Spatial effects of accessibility to parks on housing prices in Shenzhen, China

Accessibility to parks could be an important determinant of housing prices. This article applies the gravity model to calculate accessibility based on park classification in Shenzhen, China. Unlike most traditional studies that use the ratio method and nearest distance (including straight-line distance and network distance) to measure accessibility to given facilities, in this study, we use gravity-based accessibility by park type. Then, we explore the relationships between accessibility to parks and housing prices using a hedonic price model. In addition, we apply a geographical detector method to assess the association between housing price and related factors. The results indicate the following conclusions: (1) compared to traditional methods, the gravity model provides a more effective and objective measure of accessibility to parks because it considers distance decay effects, supply, and demand; (2) it is necessary and important to investigate the effects of the accessibility to different park types on housing prices; and (3) geographical detector models can efficiently detect correlations and interactions among housing prices and related factors. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.