contingent valuation approach

JOURNAL OF

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Journal of Economic Psychology 16 (1995) 223-245

The social costs and benefits of urban consolidation: A time budget/contingent valuation approach Brian J. Bishop *, Geoffrey J. Syme CSIRO Curtin Centre for Applied Psychological Research, Private Bag, PO Wembley, Western Australia 6014, Australia

Received 25 January 1995; revised 13 February 1995

Abstract Assessing social costs and benefits of alternative housing density policies can be problematical using traditional attitudinal surveys. In most cases such surveys in Australia tend to oppose increased urban consolidation. This paper discusses the reasons for this before providing an alternative m e t h o d for providing data which is amenable to traditional c o s t - b e n e f i t analysis. A time based quality of life index was administered to matched households of differing block size, location and suburban housing density. People were asked to estimate their current weekly time allocation and how they would like it to change. Willingness to pay for such a change was assessed within the constraints of current income. It was found that housing type and location did not affect perceived quality of life as measured by this time based indicator. A number of theoretical issues pertaining to time valuation are discussed. Possible future research directions are outlined.

I. Introduction

Many cities that have grown up since the development of modern forms of transport were developed at much lower densities than had been the practice in earlier centuries. More recently, concerns about excessive

* Corresponding author. Fax: +61 9 387-0261; Tel.: +61 9 387-0265. 0167-4870/95/$09.50 © 1995 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved SSDI 0 1 6 7 - 4 8 7 0 ( 9 5 ) 0 0 0 0 6 - 2

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resource use in such low density cities have arisen. As a result, the issue of urban consolidation (increasing the density of areas that have already been developed) has become a high profile one in many places, for example in Perth and other Australian cities. Australian Commonwealth, State and local governments have all mounted initiatives to examine ways of increasing housing densities. Many of the proposals have suggested that urban densities can be increased by providing more smaller lot sizes on which traditional detached houses can be constructed. These opportunities can be provided by creation of smaller lots in greenfield sub-divisions or by promoting urban infill (e.g. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, 1992). While at a metropolitan physical planning level there seems to be strong support for the provision of smaller lots closer to the city, the social and economic costs and benefits are less easy to quantify. This is particularly the case if altered densities affect lifestyle. Urban consolidation proposals will only be successful in the long term if they provide an adequate level of quality of life for residents in both private and public sector housing (Hillier and Wood, 1992). The issue for decision makers then becomes; how to address the problem of incorporating social values in overall density or consolidation policy. In the past in Perth, as elsewhere, planners have attempted to assess the social consequences of increased density by undertaking attitudinal studies or responding to advocacy groups in relation to increased density generally or of particular forms of medium density housing (e.g. Mueller et al., 1991, Stamps and Miller, 1993). In general, attitudes towards consolidation and medium density housing have been shown to be from moderately to highly negative in the Australian culture (Mueller et al., 1991). Munro-Clark and Thorne (1987) reviewed the housing attitudinal literature in Australia and have concluded that detached housing was most preferred before duplexes (two small semi-detached dwellings on the same lot). Acceptance of increasingly large developments of medium density housing followed and high rise development is least preferred. Finally, Stamps and Miller (1993) have concluded that consultation with advocacy groups in "infill" designs may not be beneficial for planning for the public good. The responses that have been revealed are so predictable that some planners now oppose any further attitudinal studies on the grounds that they know what the public think and that any form of "reasonable" reaction cannot be expected from the community. But perhaps a more

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useful approach may be to consider why such attitudes are so reliably expressed (Australian Institute of Urban Studies, 1993). To begin with, most research is conducted in the context of some potential change in the study location. Therefore, respondents may approach answering questions in the context of being fearful of a negative change to their current, pleasant neighbourhood situation, Authors such as Regan and Fazio (1977), for example, have shown that attitudes only relate to actual reaction when the respondent has a direct experience with the attitude object. The respondent's often nebulous concern may be exacerbated by the limitations of survey methodology. In asking opinions about various housing types or densities it is hard to be very specific in an interview situation. For example diagrams or photographs of housing types can be presented or generalised descriptions of what a more "consolidated" suburb looks like might be offered. The respondent is then in the position of having to recall real-life examples of locations they have experienced which seem to fit the examples provided in the question. In many cases these schemata are not those which would seem to be congruent with what is known and loved by respondents who live in low density neighbourhoods. Many responses may therefore represent generalised avoidance of risks associated with change (Hoffer, 1952), strategic response (Schulze et al., 1981), territorialism (Malmberg, 1980), expectation or stereotyping of possible future residents (Hamilton et al., 1990), or a generalised symbolic judgments about what consolidation or increased density really means (Tesser and Danheiser, 1978). It is difficult to judge whether or not one or all of these effects are involved in the context of the reasonably simple preference types of questions asked in such study. As a consequence, the value of such responses to policy makers is dubious. A further difficulty occurring with survey methodology is that the beneficiaries of any specific policy change cannot be sampled with any conviction. As a result the exercise of attitudinal measurement in these types of exercises would seem to be biased against consolidation policy. What then are the alternatives? One approach may be to abandon generalised attitudinal studies and interview people at the point when they are intending to buy a dwelling. This would establish what lot size, housing and neighbourhood needs they have. This has been the tactic of many involved with marketing in the housing industry. The problem with this approach in the Perth situation is that there is usually quite a conservative

