al., 2003). It is worthwhile exploring the applicability of contingent valuation in China, which is being transformed from a centrally planned to a market economy, in which public views are increasingly factored into policy deliberations and decisions.

Chinese cities face a growing demand for greenspaces, resulting from population and urban growth, improvement in disposable income and quality of life, increase in leisure time and pursuits, and rising environmental awareness and expectation. Unfortunately, the recent rapid urban expansion and redevelopment has eradicated or degraded some existing greenspaces and failed to preserve natural pockets and corridors as development takes over green fields. Municipal authorities need to acquire new planning-development strategies to arrest the damages and nurture an integrated long-term greenspace blueprint. An understanding of residents’ recreational habits and the underlying factors holds the promise of effective planning, design and conservation of urban greenspaces. Moreover, projecting the multiple benefits of urban greenspaces in monetary values provides a universal language and a tangible basis to justify the expenditures, and permits fair competition with other demands for policy and financial support. The primary aim of this study was to assess recreational opportunities and amenities provided by greenspaces in a Chinese city, to calculate the monetary value of such human-use services using contingent valuation method as a contribution of the natural capital to society, and to propose some applications of the findings. In addition, residents’ recreational attitudes, behaviors, habits, activities and the underlying factors were explored. Guangzhou, the seat of the Guangdong Province and the largest municipality in south China, which is undergoing fast urban expansion and redevelopment, was chosen for a case study.

2. Study area and methods 2.1. Study area The study focused on the central built-up area of 235.5 km2 of Guangzhou (Fig. 1), which is situated in the northern part of the Pearl River Delta (Guangzhou Statistical Bureau, 2002). The proximity to the subtropical coast has endowed Guangzhou with a typical oceanic monsoon climate, characterized by ample rainfall and sunlight and a long summer season (Huang et al., 1994). Pre-urbanization natural vegetation was semi-evergreen broadleaf monsoon rain forests, and the present remnant vegetation is still endowed with over

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Fig. 1. The built-up areas of Guangzhou city, China, with indication of the approximate locations of the 34 residential blocks from which respondents to the questionnaire survey were randomly selected.

1400 vascular species, largely inherited from the original vegetation and in modern times enriched by introduced species (Hou, 1956; Jim and Liu, 2001; Zheng, 2001). In 2002, urban greenspaces covered 73.66 km2 , accounting for 31.2% of the study area. They are largely fragmented patches of various spatial structures, such as parks, green enclaves in institutional grounds, roadside green corridors, and small pocket gardens in residential neighborhoods. Whether public, semi-public or private, they play important roles in satisfying the heavy demands of residents for recreation and amenities. 2.2. Questionnaire design Questionnaire design is crucial to contingent valuation study (Hoevenagel, 1994; Jakobsson and Dragun, 1996; Bateman et al., 2002), especially in

China, which has a different social, cultural, economical and political environment from western countries where the method was developed. In contingent valuation, both the dichotomous choice and the open-ended payment card approaches have been commonly used. Comparison of different approaches in recent studies indicated that each has its advantages and shortcomings (Schulze et al., 1996), and they tended to offer similar efficiency (Willis, 1995; Bateman et al., 1999). The payment card approach, which recently has been successfully applied to valuing environmental goods (e.g. Tyrv¨ainen and V¨aa¨ n¨anen, 1998; Walsh and McKean, 1999; Lorenzo et al., 2000; Tyrv¨ainen, 2001; Xu et al., 2003), was adopted in this study mainly due to consideration of peoples’ disposition in China and its possible effects on the accuracy and reliability of the responses. Most Chinese citizens are not familiar with according a monetary value to non-priced or non-market

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commodities or services, and have scanty experience expressing bids for their preference. Especially for a case study of a Chinese city, where the market economy mechanism has not been fully established, respondents are not used to expressing their preference for hypothetical transactions. To tackle this inherent conceptual limitation, the open-ended payment card approach was adopted to provide respondents with direct prompts, clarify their willingness-to-pay, and allow them to express their preferred amount if they were not satisfied with the given choices. The approach could provide respondents with explicit and straightforward information, which helped them to construct hypothetical transactions, and encourage them to reveal willingness-to-pay amounts. If inadequate information and clues were provided in the questionnaire survey, respondents may not be able to give reliable responses (Bishop et al., 1995). However, if the questionnaire was too long and contained too many choices, respondents might become bored, impatient or confused, which could adversely influence their responses. The need to ask a series of questions in the multiple-bid design of a dichotomouschoice survey could potentially confuse respondents in the study area, and might dilute their attention on other pertinent questions. In this survey, besides willingness-to-pay questions, many others pertaining to recreational activities, attitudes and behaviors were included. A choice has to be made between providing too much and too little information. On balance, the payment card approach was found to be more suitable. In the present open-ended payment card approach, the bid structure was constructed after considering a series of relevant factors. Firstly, it was based on experts’ suggestions (structured group) and an openended questionnaire survey amongst a target group (40 interviewees), and was pre-tested before live application (cf. Section 2.3). The knowledge and experience of greenspace managers of the Guangzhou Landscape Bureau provided valuable expert inputs and insights. Secondly, the actual cost (entrance fees) of using greenspaces in the study area (mainly parks) for recreation and amenities was considered. Thirdly, the average income of residents in the study area, with implications on affordability, was encompassed. Although the proposed bids might influence the answers, the assisted-response approach provided useful clues and was considered less burdensome

