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Greenspace: Accessory or Necessity

Role of Toronto and Region ConservationManagement Team Presentation

“The current high level of interest in achieving a better understanding of the socio-economic benefits of natural spaces is unprecedented. What a decade or so ago was an arcane discussion among academics and special interest

groups is gaining momentum and has matured into a wide-ranging dialogue among environmentalist, policy

makers, and other stakeholder.The need to build a credible case for calculating the socio-economic value of natural

spaces in southern Ontario is all the more urgent because of current expectations for growth in this part of the

province”

Canadian Urban Institute Report for MNR’s Natural Spaces Program 2006.

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Purpose of presentation ….• Core business of TRCA • Current knowledge and recent advancement in science • Provide a human side to the conservation argument • Develop a common understanding of the issue • Set context for future work and build a case for

investment in the living city initiatives • Present the case for TRCA’s Living City Initiatives:

socio-economic and environmental contributions

Terminology …Why Greenspace?

• An all-encompassing term

• People understand it !Easy form a communication and marketing perspective

• Consistent with current use

Urban Forest

Natural Heritage

Natural Spaces

Open Space

Parks

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Value of Greenspace•Traditional Thinking- Green space as accessory?

Trees look pretty and support bird populations! Green spaces are Natural areas outside the City!

•Green Shift- Green space as necessary?(Triple bottom Line/Climate Change)

Economic Social & Health Environmental

“Because ecosystem services have not been given a market value, rarely have they been accounted for in

resource policy decisions”

Pembina Institute Report, 2005

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Economic Value – Hedonic Model• A study in Portland, Oregon, used

hedonic property price model to determine the value of wetlands and other water features to the property values.

• Reducing the distance to the nearest wetland increases the value of the property.

• Home values were not influenced by wetland type.

Journal of Land Economics , Feb 2000.

Economic Value…Community Greenspaces are Worth Money !!

Property Values• Data from Askin and Spring Garden

Neighbourhoods showed that a home 30 feet from the greenbelt would be worth approximately $10,995 more than one at the mean distance of 1403 feet.

Outdoor recreation spending• Canadian spent $5.6 billion in 1991. • 90% of the population took part in

outdoor recreation

Source: Environment Canada Study of three neighborhoods in Windsor

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Greenspace Value: Social Capital, Health & Well-being

“The process between people which establishes networks, norms, social trust and facilitate co-ordination and co-operation for

mutual benefits”Eva Cox, 1995

•Loss of “social capital” contributes to human health

•“Symbiotic” relationship between social capital and natural capital can work as both preventative measure and a restorative solution to the diseases prominent in modern societies

•Increase social interaction within the community, resulting in improved personal relationships and community health.

Social Capital, Health and Well-being ..• On the job stress is reduced and productivity increases when

workers have a view of green space (Texas 2003) • Crime rates for 98 inner-city apartment buildings were

reduced by 7-8% when researchers found green space around the buildings (Chicago)

• Engagement in civic environmentalism (friends of park group) has spin-off health benefits (Deakin University and Parks Victoria 2005)

• Hospital patients that have a view of green space have shorter hospital stays and use less narcotic medications for pain (Science Magazine)

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Greenspace and Climate Change

Temperature and microclimate effects

Removal of air pollutants

Emission of volatile organic compounds by tree and emission due to tree maintenance

Energy conservation in buildings and consequent effects on emissions from power plants

Source: USDA Forest Services.

Park and trees are “the lungs of the City “Fredrick Law Olmstead, the designer for Central Park , New York

Economic and Environmental Value

Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) Model

Statistical sample of study areaQuantification of urban forest structure and functions (e.g., pollution removal, energy conservation, carbon storage, pollen)Analysis of samples or inventories

22 cities in US and 9 other Cities have been studied

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UFORE-Applications….

• Urban forest structure by land use type (e.g., species composition, tree density, tree health, leaf area, leaf and treebiomass, species diversity, etc.).