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range of housing types, lot sizes and suburban designs within the location that the prospective buyer may be looking. Choice and preference may be limited by experience of what is available in preferred locations and therefore biased against alternative forms of development. Perhaps a more feasible alternative is to examine quality of lifestyle within different housing types and neighbourhoods with differing housing densities. To do this one needs to adopt a model of housing environments as "nested environmental realms" with the dwelling unit being contained within the neighbourhood and both within the community (Campbell et al., 1976; Gruber and Shelton, 1987). Such a model has some empirical support. For example, results of the research by Gruber and Shelton suggest that while conventional housing satisfaction is unrelated to overall neighbourhood satisfaction, those living in apartments do integrate neighbourhood feelings with overall housing satisfaction. Thus changes in housing density may alter perceptions of and the significance of the neighbourhood. Satisfaction with one's home and neighbourhood environment has been posited to consist of a combination of the range of activities conducted and the time allocated to each (Michelson, 1977). Overall quality of life therefore depends on both the objective physical aspects of the environment and the subjective feelings of satisfaction with the activities and time allocation allowed by the physical environment (Eyles, 1990). But Michelson (1993) has noted the paucity of time allocation studies in the micro-environment such as the relationship between housing design and its effects on neighbouring behaviour. In a pioneering study he has demonstrated that time diary data can be a sensitive indicator of the effects of the proximate physical environment on time allocation and its perceived quality. Comparable, but more generalised, time allocation and activity studies have been successful in wider studies of the quality of urban living and in comparisons of differing housing types (Chapin, 1974; Michelson, 1977) and to establish general patterns of social change (Robinson and Converse, 1972). There has as yet been no controlled attempt to apply such methodology on density or lot size issues or assessing time allocation within a quality of life context. In this exploratory study we therefore examine the potential of a variation of a time/activity based social indicator (Hobson and Mann, 1975) to assist in assessing the social or quality of life costs and benefits of differing physical environments. In this case the time-based quality of life effects of living on smaller lots sizes in the Perth metropolitan area were

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examined in the context of varying neighbourhood densities and socio-economic status (see Bonnes et al., 1991). Basically, this social indicator examines current time allocation to differing discretional activities and then asks the respondent to identify those time allocations with which they are happy and those which they would like to change. From this information an index of relative "happiness" with the way in which the respondent conducts his or her life can be derived and directly related to physical characteristics of the environment. Measuring attitudes or reported time allocations in the context of their existing dwellings could have some interpretive difficulties in that presumably people chose particular housing types or locations because they liked them. Cognitive consistency would tend therefore to suggest that respondents would show satisfaction with their choice. In this case no difference would be expected in terms of satisfaction for people in differing household types, neighbourhoods or locations. Nevertheless, it was felt that this was a minor problem because the time based indicator and associated attitudinal questions chosen to measure quality of life assessed peoples' responses to their everyday lives rather than their attitudes towards differing housing types. Respondents were not aware that lot size, housing types or locations types were issues when they responded to the questions. Furthermore, despite the well discussed methodological issues associated with creating accurate time budgets (Juster and Stafford, 1991) it was thought that measuring attitudes towards quality of life in this fashion would enhance validity of measurement in comparison with generalised attitudinal studies. That is, because people were reporting on their own daily lives, they would understand precisely what was being asked. In this situation, people are not responding in the context of the threat of change, so that strategic response should be minimised. Consequently, reasonably valid responses can be obtained. Another problem of relying on attitudinal measurement in this context is that it is hard to incorporate them into any systematic cost-benefit analysis of alternative urban policies. On the other hand if the time allocation change index of quality of life is used there is the possibility of using contingent valuation methodology (CVM) to assess the potential benefits of changing behaviour patterns (Mitchell and Carson, 1989). The link between time and money has a long anecdotal history and has also captured the attention of academic economists. This is particularly the case in assessing the value of recreational or voluntary time allocation (Mitchell and Carson, 1989). In this study therefore we will be applying