for respondents (Cummings et al., 1986; Boyle and Bishop, 1988; Mitchell and Carson, 1989; Hoevenagel, 1994). A weakness of the open-ended approach is under-valuation of environmental goods or services (Cummings et al., 1986; Kealy and Turner, 1993). It is, however, common to adopt a conservative approach in relation to the application of the findings to policy making. The questionnaire consisted of four parts. The first included purpose of the study, instructions to answer questions, and definitions of two key terms (urban greenspaces and recreational activities) to help respondents understand the questions. The second part solicited actual recreational experiences and activities through seven groups of questions: places for recreation, reasons for choosing the venues, frequency of visitation, timing of recreation pursuits, purposes of recreational activities, companions during recreation events, and money paid to use the sites. These questions set the stage to help respondents understand for what they were being asked to pay. The third part tackled willingness-to-pay to use urban greenspaces. Interviewees could select their own monthly maximum willingness-to-pay amount from a payment card or specify an amount in a blank box. The last part of the questionnaire gleaned socioeconomic information: gender, age group, educational level, place of residence and monthly income. Such data helped to assess whether the sample was representative of the general population (Garrod and Willis, 1999; Bateman et al., 2002), and whether socioeconomic status affects recreation pursuits and willingness-to-pay. 2.3. Sampling, survey methods and data analysis A pilot test was conducted before implementing the full-scale survey. A focus group was formed to serve this purpose, consisting of four postgraduate students from the Zhongshan University, two postgraduates from the South China Agriculture University, two experts from the Guangzhou Landscape Bureau, and 40 residents from a housing street block. The pilot test aimed at verifying whether the questionnaire was logical and unambiguously worded, and whether respondents could correctly understand it. The six postgraduate students, who would serve as research assistants in the subsequent main survey, were trained in the procedures and etiquette of conducting the pilot

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test. The pilot provided hints for several refinements to make the questionnaire user-friendlier. The main survey was conducted from 26 February to 19 March 2003 and successfully interviewed 340 respondents face-to-face. The sampling population was composed of residents living within the central built-up area of Guangzhou. The 18–70 age range was chosen because residents outside the range usually need not pay to use the city’s public infrastructure. A clustered sampling framework was adopted, which was considered suitable and economical for the survey of large populations (Jakobsson and Dragun, 1996; Bateman et al., 2002). Firstly, 34 residential street blocks were chosen randomly with the help of the Guangzhou Census Office, which keeps basic information on residents. Residents in the chosen streets were randomly selected and interviewed by survey assistants. After completing the questionnaire, each respondent was presented with a small gift as a token of appreciation. The rigorous training imparted on the interviewers played a key role in ascertaining the quality and consistency of survey. They provided assistance and prompts when respondents had difficulty understanding the questions, and motivated them to finish the questionnaire independently. Although a relatively elaborate exercise (Kopp et al., 1997), the method had been designed and refined to maximize the validity and reliability of the survey data. Table 1 summarizes the steps that were taken to reduce potential bias. It should be acknowledged that similar to most contingent valuation case studies, the degree to which these precautions and mitigations

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could successfully reduce the biases could not be validated independently (Jakobsson and Dragun, 1996; Bateman et al., 2002; Xu et al., 2003). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 11 software. The questionnaire asked respondents to specify their willingness-to-pay to use urban greenspaces, and the quantified responses were used to calculate monetary value of urban greenspaces. The average willingness-to-pay (5% was trimmed from the responses to effect a more conservative estimate) was multiplied by the number of affected population (Carson, 1991; Garrod and Willis, 1999; Bateman et al., 2002), which is defined as permanent residents in the study area aged 18–70 who have to pay to use public infrastructure. The effect of socioeconomic factors on willingnessto-pay and the marginal effect of income were analyzed by the Eviews software. An ordered probit model (Greene, 2000, pp. 878–879) was used to estimate the association between willingness-to-pay and basic socioeconomic variables such as gender, age, education level and income. The Chinese currency Renminbi (RMB) was used, with the exchange rate at about US$1.00 = RMB8.26.

