Abstract

Home Values and Air Pollution Levels in Major Mexican Cities.
Track: Environmental Management
Authors: Fidel Gonzalez

Mexico has among the worst urban air quality in the world. This long term problem impacts people's health and lives. But what are the measurable economic impacts? One such impact would be lower home values. This research quantifies those relationships. Using data from a major Mexican Bank on about 3,000 home loans, home values and home characteristics in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterey were determined and geocoded. Air pollution data from the National Ecological Institute were geocoded and analyzed in ArcGIS. Theissen polygons, Kriging and Inverse Weighted Distance methods were used to spatially coorelate these variables. This research is valuable for evaluation of the impact of air pollution and related environmental degradation on economic growth and development in emerging economies.