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CVM to the change scores of the Hobson and Mann (1975) indicator. In doing so we have also applied CVM in the context of voluntary home activities. This aligns us with the views of Bockstael et al. (1987) who have assumed that work time is non-negotiable and difficult to value. This is especially the case with CVM. Having selected this methodological approach, it was decided to apply it to a specific cost/benefit housing policy analysis in Perth. This policy analysis was a State Government initiative to arrive, among other things, at the social costs and benefits of establishing detached public housing in inner or outer areas and on lots of varying size or suburbs of differing housing densities. Since housing in Perth is often publicly developed, but sold to private interests, it was also of interest to establish whether the social benefits will vary according to socio-economic status. The work of Bonnes et al. (1991) also suggests that socio-economic status is a significant determinant of perceptions of residential and neighbourhood experience in locations varying in urban density. Other important factors in daily time allocation for individuals in relation to this urban consolidation issue were distance from the Central Business District, the amount of medium density housing in the suburb (or how much it was "consolidated"), location in which the respondent lived and, of course, residency on a small or larger block size. The hypothesis is that if there are any statistically significant differences caused by any of the three factors on the overall time based quality of life index this could be interpreted as a social cost or benefit. The willingness to pay for changes in time allocation could be interpreted as the monetary value placed by respondents on any change in living conditions, given that it is assumed individuals wish to maximise their utility within available time, income substitution (Gerner and Zick, 1983). To test whether such a model was feasible a demonstration study was conducted with a limited number of householders in Perth. A sample of 100 households was selected. They were drawn from suburbs in northern Perth which provided a range of amount of medium density housing from large (800 m 2 o r more) by Perth standards, to small (400 m 2 or less). Distance from the city was also varied from inner to outer. To allow for comparisons of quality of life on different block sizes, blocks of less than 500 m 2 w e r e "paired" with households in the same location with block sizes greater than 500 m 2. All housing was detached. Small lots were chosen only if they had similar sized lots on either side of them. Larger lots were generally dwellings either directly opposite on the other side of the

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street or dwellings as close as possible in the same street. This meant that the possible effects of smaller lot size on quality of life was being assessed with virtually all other factors, including the amount of m e d i u m density housing in the suburb controlled. Michelson (1993) points out that experience of the quality of the home and urban environment is not only a property of time allocation, but also use of space and of aesthetic feelings about physical appearance and the desirability of one's home and neighbourhood or suburb. These topics are typical of those measured in the attitudinal studies described above. Therefore, feelings and attitudes about physical, perceptual, personal and family neighbourhood issues were also included in the analysis to complete an attitudinal evaluation of the spatial environment in relation to respondent's own home and neighbourhood.

2. Method

2.1. Survey instrument A questionnaire was constructed to: (a) Measure how people use their time on an average week in "the warmer months" (Hobson and Mann, 1975). (b) Examine the extent to which they would want to change their use of time. (c) Determine what they would be prepared to pay for that change in time allocation. (d) Measure economic, social, ecological, mobility, environment and other factors related to their current housing style, (e) Examine attitudes towards service and lifestyle factors involved in housing selection. (f) Estimate privacy and community living needs. Juster and Stafford (1991) have suggested that in comparison with detailed diaries in questionnaire studies the time spent on memorable activities will be over-estimated compared with less memorable activities. However, since subjective feelings of well-being were being examined and this was done in a time change context, it was thought that such a difficulty would not significantly affect data analysis or interpretation.

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2.2. Sampling A sample of 100 households was chosen to allow examination of the following four factors: (a) Location of dwelling, either close to the centre of Perth (less than 10km. from the Central Business District, CBD), or towards the fringe areas (more than 15 km. from the CBD). The two areas will be referred as

"inner" and "outer" localities. (b) Lot size. The density of housing in Perth is medium. In the 1950s and 60s the typical block size in new developments was 800-900 m:. In the last two decades densities have increased. Block sizes in new land releases are generally about 600 m:. Urban infill is also occurring and single dwelling blocks may be 350-400 m 2. Two lot sizes were chosen. The "small" lots were 500 m: or less. These were matched after field verification, with "ordinary" size (700 m 2 plus) lots from the same suburbs. An initial pool of 600 dwellings were selected (300 small and 300 large) after extensive examination of the land use records for local government areas in the northern suburbs of Perth. From these a sample of 100 detached houses were selected (50 small and 50 large). Each selected dwelling was chosen if the neighbouring houses were of similar lot size. In other words, isolated small or large dwellings were not selected. Houses were only chosen if they were consistent with the lot sizes in the immediate neighbourhood. (c) Apparent density. Based on land use records, half the sample was selected from suburbs in which there were a high proportion of small lots, duplexes and high rise. The other half was selected from areas in which higher densities are not so apparent (below median for the number of the above lots). This allows the statistical manipulation of both actual housing densities (lot size) and the perception of densities in the respondent's local area. (d) Socio-economic status (SES). Suburbs were selected to represent equal number of houses above and below the median socio-economic status figure calculated from Australian Bureau of Statistics 1986 Census data. A matrix for generating the sampling frame was developed by systematically varying lot size, socio-economic status, apparent higher and lower densities, and inner verses outer suburbs. Within each locality selected on the basis of SES, density and fringe or non-fringe region a sample of detached houses was selected. This matrix is shown in Table 1. In summary, the design of the study allowed time budgets, desired budgets, willingness to pay, housing choice and expectations, and the social