3. Results 3.1. Response rate and data validation Face-to-face interview resulted in a high response rate of 98.53%. Five questionnaires were discarded

Table 1 Potential bias and precautionary or mitigating measures to reduce them in the study Potential bias

Precautionary or mitigating measure

Tendency to give misrepresented responses Implied value clues

A gift was given to each respondent as a token of appreciation for participating in the interview; all responses were gleaned anonymously The bid range in payment cards was derived from a comprehensive analysis of related information and pre-tested A combination of payment card approach and open-ended response approach was adopted Questions in part two could give respondents a clear portrayal of the ecosystem services to be valuated and useful hints on payment choice Payment vehicles were avoided in the questionnaire; it was assumed that any payment approaches preferred by respondents were feasible, hence the potential bias resulting from the unfamiliarity with payment methods could be reduced Respondents were interviewed face-to-face, aided by explanations where necessary

Theoretical misspecification Payment vehicle biasa

Scenario misspecification

a Based on ecosystem services studied, payment vehicles such as donation, taxation, entrance fees and utility bills would be correspondingly adopted. The non-acceptance or unfamiliarity of the payment vehicle may lead to protest responses (Cummings et al., 1986; Garrod and Willis, 1999; Hoevenagel, 1994; Jakobsson and Dragun, 1996).

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as outliers because the stated willingness-to-pay was too high (exceeding stated income by 5%). The high response rate may be due to city-dwellers heightened interest in urban greenspaces, and that they seldom have the chance to express their opinions about public affairs. Although the interviewers attempted to minimize missing data by in situ checking before ending the interviews, some respondents were unwilling to disclose their income level. This was where most data were missing. The rather long and complicated questionnaire, each requiring about 30 min completing, might have induced some omissions. For each of the 105 questions, missing data ranged from 0 to 6.7%. Ten point seven per cent of the questionnaires had one or more missing items. Concerning socioeconomic characteristics (Table 2), respondents were evenly distributed between male (49.7%) and female (50.3%). About 43.6% of the respondents were aged 31–50, which was the most frequent age group. Thirty-eight per cent and 18.4% of the respondents respectively fall within the 18–30 and 51–70 brackets. Twenty-three per cent of the respondents have obtained a university or higher degree. In terms of monthly income, 70 age groups in the survey, the proportion of respondents with university education was expected

to be raised. Two most frequent answers given by respondents who refused to be interviewed were “I am busy” and “I do not understand the issues in your questionnaire”. Over 70% of respondents who refused to be interviewed had lower education level, as indicated by information supplied by resident committees. However, no evidence indicated that the education level of respondents had any significant relationship with willingness-to-pay. As socioeconomic attributes of the sample were not significantly different from the general Guangzhou population except in education, it was considered acceptable to project estimates of willingnessto-pay from the sample to the population (Cummings et al., 1986; Bateman et al., 2002). 3.2. Pattern of recreational use of urban greenspaces Parks were the most preferred places for recreation and amenity enjoyment in Guangzhou, with 47.3% of the respondents stating they visited parks very often, and 12.1% visited parks often (Table 3). Fewer respondents chose residential and institutional greenspaces, at 22.5 and 18.9% respectively. Small pocket gardens in street blocks near homes were the least visited. When no greenspaces were present within walking distance (usually 1500 m), respondents would travel to parks or institutional grounds on weekends. This explained that these two kinds of greenspaces were ranked high for occasional use, and reflected their better quality and attractiveness. In Guangzhou, urban greenspace visitation was largely induced by accessibility. Ninety point five per

Table 2 Comparison of respondents’ selected socioeconomic characteristics with 2000 census data of Guangzhou Variable

Category

Survey (%)

Census (%)

Differencea (%)

Gender

Male Female 18–30 31–50 51–70 University and higher Others <1000 1000–3000 >3000

49.7 50.3 38.0 43.6 18.4 23.1 76.9 43.2 40.4 16.4

52.1 47.9 33.6 44.8 21.7 12.0 88.0 34.3 47.9 17.8

−2.4 2.4 4.5 −1.2 −3.3 11.1 −11.1 8.9 −7.5 −1.4

Age

Education level Monthly income (RMB)

Data source: Guangdong Census Office (2002), Horizon Research (2001). a Difference is calculated by subtracting census per cent from survey per cent.

