Title:	PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE GREEN SPACES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: LINKING ECONOMIC VALUE TO GREEN
Author(s):	Elizelle Juaneé Cilliers, Wim Timmermans
ISBN:	978-972-8939-79-3
Editors:	Tomayess Issa, Pedro Isaías and Theodora Issa
Year:	2012
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	Green planning, green economics, spatial planning, public green spaces.
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	77
Last Page:	84
Language:	English
Cover:
Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	The environment is often neglected, and sometimes sacrificed to benefit and enhance urban development. Urban areas are valued higher than green spaces; mainly because urban areas can be measured in financial terms or monetary value (property prices, revenue drawn from development, etc.) and green spaces mainly have indirect, immeasurable value (social, environmental). The worldwide urbanization is enhancing this problem as green spaces are sacrificed for residential and commercial developments. The widespread trend of green space loss is of international concern. Comprehensive studies were conducted in Europe that proofs the correlation between economic value and proximity to green spaces, and that green spaces contributes and enhances the economic value of urban developments. South Africa, being a third world country, and acknowledging that there are many diverse and complex problems impacting on urban areas, connect no value to public green spaces, due to many diverse reasons, but mainly because the need for housing and basic services is prioritized. As a result, green spaces are sacrificed for urban development. The European approach to link economic value to green spaces were tested in Potchefstroom, South Africa, with the hypothesis that the economic value of residential properties would increase as distance to the nearby green spaces decreases, as in the cases in Europe. This was not the result in Potchefstroom, a hypothesis was effectively dis-proven. The proximity to green spaces had a negative effect on the housing prices. This study investigates the importance and theory behind green-planning and evaluates it in the context of the local South African urban planning environment, illustrating the planning differences between international green spaces, and local green space values.
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