Parks and open spaces enhance the quality of life in urban areas. Over the last 15 years, the city of Boston has sponsored the most expensive urban infrastructure project in history. This project relocates an elevated highway underground and creates urban parks, increasing the city's green space. The study estimates the economic benefits of proximity to parks in Boston, Massachusetts, based on hedonic pricing methods. Using Boston's land use and assessed property price data, it is determined that proximity to urban open space has positive impacts on property values, while proximity to highways has negative impacts on property prices. Based on this observation, it is expected that the spatial alteration will cause a significant increase in nearby property prices.

Since the explosion of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011, public anxiety surrounding the radioactive contamination of food and the environment has become widespread. This article examines how the price of vegetables in the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market was impacted in the wake of the nuclear accident. This study exploits the quasi-experimental condition generated by this accident to test the market price change using monthly panel data on the price of six types of fresh vegetable from each of the 47 prefectures in Japan. Our estimation results show that the price of vegetables grown in Fukushima Prefecture was discounted by 10 -38 % after the disaster compared to the counter-factual estimates in the absence of a perceived radiation risk. This effect has persisted even after radioactive detection tests showed negative results in subsequent years. Consumer behavior of avoiding purchasing vegetables from Fukushima and instead buying vegetables grown in other areas may explain the price gap.JEL Code: Q13, Q51, Q53, R11

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Purpose This study aims to analyze whether and how condominium shared utilities and facilities (e.g. community spaces), of which buyers assume a share of the ownership upon acquisition of a residential unit, affect the condominium unit price over time. Design/methodology/approach The transaction price of each unit reflects the quality of the residential unit and the properties of the shared facilities. Based on the hedonic pricing method, this study assesses the impact of shared amenities on unit resale prices, using an original data set on condominium unit resale transactions and the status of housing characteristics for both condominium units and condominium buildings. Findings Results show that holding other conditions constant, a meeting room and an external space that can host events increase the unit resale price by approximately 7 and 16 per cent, respectively. Some community amenities such as a meeting room may increase its impact later in the condominium’s lifetime. Research limitations/implications Because of the proprietary nature of data, the analysis focuses on high-end condominium properties in central Tokyo. Although it is difficult to single out the shared amenities’ effects on condominium resale prices from potentially confounding factors, this study partially overcomes this issue by including explanatory geographical variables (e.g. ground heights). Practical implications The results suggest that a shared facility that hosts social interactions among residents significantly affects the resale market value of housing units and that their magnitudes may change over time. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study provides the first empirical evidence of the impacts of shared structures on condominium unit sales using micro-level transaction data in Japan.

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