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Table 3 Respondents’ frequency of use of greenspaces for recreation and amenities in Guangzhou Green space category

Parks Green venues around residences of respondents Nearby institutions with good green spaces Small gardens in street block Total a

Aggregate scorea

Valid respondents (%) Very often

Often

Occasionally

47.3 22.5 18.9 10.0 98.7

12.1 18.0 11.2 10.0 51.3

18.6 7.1 10.6 5.6 41.9

184.7 110.6 89.7 55.6

Aggregate score is calculated by summing the weights given to: very often = 3, often = 2, occasionally = 1.

cent of respondents ranked “proximity to residence, work place or school” as a very important or important factor (Fig. 2), with proximity meaning within walking distance (1500 m) or easily reachable by public transport. Moreover, cleanliness, beautiful views within the parks, tranquility, high green coverage and good maintenance were also rated the most important reasons for site selection. The presence of birds and other wildlife,

water bodies and special personal reasons were accorded low priority. Guangzhou residents were highly active in using urban greenspaces, with 74.2% of respondents visiting at least once a week. Moreover, over half of the respondents (52.1%) used them more than twice per week (Fig. 3). Sites located within or near residential or working places without an entrance fee attracted

Fig. 2. Mean ranking of respondents’ stated reasons for using greenspaces as recreation and amenities venues in Guangzhou (notes: ranking 2 = very important; 1 = important; 0 = unclear (neither important nor unimportant); −1 = not important).

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Fig. 3. Frequency of respondents’ use of greenspaces for recreation and amenities in Guangzhou (per cent of valid respondents).

more use. Retired people used greenspaces more often than others due to more leisure time and exemption from entrance fees (aged >70). This pattern of patronage is largely similar to dings of Tyrv¨ainen and V¨aa¨ n¨anen (1998). Two-thirds of the respondents (67.8%) visited greenspaces often or very often on weekends (Table 4). Recreation was typically conducted in the morning (36.7%) or in the evening (47.9%), and hot afternoons were avoided. In addition, 17.2% of the respondents, mostly retired persons, often visited greenspaces during weekdays. More occasional visitors preferred morning and afternoon visits than evening in both

weekdays and weekends. Well-designed landscape and beautiful views, other than accessibility, were principal motives for choosing greenspaces. Respondents stated the purposes of using greenspaces, in order of importance, to be relaxation, quietude, physical exercise, nature appreciation, and aesthetic pleasure (Table 5). Companionship during patronage has been identified as a key determinant of recreational satisfaction (Garrod and Willis, 1999). In Guangzhou, family members or friends usually accompanied visitors (Table 6), and 29.6% often or very often used greenspaces alone. For respondents with children, about two-thirds brought their children whose wish might be crucial

Table 4 Respondents’ timing of visitation of greenspaces in Guangzhou in terms of time of day and day of week Time

Time of day

Day of week a

Aggregate scorea

Valid respondents (%)

Morning Afternoon Evening Weekday Weekend

Very often

Often

Occasionally

21.0 2.7 22.2 7.7 31.1

15.7 7.4 25.7 9.5 36.7

21.9 21.3 16.0 19.5 18.0

Aggregate score is calculated by summing the weights given to: very often = 3, often = 2, occasionally = 1.

116.3 44.2 134.0 61.6 184.7

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Table 5 Respondents’ stated purposes of visiting greenspaces in Guangzhou Purposes

Relaxation Quietude Physical exercise Nature appreciation Aesthetic pleasure Privacy Social contact Solitude Nature studies Total a

Valid respondents (%) Very important

Important

Unclear

Not important

52.6 27.6 27.4 19.9 15.4 12.3 6.0 4.5 5.8 171.5

45.9 49.4 43.6 53.3 53.9 19.2 28.6 22.0 11.9 327.8

0.0 0.0 0.9 1.3 0.6 4.9 2.2 2.2 5.5 17.6

1.5 23.0 28.0 25.6 30.1 63.1 63.2 71.2 76.8 382.5

Aggregate scorea

S.D.

149.6 81.6 70.4 67.5 54.6 −19.3 −22.6 −40.2 −53.3

0.58 1.08 1.15 1.07 1.07 1.13 1.05 0.97 0.91

Aggregate score is calculated by summing the weights given to: very important = 2, important = 1, unclear = 0, not important = −1.

in venue selection. Neighbors and pets seldom served as companions. The results suggested the increasingly diluted relationships between neighbors in the burgeoning city, and that pet keeping was not popular in Guangzhou (and in most mainland China cities). 3.3. Willingness-to-pay to use greenspaces In Guangzhou, parks usually charge an entrance fee of RMB2-20. Respondents were asked the actual amount they paid to use urban greenspaces. This question served as a precursor helping respondents to identify their preferred payment. Although the questionnaire did not specify a payment vehicle for the use of green sites, respondents are expected to adopt the familiar entrance fee. Thus bias associated with unfamiliarity with the payment mechanism could be avoided. Thirty-seven per cent of the respondents did not need to pay to use urban greenspaces. They usually

visited venues that did not levy entrance fees, such as institutional grounds near their homes or local sites in residential lots. The remainder paid to use greenspaces, with 26.3% paying RMB10/month, 15.8% RMB20/month, 9.0% RMB30/month, and 11.9% paid more than RMB30/month. The highest stated amount was RMB50/month. This result suggested that a good proportion of residents were willing to pay to use high quality recreational sites. As monthly willingness-to-pay figures were used in the calculation, it is reasonable to assume that people would use greenspaces every month. After ascertaining the amount respondents actually paid to use urban greenspaces, the ensuing question solicited willingness-to-pay to use green venues based on their usual visit choice and habit. The majority (97.6%) expressed willingness-to-pay, with 22.5% willing to pay less than RMB10/month, 23.7% RMB10/month, 23.7% RMB20/month, 15.4% RMB30/month, and