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Table 1 Study design and numbers of respondents in each condition High SES

High density Low density

Low SES

Inner

Outer

Inner

Outer

14 11

12 12

14 12

12 12

aspects of community living, to be examined in relation to the following factors: (1) Inner or outer Perth locality. (2) Apparent density. (3) Socio-economic status. (4) Small or larger lot size.

3. Results

3.1. The sample One household did not complete the major tasks of the survey, so 99 remained in the sample. The characteristics of the sample were identified. The focus of the study was on family units. Where possible couples were interviewed, but this was not possible in most situations. Overall, 28 couples, 42 individual females and 29 individual males were interviewed. There were no differences in the distributions of males, females and couples between the inner locality and the outer, nor for larger and smaller lots, nor for the different apparent densities. There was a slight preponderance of males in the lower socio-economic status group, compared to the higher SES group. There were marginal mean differences between how long those in higher SES areas had been in their current suburb (3.1 years versus 2.6 for low SES). There were mean differences between those in smaller lots (2.5 years) and larger lots (3.2). There were no differences for inner and outer localities. Also, there were no differences between any of the groups in terms of how long they had been in their current house (average 2.6 years). The average age of the respondents was 45. The higher SES group was slightly older as was the outer locality group.

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Table 2 Time spent on current activities (hours per week) Activity

Work Travel to work a Travel-family Travel-leisure Waiting Housework/cleaning Cooking Working in g a r d e n Outdoor chores Shopping etc. Hobbies Reading Watching T V Listening to radio Recreation in garden Entertaining indoors Entertaining outdoors Visiting friends Visiting relatives a

Apparent density

SES

Inner

Outer

Low

High

Low

High

34.2 2.7 2.3 1.2 0.7 9.6 9.1 4.9 1.8 2.7 4.9 6.0 11.0 13.1 2.0 2.6 2.5 3.1 3.6

34.4 4.7 2.5 3.0 1.0 11.8 11.0 5.3 2.5 2.8 5.5 5.3 14.5 12.3 1.7 1.7 1.3 2.0 1.9

35.6 3.6 2.2 1.9 0.8 8.8 9.3 3.8 2.7 2.7 4.7 5.9 12.8 9.5 2.4 1.7 1.4 2.5 2.4

32.7 3.8 2.6 2.3 0.9 12.8 10.9 6.5 1.6 2.8 5.8 5.4 12.7 16.2 1.8 2.6 2.4 2.6 3.2

30.3 3.0 1.9 3.1 0.8 9.4 8.8 3.4 2.6 3.4 5.4 5.1 13.1 14.0 2.2 2.7 1.7 2.7 2.2

38.6 4.5 3.0 1.0 0.9 12.0 11.3 6.9 1.7 3.1 5.1 6.3 12.3 11.3 1.5 1.6 2.1 2.5 3.3

Location

a ~

~

~ ~

a

a a

a a ~

a a a a

a a a a

a

Statistically significant comparisons of levels of the factors.

There were no differences in income between those who lived in the inner localities and the outer, nor between those who lived in small lots and those who lived in larger lots. The greater majority owned their own home (84%). The structure of the households did not differ between any of the groups.

3.2. Current activities of respondents Table 2 shows the amount of time spent by the sample on a range of activities in an average non-winter week. A week in the warmer period of the year was targeted as this is when demand for outdoor activities is greatest. As might be expected, people reported that they spent most time at work. Cleaning, cooking gardening and leisure activities were also reported to have been time consuming activities. In looking at the differences between the sample who live closer to the city and those who live further out a number of not unexpected differences emerge (Pillai's Manova

