an excerpt from Green Space and Increased Property Values

Susan Wachter, Ph.D. and professor of Real Estate Finance, City & Regional Planning in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the importance of reinvesting in green space to improve the overall quality of life in urban neighborhoods and to increase property values. In her research, Wachter found that planting 5 trees on a property can increase the surrounding property values by 15%. She also found that improving a side yard from vacant blighted space to a garden can increase surrounding property values by a third. Her research concludes that increased green space and neighborhood plantings increase property values for an entire neighborhood. To learn more watch, “Green Space and Increased Property Values.” (Length: 8 min.)