Table 6 Respondents’ companionship associated with visitation of greenspaces in Guangzhou Companion

With friends With other family members Alone With children With colleagues With neighbors With pets Total a

Aggregate scorea

Valid respondents (%) Very often

Often

Occasionally

14.8 20.1 12.1 11.8 3.6 1.2 0.6 64.2

34.0 25.4 17.5 10.7 11.8 5.3 2.4 107.1

21.0 21.6 34.0 15.4 21.6 22.8 12.4 148.8

Aggregate score is calculated by summing the weights given to: very often = 3, often = 2, occasionally = 1.

133.4 132.7 105.3 72.2 56.0 37.0 19.0

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Table 7 The ordered probit model of willingness-to-pay and associated socioeconomic variables

Table 9 The marginal effect of income from the first to the second category and from the second to the third category

Variable

Coefficient

S.E.

z-Statistic

Probability

Change

Willingness-to-pay

First to second

Second to third

Monthly income Age Education level Gender Constant

0.368 0.045 −0.112 −0.145 0.164

0.086 0.092 0.132 0.124 0.226

4.285 0.482 −0.847 −1.171 0.723

0.000 0.630 0.397 0.241 0.470

P(y = 1) P(y = 2) P(y = 3) P(y = 4) P(y = 5)

RMB30/month

−0.118 −0.029 0.033 0.049 0.065

−0.086 −0.052 0.000 0.041 0.097

12.4% more than RMB30/month. Among socioeconomic factors, only income level had a significant positive influence on willingness-to-pay (Table 7). It lends validation to the survey results, because according to economic theory, income and willingness-topay are positively correlated (Jakobsson and Dragun, 1996). Gender and education did not seem to influence willingness-to-pay (Table 7). Table 8 presents the willingness-to-pay by socioeconomic factors. Overall, respondents with monthly income RMB3000 increased more respondents’ willingness-to-pay to >RMB30/month. The marginal effect of income was analyzed using the ordered probit model. When the income changed from

the first (RMB3000/month), the probability of choosing the
Table 8 Respondents’ willingness-to-pay to use greenspaces in Guangzhou assessed by selected socioeconomic variables Socioeconomic variable

Aggregate scorea

Valid respondents (%) None 30 RMB/month

Gender Male Female Age <30 30–50 >50 Education level University and higher Others Monthly income RMB3000/month a

1.8 2.9

20.4 24.6

20.4 26.9

25.7 21.6

18.0 12.9

13.8 11.1

1912.0 1655.0

1.2 2.5 5.9

24.6 12.6 29.2

24.6 24.4 19.6

28.7 20.2 13.7

13.8 21.0 7.8

7.2 19.3 13.7

1645.0 2113.0 1398.0

1.1 3.7

19.5 26.6

24.1 24.1

27.6 20.3

14.9 16.5

12.6 12.7

1841.5 1783.0

4.3 0.8 1.4

33.1 14.6 15.9

25.9 21.5 23.2

18.1 30.8 21.7

9.4 19.2 20.3

9.4 13.1 17.4

1444.5 2004.0 2050.5

Aggregate score is calculated by summing the weights given to: none = 0, RMB30/month = 40.

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population (Carson, 1991; Garrod and Willis, 1999). The value was then multiplied by the number of the affected population living in the study area (aged 18–70, total 2,699,634 persons based on 2000 census, correspondingly reduced by the questionnaire response rate of 98.53%). It is assumed that non-respondents and protests (the 2.4% of the respondents who were unwilling to pay) had zero value (Boyle and Bishop, 1988). As the computation included only the affected population living in the built-up area of Guangzhou, it might underestimate the monetary value of urban greenspaces. Specifically, the contingent valuation methodology excluded the value that could otherwise be attributed to some sectors, such as those dwelling outside but travel to green sites in the study area, and non-citizens (including visitors) living in the study area. The willingness-to-pay for recreation–amenity services generated by greenspaces in Guangzhou was computed to be RMB547.09 million per annum.

