Abstract: A number of empirical studies in Euro-American region consistently demonstrate that, parks and open space have a positive impact on property values.However, this effect has not been investigated in Beijing, China.And the public and city managers often ignore or underestimate the role of urban green spaces.This paper surveyed the relationship between the average house prices of 76 residential areas and 14 parks in Beijing, and measured the total benefits of 18 070 ha public green spaces on residential property value, by using the inventory data of urban green spaces (2009) and GIS techniques.Results showed that the residential property values located 850-1604 meters away from parks achieved a 0.5% to 14.1% increase in sales price.The overall benefit of Beijing's public green spaces on residential property was 2.86 billion CNY (1 USD=6.83 CNY), and the average benefit of per hectare public green space was 0.16 million CNY, corresponding to 1.8-3.9 times of the maintenance cost of green space in Beijing.Therefore, there is chance for local governments to increase property tax revenues due to the creation and maintenance of urban green spaces.

Key words: hedonic model, housing price, public green spaces, property value