Analysis of the Willingness of Citizens in Beijing to Pay for the Community Gardens

A community garden is a plot of farmland in the suburban area, which can be leased to city residents to grow vegetables. It takes advantages of the natural environment in suburbs, and allows people to experience farm work. Community gardens can also provide leisure, entertainment, recreation, and otherfunctions. As a prior urban agricultural area and a developed city,Beijing has developed many community gardens around the city. However, the market potential of community gardens has not been clearly studied yet. Based on the survey of 872 residents in Beijing from August to October 2012, and by means of contingent valuation method (CVM), this paper estimates the potential value of Beijing爷s community gardens. The results show that the average amount of money that people in Beijing are willing to pay for community gardens is 1002-62 RMB per person; the average area that people tend to rent is 38-80 m2 per person; and the total amount of money that people in Beijing are willing to pay is 12-301 billion RMB. Compared with the current situation, the development prospect of Beijing爷s community gardens is promising. Effective measures should be taken to fully realize the potential value of Beijing爷s community gardens.