4. Discussion 4.1. Uncommon and unique recreational behavior in Guangzhou The survey results suggested that Guangzhou residents have strong preference for large green sites with a wide range of recreational facilities, high-quality sites with better design and management, and well vegetated sites with high green coverage and mature trees provided key attraction to users. Such preferences are similar to those expressed in other cities (Walker and Duffield, 1983). Residents, however, differed in their weak preference for solitude and privacy, water bodies, and birds and other wildlife (Table 5). Such uncommon inclinations hint that Guangzhou residents are well adapted to a ubiquitously gregarious existence and crowding in the compact city, and pragmatically do not anticipate or demand chances for solitude or privacy in urban greenspaces. The high-density living environment is accompanied by shortage of greenspaces and their heavy patronage. The weak preference, however, could also echo the dearth of suitable opportunities to satisfy a latent human desire. Opportunities for more privacy in public open spaces could be provided by

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partitioning and screening spaces to form secluded enclosures with the help of vegetation. The common occurrence of natural and cultural water bodies in Guangzhou probably has reduced their novelty effect. The city’s situation at the head of the Pearl River Estuary, with tributaries slicing through the urban core providing ample land–water interfaces, could contribute to a fatigue effect. Measures could be adopted to counter this apathy, such as the creation of non-descript or innovative designs and the incorporation of facilities for water sports and games. Concerning the stated purposes for visiting greenspaces (Table 5), ranking nature appreciation as rather important (Table 5) apparently contradicts the low priority accorded to birds and other wildlife (Fig. 2). As birds and other wildlife are uncommonly encountered in greenspaces within built-up areas, people have limited encounters or learning opportunities to nurture awareness of their importance. The chronic detachment could have desensitized some urban residents to a key component of the natural world. It appears that their nature appreciation has a confined scope, limiting to the static, passive and scenic features such as landscape, trees and the green ambience serving largely as a backdrop for outdoor recreation. It also hints an inherent preference for the visually dominant plants rather than the more transient, mobile, if not elusive, animals in urban greenspaces. The lack of relevant information and knowledge on urban wildlife probably has hindered this aspect of nature appreciation. It may be worthwhile to augment education and publicity on urban ecology to enhance interpretive and educational use of natural elements in urban greenspaces. Three strands of spatial–temporal user behaviors deserve attention. Visitation expressed a temporal leap-frogging of hot afternoons, and instead tended to cluster in the morning and evening. Landscape design could help to lure afternoon users by more extensive provision of shading in the form of living shelters: trees, pergolas and arbors. Vegetation could reduce thermal energy absorption and increase cooling by evapotranspiration. Visitation also tended to leap-frog weekdays and concentrate on weekends. As schools require open space access during weekdays, some venues with appropriate modifications could test the feasibility of shared use between students and the public in weekday afternoons. Such arrangements could solve two problems, namely under-utilization

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of some public greenspaces and shortage of school activity spaces. Visitation also demonstrated an unusual spatial leap-frogging of sites situated close to homes (small gardens in street block; Table 3). In other cities, sites situated near residences commonly receive heavy use (Hayward and Weitzer, 1984), with increasing distance to greenspaces discouraging daily use for recreation (Tyrv¨ainen and Miettinen, 2000). The spatial avoidance of poor sites near homes, despite convenient location within walking distance, signifies the importance attached to site design, quality and maintenance. The study of Ankara’s urban parks also indicated the importance of service quality (Oguz, 2000). The lack of good quality venues near homes denotes a shortcoming in Guangzhou’s greenspace system, and suggests the need to upgrade provision in readily accessible locations. The social and psychological benefits of greenspaces located near places of residence or work, and their contribution to sustainable city, could be duly emphasized in site upgrading endeavors (Chiesura, 2004). Future recreational planning could revamp these neglected sites, with a view to matching the needs of local residents (Burgess et al., 1988) and promoting social integration (Solecki and Welch, 1995; Gobster, 1998). Localizing some recreational demands at the neighborhood level could reduce the undue pressure placed on district or city level sites especially during weekends. Where appropriate, such small sites could serve as internal reserve spaces to foster community building besides serving amenity functions (Freestone and Nichols, 2004). Greenspaces in the grounds of institutional land use serve as surrogate parks, with most sites operating an informal open access policy. Whereas public use is not enshrined as a right, it is widely accepted by habitual non-interference. The general low building density and high green cover of such sites attract nearby residents. They relieve greenspace shortage in some neighborhoods, and contribute significantly to the city’s greenspace stock. Recently, such sites have been increasingly infilled or redeveloped to a higher intensity. It may be worthwhile to protect them from degradation, and improve them by better provision of greenery and recreational facilities. If possible, some sites could be converted into urban parks after relocating the institutional uses to other areas. It is important that they remain open to public use and not become gated properties with restricted access that will shrink