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omnibus F(24,74)= 2.13, p < 0.05). Those who live further from the city centre spend more time travelling to work and to leisure activities. The outer group spend more time watching TV and less visiting friends or entertaining. Weekly activities are not greatly affected by the lot size (Pillai's Manova omnibus F(25,54) = 1.05, p > 0.05). There were some differences between levels of apparent density of housing (Pillai's Manova omnibus F(24,68) = 3.06, p < 0.01). Those who live in apparent lower densities spend less time working in the garden, but more time doing recreational gardening and outdoor chores. People from lower apparent densities spent less time in cleaning and housework, and in entertaining indoors. Substantial differences between the activities of the higher and lower SES localities were observed (Pillai's Manova omnibus F = 4.10, p < 0.01). The differences can be summarised as follows: (1) The people from less well off localities work less. (2) The higher SES people travel more for work, and for family activities. (3) The higher SES group travel less for leisure. (4) The higher SES people spend more time cooking, gardening, but less time doing outdoor chores. (5) The people from the lower SES localities spend less time shopping, but more time entertaining indoors. Changes to current activities The respondents were asked to indicate activities they would like to change. In the main people were satisfied with their current budgeting of time. For interpretation, it has been assumed that the more people would like to change their current time allocation, the lower their perceived quality of life (Hobson and Mann, 1975). If people in consolidated suburbs have lower quality of life, this is interpreted as a social cost of consolidation. The average number of hours per week that respondents wanted to change for each activity are shown in column A in Table 3. The number desiring change varied with the type of activity. The most frequent change was housework with 49% of the sample wanting some change. On average, approximately 20% indicated change in one or more of the remaining activities. The impact of the location of the house (inner or outer suburb; apparent density), lot size and SES on changes to time budgeting were examined systematically. Only one marginally significant difference was found. People on larger lots wanted less housework. Overwhelmingly there are no

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Table 3

Preferred changes to time allocated to activities and willingness to pay (WTP) for those w h o w i s h e d to change (D) and across entire sample (B) Activity

Travel to work Travel-family Travel-leisure Waiting Housework/cleaning Cooking Working in garden Outdoor chores Shopping etc. Other family activities Hobbies Reading Watching TV Listening to radio Recreation in garden Entertaining indoors Entertaining outdoors Visiting friends Visiting relatives Other leisure activities

A

B a

C

D

Preferred change to activities across entire sample (mean hours)

WTP-average for entire sample (AS/week)

Number wishing some change

Willingness to pay for change for those wanting change (AS/week)

-

0.07 0.10 0.31 0.62 8.35 0.65 0.30 0.60 0 0.30 1.67 1.00 0.25

5 2 1 4 19 3 6 4 2 1 12 3 1

1.40 5.00 30 16 43.40 21.67 5.00 15.0 0 30 13.80 8.30 0

0.20

3 1

6.67 0

1

0

2

25

0.58 0.43 0.10 0.43 2.70 0.68 0.80 - 0.08 - 0.22 0.00 2.70 1.26 - 0.40 0.32 0.53 0.26 0.37 0.37 0.11 1.15

0.51

a The current exchange rate of the A$ was about US 74c at the time of the study.

apparent differences in how people would like to spend their time. Whether they come from outer suburbs, or have small lot sizes, live in areas that appear to be of higher densities, or from higher SES localities, does not influence what changes their would like in their time budgeting. 3.3. Willingness to p a y as an indicator

The biggest desired changes indicated in Table 3, were reducing housework, and increasing hobbies and other leisure activities. Part of the design of the study was an attempt to put dollar values to social indicators. Table 3 indicates the extent to which the respondents were able to attach dollar figures to change. The table shows the willingness to pay in two ways. The column labelled "Willingness to pay for change" (col. D) shows the average

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cost of changes for those who indicated they wanted change. It shows that some respondents were prepared to pay quite reasonable sums to pay for change. For example, the 19 respondents who said they would pay to reduce their housework (col. C) would pay $43.40 each, per week (col. D). Across the entire sample, reduction of housework represents a cost of $8.35 (col. B). It should be noted that the respondents were asked to work within their current household budget. Thus increases in expenditure would need to be balanced by cuts elsewhere. These cuts were required to be nominated. Improvements in lifestyle had to be balanced off against real dollar costs. The "willingness to pay" measures show that the areas that concern people are household chores and increased leisure. Household cleaning is the major aspect the sample would like to change. The areas of change tend to be associated with the lifestyles within the house and the closeness to the city and apparent local densities do not appear to be of major concern. 3.4. Overall change measure The indication of change can be used as a measure of the level of satisfaction with current living conditions. If people indicate massive changes in their current time budgeting, it can be assumed they are dissatisfied. An index was created from the sum of the absolute changes. The overall index was not found to be related to whether the houses was located close to the city, the apparent density, SES and lot size. Only seven variables were related to any of these variables, and these only to a small degree. Age was one factor related to the desire for change. Younger people tended to want more change than older people. People with more income tended to want more changes. This is not unexpected as the respondents were asked to consider changes in the context of the costs of change. It could be that wealthier people have more latitude to change. People who saw themselves not included in the social activities of the neighbourhood also wanted more changes. Those who were renting or indicated they wanted to move also tended to want more changes. In summary, while the sample size was small, it appears that the major variables of inner versus outer location of housing, lot size, apparent density and SES are not related to desired changes in time budgets. A provisional conclusion is that the promotion of small lots presents no social

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Table 4 Reported reasons for current house choice Reason for choice

Percent agree

Additional comments

House design

23%

House size Garden design or size Area or suburb

36% 24% 60%

Close to work

18%

Close to amenities

23%

No differences between inner and outer, lot sizes, SES and apparent density No differences No differences 76% outer locality agreed, 43% inner Inner 28%, outer 8%: Large lot 22%, small 12% High SES 32%, low SES 14% No differences No differences

Close to friends Close to relatives

6% 6%

cost in the current private market. This conclusion tends to be reinforced by the housing choice data below.

