Socio-economic value of cultural ecosystem services in urban green landscapes: evidence from a metropolitan public park

Urban green landscapes provide urban dwellers with a wide range of ecosystem services, including cultural ecosystem services (CES), such as leisure, cultural education, aesthetic appreciation, and spiritual needs, but also physical and mental health, group identity, and social integration. Due to their intangible nature, evaluation of CES is less advanced than that on other ecosystem services, even in urban areas. However, estimating the monetary value of these benefits is essential to monitor the efficiency of public spending on urban green space management. The objective of this study was to analyse the CES provided by Parco Colonnetti, an urban green space of almost 40 ha, located in the Southern districts of Turin (Italy). This extensive area includes over 3,000 trees and shrubs, and three ponds. It is equipped with children's play areas, 150 benches, educational, gymnastic, and cycling paths. The specific aims of the research were to profile the park users based on the main benefits received and to estimate the use value visitors place on the park's CES. The survey was carried out through face-to-face interviews to 400 park visitors. Visitor profiles were defined using the principal component analysis (PCA) technique. The use value of the CES provided by the park was estimated with the Contingent Valuation method. Three main user profiles emerged: spiritual and convivial, stressed health-conscious, and parents seeking mental well-being. These profiles entered as explanatory variables in the model used to estimate the visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) function. More than half of the respondents stated a positive WTP to ensure the use of the park. The visitors’ average WTP is about 50 euro/year corresponding to a mean value of 1.68 euro per visit, showing that local users seem to be aware of the benefits provided by the park and of its capacity to ameliorate the quality of city-life. These outcomes contribute to increasing the caseload of studies on CES in urban contexts worldwide, providing comprehensible information to policy makers, citizens and other stakeholders on the proper allocation of public resources for urban green landscapes.