INFLUENCE OF GREENERY ON LIFE QUALITY AND DWELLING PRISE IN VILNIUS CITY

In the stage of today's civilization development, remote city districts became accessible easier because of transport and technologies progress and processes of globalization, since new factors started to have an influence on the development of cities. The accessibility of transport means and expansion of city limits give opportunities to improve citizens' living environment, expand the areas of greenery and water. It is often noted (when assessing the quality of citizens' life) that natural elements, such as trees and water, make cities more attractive and improve the quality of life. The development of technologies has an effect on people's consciousness, priorities and assessment of life quality. Changeable conception of a "prestigious dwelling" is reflected in changes of its price. Dwelling prices are one of the main criteria reflecting the level of economic development and the quality of life in cities and regions. The results of recent investigations show that besides the well-known classical ecological characteristics of greenery (protection from dust, air cleaning) it also has a significant social effect. It is proved that green areas have a soothing effect, reduce stress and aggressiveness, improve communication among neighbours and consolidate communities. When considering dwelling prices in cities, it is necessary to regard the fact that urban structure isn't homogeneous. The city is composed of separate residential districts which usually have some common characteristics: build-up density, the number of working places, distance from the city centre, the size of greenery, etc. An empirical model of correlation-regression was developed when seeking to estimate the influence of different factors on dwelling prices in separate districts, and the method of clusters was used when identifying general groups of city districts. In the case of Vilnius residential districts are divided into three clusters which differ significantly in their dwelling prices and the area of greenery per capita. Conclusions were formulated in accordance with the performed statistical analysis.