3.5. Current house choice In addition to time allocation, people were asked what factors influenced their decision in moving into their current house. The variety of reasons given are shown in Table 4. The most important factor reported by the sample was the area or suburb. People choose housing by the locality it is in. This was reported to be more true for those who choose to live in the more remote suburbs than for those closer to the city. H o u s e size was the next most important factor. There were no differences between small lot size or larger lot size, nor between inner and outer localities. Garden design and house design were reported to be a factor in the choice of housing by approximately a quarter of the sample. People w h o chose to live in inner suburbs reported being close to the city as an issue more frequently than those who lived in outer suburbs. Also people on larger lots reported this as a factor more frequently than those on small lots. Being close to amenities was a factor for a quarter of the

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sample. It was more important to those in higher SES areas than those in lower SES areas. The respondents were asked w h e t h e r they would want to move. Fifty two percent said yes. O f these 42% would move to the same suburb, while only 15% said they would move closer to the city. W h e n asked why they w a n t e d to move, 16.7% said to have a larger block and 16.7% reported they w a n t e d a smaller block. The reported desire to move was not significantly affected by location, apparent density, SES or lot size (X e, 0.38, 0.37, 0.00 and 1.57 respectively; all p > 0.05).

3.6. Privacy and social arrangements A series of questions were asked about requirements for privacy, and the nature and extent of interactions with neighbours. Inner and o u t e r localities were contrasted, as were smaller and larger lots, higher and lower apparent densities, and socio-economic status of the locality. All groups r e s p o n d e d in the same manner to all but one of the questions. People required the same distance b e t w e e n themselves and neighbours, required the same visual and audible privacy, and contact with neighbours regardless of w h e t h e r they were from inner or outer localities, smaller or larger blocks, p o o r e r or wealthier areas, or higher or lower apparent densities. W h e n people were asked w h e t h e r their home should be close to work, those who lived closer to the city agreed more frequently than those who lived further from the city. Table 5 shows the respondents' rating of their own homes. R e s p o n d e n t s indicated on a five point scale to what extent they agreed with each item. A score of 5 indicates very strong a g r e e m e n t with the statement, while a score of 1 indicates very strong disagreement. In general people have favourable views about their house and neighbourhood. They feel comfortable with their neighbours (4.1 on a 5-point scale), their friends feel comfortable in visiting them (4.2), most facilities are a d e q u a t e (4.2 to 3.4), privacy is adequate, the social and physical environments are adequate, they can afford to live there and their house is a sound investment. O n the other hand, they do not feel they had much control over planning in the area (1.9). The data were broken down by lot size and location. Table 5 shows that there were few differences in people's rating of their own homes, regardless w h e t h e r they are close to the city (inner) or the fringe (outer), nor w h e t h e r they are on small or larger lots (Pillai's Manova omnibus F s were

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Table 5 Ratings of own h o m e and neighbourhood

a

Evaluations of housing

Inner suburb

Outer suburb

Small lot

Larger lot

Feel comfortable with locals Friends feel comfortable to visit Included in local socialising A d e q u a t e schools A d e q u a t e shops A d e q u a t e medical facilities A d e q u a t e sporting facilities A d e q u a t e entertainment A d e q u a t e govt. services Locals have similar interests A d e q u a t e privacy in house A d e q u a t e privacy in yard Feel safe Local environment not ugly Local traffic not heavy Neighbourhood not crowded Environment not polluted E n o u g h greenery Peaceful Family comfortable Relatives comfortable to visit Involved in community planning Easy to establish friends Can afford to live here Sound investment

4.1 4.3

4.1 4.2

4.2 4.4

4.0 4.1

3

3

3.1

2.8

3.9 4.3 4

3.9 4.2 4.2

4.0 4.3 4.2

3.9 4.2 4.1

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.9 3.6

2.8 b 3.4

3.4 3.6

3.3 3.5

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.4

4.0

4.1

4.1

4.0

3.8

4

3.9

3.8

3.9 4.2

4 3.9

4.0 4.1

3.9 4.1

3.0

3.7 b

3.2

3.5

3.9

3.8

3.9

3.8

3.4

3.9 b

3.6

3.6

3.7 4.0 4.2 4.1

3.8 4.2 4.2 3.5 b

3.8 4.2 4.2 3.8

3.7 4.1 4.2 3.9

1.9

1.9

1.7

2.1 b

3.2

2.9

3.0

3.1

4.2

3.6

3.9

4.1

4.0

3.6

3.9

3.7

a The greater the rating the more positive the rating (scale 1 to 5). b Significant differences on univariate tests.