the urban greenspace pool. At present, this source of amenity has been provided by default, and it has been gradually lost by default. Their contribution to recreation and amenity in the city should be officially recognized and proactively promoted. Unavoidable losses of such green institutional sites could be compensated by new greenspaces elsewhere. Accessibility has important influence on greenspace selection in Guangzhou. The city’s rapid development has ushered substantial improvements in road network and mass transit. In developed countries, car-parking availability influences recreational choice and satisfaction (Garrod and Willis, 1999), but this factor was not studied because few residents own cars. Usually no parking space is attached to greenspaces in urban Guangzhou. With gradual growth in car ownership, this facility may play increasing roles in the choice of venues. The improving accessibility due to the expansion of the mass transit railway network could inform future location of greenspaces. The increasing mobility of residents would expand their sphere of influence, siphoning off some recreational pressure to the urban-fringe countryside, thus spreading users to an enlarged hinterland largely circumscribed by the day-trip envelope. Thus another episode of spatial leapfrogging could be triggered due to bypassing of some urban greenspaces that have become relatively less attractive in the competitive interplay. Future greenspace planning could adopt a landscape ecological approach to maximize spatial, environmental and social benefits (Jim and Chen, 2003). 4.2. Willingness-to-pay to use greenspaces The proportion of willing-to-pay respondents was higher than other case studies (e.g. Tyrv¨ainen and V¨aa¨ n¨anen, 1998; Lorenzo et al., 2000; Oguz, 2000; Tyrv¨ainen, 2001), suggesting that Chinese urban residents are accustomed to paying to use greenspaces whereas in many countries no admission charge is levied. It also implies that citizens treat salubrious outdoor recreation in urban greenspaces as an important leisure pursuit, and that they are willing to pay to fulfill this need. The protest bids (unwilling to pay) could be explained by non-use of greenspaces, poor economic status (low income or unemployment) and hence inability to pay, and difficulty in expressing the somewhat abstract idea of valuation in monetary

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terms. These reasons were analogous to those reported by other empirical studies (e.g. Tyrv¨ainen and V¨aa¨ n¨anen, 1998; Tyrv¨ainen, 2001). Compared with 37% of respondents who reported paying nothing to use greenspaces, residents were potentially willing to pay to use preferred green sites. Moreover, residents were willing to pay more than the present entrance fees based on recent use habits and intensities. In sum, the valuation of greenspace services in Guangzhou outstrips the management outlays (at RMB82.7 million in 2000; Guangzhou Landscape Bureau, 2002) by six times, offering generous justifications and room for the municipal government to increase the relevant budget and further improve the quantity and quality of greenspace provision. Other studies found that willingness-to-pay was linked to education, previous experience with greenspaces and demographic factors (Brunson and Reiter, 1996; Tahvanainen et al., 2001; Tyrv¨ainen et al., 2003). However, this study found that only income had a significant positive influence, implying that Guangzhou residents judge recreation and amenity enjoyment as superior goods, and not a basic if not routine part of everyday life. In general it connotes that those with relatively higher income could better afford it, or the corollary that the operation of market force could exclude some who are less able to pay. In a study to preserve community urban forests in Mandeville city, New Orleans, Lorenzo et al. (2000) found that the amounts residents were willing to pay were correlated with income but had no association with age and education. On the contrary, in Joensuu, Finland, income had no influence on willingness-to-pay (Tyrv¨ainen and V¨aa¨ n¨anen, 1998). Overall, these empirical studies indicate that urban greenspaces are subject to a dichotomous perception, either as superior goods that differentiates those able to pay from the less able, or simply a basic element of urban life especially where affordability is not an issue. A similar income effect has been found in several valuation studies on nature conservation (Pope and Jones, 1990). The valuation of greenspaces or other environmental goods may sometimes generate dissimilar results, echoing the divergent interpretations due to differences in cultural and management systems. Few previous studies dealt with assessment of recreation and amenity value of urban greenspaces. Comparing the present findings with other studies needs to consider some provisos, as in many aspects

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Guangzhou is different from western cities. Firstly, greenspaces in Guangzhou have different inherent characteristics, such as species composition, structure, canopy cover, growth condition and upkeep. Secondly, the cultural background of Guangzhou citizens may engender different attitudes towards greenspace services. For instance, the positive attitude towards urban greenspaces is underscored by a propensity to pragmatic recreational opportunities, being less inclined to appreciate the higher-order benefits of nature. Thirdly, Guangzhou residents are exposed to a different market ambience that is evolving from a centrally planned to a free-market model, and this backdrop might mold willingness-to-pay. Finally, residents’ awareness of affordability may affect willingness-to-pay expression. More studies about greenspaces in Chinese cities are expected to deepen the understanding of recognition and expectation of their services. 4.3. Applicability of contingent valuation method Different approaches have been developed to value recreation–amenity services of greenspaces, such as contingent valuation, (Schulze et al., 1983; Morey et al., 1991) travel cost (Willis and Garrod, 1991; McKean et al., 1995; Garrod and Willis, 1997), hedonic pricing (More et al., 1988; Tyrv¨ainen, 1997; Tyrv¨ainen and Miettinen, 2000), and other stated preference methods (Garrod and Willis, 1997; Bateman et al., 2002). The wide range of approaches partly reflect the increasing interest and need to find a balance between development and conservation, and the advantages and disadvantages of the diversified methods in valuing natural capital (Price, 1995; Bateman et al., 2002). The present study lends support that contingent valuation is a suitable and reliable way to price recreation and amenity services of urban greenspaces. Overall, the findings suggest that contingent valuation could be applied to China despite its unique socioeconomic circumstances in comparison with western countries. This is a pioneer application of contingent valuation to an empirical study in China. The query about the applicability or indeed relevance of the method in China (Xu et al., 2003) has been answered. This study demonstrates that appropriately designed and refined, the technique could be applied successfully to China in an old metropolis that is undergoing fast expansion and renewal. The relatively well-educated population in the

