Tiankun Li (p), Michiel Daams, Frans Sijtsma

Caixia Liu

Under the ongoing pressure of global urbanization and the building construction process, the non-market valuation of urban green space has become increasingly important across continents. Because of the beneficial ecological services, urban residents who tend to enjoy these services are willing to pay more for living close to green space. In particular, the field which values urban green spaces based on the hedonic analysis of the prices of nearby homes is growing. However, the existing literature is characterized by studies of single regions or countries that use their local definitions of urban green space, which limits its generalizability. This study takes a step to overcome this by aiming to integrate hedonic house price analysis with the remote sensing of urban green spaces in urban cases across several continents. In doing so, a pixel-based classification machine learning method is adopted for the remote sensing imageries in case cities. A cross-continentally harmonized measure of urban green space is observed in estimations of monetary impacts on nearby housing properties. Going further, the estimates of values on urban green space are broken down consistently by the degree of urbanization. The findings of this study may contribute to a more generalized understanding of the monetary value of urban green space which may support processes of public and private investment as well as urban planning.

Caixia Liu (p), Gideon Bolt

Tiankun Li

Little is known about the circumstances of refugees in the magic mix housing complex, how they respond to residing in the diverse community environment, how they develop social relationships, and acquire local language and cultural knowledge in such setting. Drawing on qualitative data from three case studies of magic mix social housing projects in Utrecht and Nieuwegein, where refugees and local residents are accommodated together, this paper investigates the living experience of refugee status holders with a five-year or permanent residence permit, and addresses how magic mix influences the social integration of refugees in terms of social interaction, friendship ties, language learning, and sense of belonging. Results show that different settings of magic mix influence refugees’ social integration in different ways. To what extent magic mix successfully contributes to refugees’ social integration depends on physical environmental factors such as communal space, neighborhood amenities, housing quality, as well as social environmental factors such as social activities, social media, the composition of residents, self-organization and management, and the professional organization. Implications for housing policy of these findings are discussed.