The estimation of the depreciation of property due to environmental risk: The case of Taranto

Abstract

The environmental damage due to industrial pollution activities to produce the adaptations in the behavior of economic agents involved: if there is a decrease of environmental quality, it may lead to a negative change in real estate market values, identified the quantities and the prices of traded goods. Starting from these considerations a situation analysis was carried out about three municipalities of Apulia Region (Brindisi, Bari and Taranto), which are affected by major environmental industrial detractors. The "Federico II" coal power plant and the Coal Docks in the harbour of Brindisi, the presence of the "Fibronit" Asbestos plant, in which the production of asbesto-cement mixed materials has ceased but the site has partially been cleanup in Bari, and the presence of the "ILVA" steel plant in Taranto. Since the verifications that the presence of these plants led a negative impact on nearby real estate value, the case of Taranto has been studied and, through the estimate of the impact of the perceived health damage on real estate market variation, the value of the property of the District "Tamburi" and other neighborhoods adjacent to the industrial area has been quantified. If they had not been affected by the same pole, thereby arriving at an estimate of the decrease of the real estate value by the use of damage estimate of the externality on real estate market, as the difference between the values that could be in the absence and in the presence of the perceived industrial risk. Thus reversing some considerations that the possible upgrade or change the destination could generate economic benefits for the same areas. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.