Urban green space and vibrant communities

This report investigates the interactions between household location decisions and community characteristics, including green space. Household location decisions are a primary driver of land-use change, and collective location decisions affect community characteristics. At the same time, community characteristics affect location decisions. Neighborhoods or communities that have well-managed green space programs are more attractive to residents, a two-way interaction that tends to be self-reinforcing. Communities with high amenities and public services attract high-income residents, enhancing the tax base and the provision of amenities and services. This report surveys the literature investigating these interactions and explores several applicable empirical approaches for the Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, metropolitan area. The emergence of spatially explicit data and software facilitates the investigation of relationships between location choice and community characteristics. Using data from Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, this report details several possible empirical approaches, including instrumental variables, reduced-form estimation, and treatment effects. The primary challenge for the researcher is the endogeneity of community characteristics.