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study area is more amenable to probing by the method. Properly rehearsed and honed skills in survey sampling and interviewing provide a sound foundation for such studies. Theoretically, contingent valuation could measure the economic value of many kinds of services provided by natural areas and goods, especially the nonmarketed types. However, suitable techniques to minimize potential bias should be incorporated (Blamey, 1996). In general, the study establishes that method could aid cost-benefit analysis with good potentials for further research on different public and environmental goods in China and other developing countries. In contingent valuation, many problems may arise from sampling, questionnaire design, information provided to the respondents, and payment mechanisms (Mitchell and Carson, 1989). Since the Chinese public is unfamiliar with the payment method, future research could focus on the acceptable payment mechanisms for public goods, so that respondents could use the same payment vehicle for a given type of public goods. Research could also extend to the effects of different kinds of urban greenery and spaces on land value, property price, tax revenue, choice of locations for domestic and foreign investment, attraction to high quality employees, environmental and ecological services and their monetary values. In cities, natural capital such as remnant natural pockets and their emulations in the form of parks, gardens and other greenspaces can serve many important and yet often neglected ecosystems functions (Bolund and Hunhammar, 1999; Fenech et al., 2003). The conversion of such divergent, direct and indirect benefits into dollars will help their understanding, acceptance and incorporation into public decisions.

5. Conclusion User survey could provide pertinent information to glean and gauge community expectations, wishes and needs related to urban greenspaces. The present questionnaire study has helped to decipher the somewhat unusual spatial–temporal recreational pattern and behavior of Guangzhou residents, suggesting room for improvements in planning, design, management and conservation. A social-behavioral approach is proposed to supplement the present one based largely on professional assumptions which could become patronizing or anachronistic. By obtaining

user feedbacks in an interactive planning process, greenspaces could cater to the diversified needs of different social groups in terms of choice of facilities and opportunities. Shifting from a conventional supply-led to a precision user-centered approach could meet the clientele’s multiple expectations and enhance the societal relevance of greenspaces. The municipal authorities could respond to objective survey findings by refurbishing and re-vitalizing under-used sites, especially those situated near homes. They could aim at revamping and re-inventing the mindset, rationales and processes of urban greenspace as a key municipal service, aiming squarely at improving the quality of life of urban residents dwelling in the crowded and stressful city milieu. The general public valuation approach applied in this study provides insights for sustainable city policy in relation to greenspaces. The estimate of willingness-to-pay emanates from the premises that social values should be based on individual values, which could be considered as consistent with democratic support of policies (Nunes, 2002). Many municipal governments tend to emphasize science and its associated rationalism (Jepson and Canney, 2003) in making decisions related to nature conservation and provision. Too little attention is paid to ordinary citizens’ concerns and aspirations that often stress the practical considerations. There is a need to bring the two parties together and merge their respective outlooks so that urban greenspaces could truly serve the actual users. To be successful in this endeavor, governments have to gauge lay public opinions in a more proactive manner, and to factor in the sentiment and mentality of stakeholders. The general lack of understanding of ecosystem services provided by natural capital imposes a bottleneck. Besides adopting the usual public participation approach (Lindsey and Knaap, 1999), the need to provide high-level information through public education programs, such as expressing greenspace benefits in monetary terms, could allow informed and collective debates, discussions, deliberations and decisions. China’s progressive move towards a free-market economy would heighten the conflicts between public and private interests. Hence it is all the more important to establish a balancing mechanism to ensure that urban development and redevelopment will have a human face that can raise quality of life and embrace urban livability and sustainability ideals. The opportunities to

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find a delicate and lasting equilibrium between development and economic growth, and between produced assets and natural resources (Hamilton and Dixon, 2003), is there to be grasped by the world’s developing countries. Whether they will follow the conservativeconventional approach or move into the brave new world of smart growth (Gatrell and Jensen, 2002) will hinge on the recognition that there are attainable alternatives that will usher sustainable benefits. Acknowledgements The authors would like to express gratitude to the research grant support kindly provided by the Hui Oi Chow Trust Fund and Committee on Research and Conference Grants of the University of Hong Kong, and the Urban China Research Network Small Grant Award of the Urban China Research Network at the University of Albany.

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