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F(25,56) = 2.48, p < 0.01 and F(25,57) = 0.89, ns, respectively). There are a few differences, primarily between inner and outer localities. People who live closer to the fringe rated their houses and neighbourhoods as: (1) Having poorer access to entertainment. (2) Having less heavy traffic. (3) Being less polluted. (4) Having relatives who are less comfortable visiting them. All other issues such as adequate services, appropriate avenues to socialise, privacy, similar interests with neighbours, investment potential, and the like, were not different between the two groups. When the apparent densities were contrasted, no differences between the groups were found. People who live in apparently high density environments are equally happy with their house and the neighbourhood as people who live in apparently less dense localities (Pillai's Manova omnibus F(25,57) = 0.61, ns). When the low and high SES localities were compared a number of differences emerged (Pillai's Manova omnibus F(25,57) = 2.12, p < 0.05). These were: (1) People in the higher SES were more comfortable with their neighbours. (2) The poorer localities appear to be less well served in services. Schools, shops, medical and sporting facilities were all rated as less adequate than in the higher SES areas. (3) People in the poorer areas complained of more pollution and traffic. (4) The ratings of ease of establishing close friends was also lower in the low SES areas. Overall it appears that people's ratings of their homes and neighbourhoods are not influenced by the lot size or apparent density. Satisfaction is influenced somewhat by the closeness to the city, but the ratings only reflect the realistic impact of distance and environment on access to entertainment and relatives, and on traffic and pollution. In all other aspects people in the more distant localities enjoy as good social relationships and services as people closer to Perth. To put these results into perspective, the participants in the study were also asked to rate other housing types using the same scales that they used to rate their own homes. They were presented with photographs of a detached house on a large block, a detached house on a small block and a terrace house (terrace housing consist of a row of generally two storey units with common walls between adjacent units). The photograph images were degraded by photocopying to reduce the likelihood that the dwellings or the locations could be identified. Planned contrasts of the overall ratings

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indicated that the larger block was preferred to the smaller (t(81)= 3.07, p < 0.01) and the detached houses were preferred to the terrace house (t(77) = 4.46, p < 0.01). While generalisations from these results must be made cautiously, they do indicate that there is still a general preference for larger blocks.

4. Discussion

Neither the time nor attitudinally based Quality of Life Indices indicate that there are systematic or discernible social costs to increased consolidation in Perth, at least at moderate levels of change. This was supported by the fact that people who were considering moving were evenly divided in their preferences between smaller and larger lots. Huff and Clark (1978) have suggested that the tendency to wish to move is a function of the tension between two factors: resistance to moving (caused by cumulative inertia) and environmental satisfaction (residential stress). When residential stress outweighs cumulative inertia the decision to move is made. Since the respondents in small and larger lots were of approximately the same age and length of residence it may be assumed that cumulative inertia was similar between the two groups. If more people had found greater residential stress with smaller blocks then there should have been a greater preference to those residents to return to larger blocks. This tendency was not evident with the modest sample size of movers in the this study. Given that this was not the case, the moving preference data provide support to the time based data. Nevertheless, when generalised housing stimuli were presented the familiar Australian preference for detached housing and larger blocks became evident. This tends to lend support to the contention that such preferences may be measuring symbolic rather than behaviourally based attitudes (Tesser and Danheiser, 1978). The present data support the notion that the Perth housing market is efficient in economic terms: people do not want to make changes that they could secure at current prices within their current incomes. By and large, little interest was shown in changing time allocations (except, perhaps for housework). Further, small amounts of money were offered for paying for these changes. The attitudinal data showed similar "contentment", with any dissatisfaction being related to the actuality of the comparative lack of services in the outer suburbs. The request seems to be for more timely planning of services in this case rather than an objection to