• Hourly amount of pollution removed by the urban forest, and its associated percent air quality improvement throughout a year.

• Hourly urban forest volatile organic compound emissions and the relative impact of tree species on net ozone and carbon monoxide formation throughout the year.

• Total carbon stored and net carbon annually sequestered by the urban forest.

• Effects of trees on building energy use and consequent effects on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

• Compensatory value of the forest, as well as the value of air pollution removal and carbon storage and sequestration.

Urban Forest Structural Value• $2.4 trillion• 3.8 billion trees• Average of $640 per

tree

Source:

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Air Pollution Removal and Energy Conservation by Urban Forests• Preliminary estimates

reveal these benefits nationally are around 10 billion dollars / year

Urban Forest Management Tools: Tree Locator-

• Determines best locations for trees to maximize air pollution benefits; energy conservation; water quality; etc.

• Integrates various data sets

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UFORE

New modules: Water quality UV radiationhuman comfort wildlife, insect and disease potentials

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Toronto Peel halton York Durham

26%18%

20%

21%

40%

GTA - Greenspace Comparison

Green space % of Total Area by OP designation, 2000

American average (City) 11% New York 27% Atlanta 4.4%

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TRCA Jurisdiction…How does Toronto Fare ?

Source: /www.ufore.org

Policy Implications• Higher property value means increased tax

revenue to municipalities

• Cost savings for municipal infrastructure –flood and SWM, energy

• Greenspace contribution to health, social equity -sustainable communities

• Investment in urban greenspaces help pay for themselves overtime.

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Policy Implications …• Important policy implication in determining whether

wetland or ponds/ green space should be preserved or converted to other uses

• Net-gain from and economic /health and social perspective

• Greenspace does not limit to parks and natural areas ..private greenspace such as backyards forms significant component of the total urban greespace

• Implications for urban greenspace design to improve human health and environmental quality

Research finding on impact of Greenspace on youth violence/social behavior prompted the City of Chicago to make $10 million

enhancements to local greenspaces.Andrea Faber- University of Illinois Human–Environment Research

Policy Implications- Oakville Example• The urban forest canopy cover is 29.1 per cent- can

increase to 40 per cent by the year 2046. • The replacement value - $878 million and the value of the

annual ecological services it provides is $2.1 million. • In 2005, 172 tonnes of "criteria pollutants" were filtered

from Oakville's air, plus 22,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. • Oakville residents and businesses save $840,000 in

annual energy bills due to trees' ability to reduce building energy costs.

• The urban forest should be designed and managed as a component of the municipality's "infrastructure.“

Source: Town of Oakville UFORE Study 2006

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What this means for TRCA ?• Largest landowner of Greenspace in the Region

• Case TRCA’s Living City vision of sustainable communities- health, social well-being, air quality and energy conservation.

• Contribution to address Climate Change – Mitigation and Adaptation

• Case for increased investment (municipal/provincial) in Greenspaceprotection, enhancement, and management

• Conservation Parks programming and marketing-potential for increased revenues

• Design and planning of open space- development review

Going Forward …• Demonstrate the value of greenspace /parks to include

environmental economic and social benefits

• Demonstrate TRCA’s contribution (15,000 ha +4,000 ha future) to the environmental (climate mitigation) , social capital, health and economic growth of the region.

• Integrate quantitative findings into our business/priorities - Parks, DSS, Watershed Management, Ecology, Property

• Accelerate municipal/partner/business investment in greenspace

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Net Sequestration….• Emission of

volatile organic compounds by trees and emission due to tree maintenance

Source:

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Our Urban Challenge….UrbanTrends Across North America and Other European Nations•Sprawl•Greenhouses gasses and climate change •Population increase•Threats to greenfield•Isolation from green space •Fragmented Government Responsibilities re Parks and open space•Decline in health standards -growing sedentary lifestyles ..cars computer

Over 24 million people-roughly 80% of Canada's population-live in urban areas.