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location per se. This has been acknowledged by some local planners as a persistent problem in Perth generally. Small lot size does not seem to affect either home based or attitudinal responses to the wider environment. The acceptance of smaller lot size seems emphasised by the comparative lack of interest in lot size as a determinant of housing choice. Density of housing in the local suburb does not affect the time quality of life index nor the attitudinal items in relation to the neighbourhood. In this case though, location is a significant factor in choosing a dwelling, especially for the outer suburban people. In this case it may be that the "image" of and convenience of the area was factored in early in the house choice and that people tend to choose within locations in which they were happy. In summary, for the particular policy question of mild consolidation, there seem to be few significant social costs to an increase in urban consolidation. Since we are considering public housing however, choice in terms of location rather than density may be significant in determining overall quality of life. For higher density forms of housing, choice may also be an important factor in considering quality of life. But the prime consideration of this paper is the potential for using the time based indicator with associated contingent valuation (in association with attitudinal measurement) as a method of assessing social costs. The value of time has proven a vexed question in social and environmental economic problems and has mainly been the focus for analysis of the value of specific recreational experiences (Mitchell and Carson, 1989). One method is to simply impute the value of time as a proportion of wages or as an opportunity cost (Shaw, 1992). The setting of such value is however difficult. On the rare occasions that contingent valuation has been used to try to assess willingness to pay for changed time allocation it has generally been in the context of spending more time doing something pleasurable (e.g., Harris and Meister, 1981). This is especially when travel is undertaken on scenic tourist routes. Here, in contrast to t h e current findings, people are prepared to pay quite considerable amounts to increase a pleasurable experience. While in this study there is some aspect of this in paying for increased times undertaking hobbies, this is a comparatively minor aspect of contingent valuation. In this study a small number of people offered quite reasonable amounts of money to cut down on housework, cooking and household chores. The fact that housework is one of the most highly nominated tasks for reducing concurs with the findings of Juster (1985). But as an average payment for

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the sample (even the average for those willing to pay something) these figures were significantly below those normally paid for cleaning help in Perth (about $14/hour at the time of the study). This does not tend to support the contention of Shaw (1992) that the value of doing such work oneself may be proxied by the value of hiring someone else to do the work. Certainly, overall, these results do not clearly fit into any formulation attempting to value this time in relation to actual wages. In interpreting the current findings it must be noted that only activities which were perceived as being not essential to making a living were included. In adopting this assumption we were concurring with authors (e.g. Bockstael et al., 1987) who have assumed that for many, work time is difficult to value because it is non negotiable. This may be either because of the nature of the occupation undertaken or household survival. Perhaps this assumption is unwarranted and deserves attention in future studies. Interestingly, there were only five people who were prepared to pay to reduce the time for the journey to work. Those who wished to do so were only prepared to pay a small amount to do so. Thus journey to work from Perth's outer suburbs seems to have a minimal negative effect on quality of life. This is consistent with the earlier findings of Syme and Schwartz (1981) for the same city. There may be a number of reasons as to why our respondents offered minimal amounts to change their volitional time allocations. While it may be tempting to conclude that the respondents had a good quality of life, as Hobson and Mann (1975) did, there was specific emphasis on the respondent specifying where they would get the money to cover the expenditure or the reminder that the individual had a budget constraint. The respondent was limited to the realities of their socio-economic status. Subjects were therefore being asked to optimise their existing possible t i m e / m o n e y tradeoff. The results may not indicate a desired improvement in Quality of Life given altered circumstances either in terms of urban or socio-economic status. The second reason for few time changes may lie in what respondents thought they were "buying". For example, it may be that the change in time allocation in the household context can be seen as merely being an intermediate step in assisting in producing a variety of household commodities (Bockstael and McConnell, 1983). This way of looking at the value of time creates some interesting theoretical issues. Bockstael and McConnell suggest it is possible to measure the welfare value of the purchase of goods inputting to a commodity by examining expenditures. In the case

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of time, however, is the good being purchased the use made of the time or is it merely an option value for creating improved degrees of freedom for allocating time (Brookshire et al., 1983)? Juster and Stafford (1991) suggest that free time could provide the function of providing a contingency resource in societies where insurance for the extended family is necessary. They suggest that in some societies during village crises such as crop failure or flood, free leisure time might be a resource to be drawn on. Everyday family life in Perth society may be no different. This study did not examine what people wished to do with the extra time. In addition to options people could be explicitly "buying" a specific recreational pleasure or even merely avoiding something unpleasant. Further, we have made assumptions on what is "discretional" time. It has been assumed, for example, that work time is "non-discretional" and that leisure time is "discretional". But as Robinson (1988) has pointed out, there are some who regard hobbies as something that they "have" to do as opposed to something they necessarily "want" to do. These questions will have to be addressed in later studies both in the context of individual family members and the family as a whole (Gerner and Zick, 1983). Because of the above issues the interpretation of the results of this study must be viewed with some caution in relation to the social costs of urban consolidation. Nevertheless, the time based social indicator proved to be a promising method of approach to the problem. Not only have issues been raised with particular reference to housing policy but also in relation to the appropriate way in which to measure and conceptualise the economic value of time. In physical housing terms it must be remembered that the investigation was also limited to moderate consolidation with small lots. The study should be extended to include a variety of town houses, villas and flats. Even with these findings with small lots it must be remembered they could depend on adequate design standards.

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