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 Article:

Yard Sale! How Trees Affect the Selling Price of Houses


This article is from Issue Urban Forest - Vol. 6 No. 1.

Download Article:   English Version      (Spanish - Not Available)

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The scientists in this study were interested in knowing whether the benefits provided by trees are valued by people buying a new house. They also wanted to know how much money those benefits are worth.

Welcome to the Urban Forests edition

Note to Educators

Urban Forest Lesson Plan

Reflection Section Answer Guide

Education Standards Correlations

 

Meet the scientists that contributed to this article:

"Science Topics" covered in this article:
  • Earth Science
  • Life Science
  • People and Science
  • Technology and Science

"Environmental Topics" covered in this article:
  • Forest and Grassland Use (Educators)
  • Growing and Using Trees and Other Plants (Students)
  • Importance of Forest to People (Students)
  • Protecting Trees and Other Plants (Students)
  • The Value of Forests and Grasslands (Educators)

Regions covered in this article:
  • Alaska
  • Forest Products Lab
  • Intermountain
  • International Institute of Tropical Forestry
  • Northern
  • Pacific Northwest
  • Pacific Southwest
  • Rocky Mountain
  • Southern
  • Southwestern

"Thinking About Science Themes" covered in this article:
What does the price of something represent? To economic scientists, the price of something represents its value to people. Economic scientists conduct a type of science called economics. Economics is the study of the way in which goods and wealth are produced, distributed, and used in a society. This can include any good, including ones that you normally would not think of as being bought and sold.
Specific "Thinking About Science" Themes:
  • Characteristics of Scientists
  • Scientific Topics
  • The Scientific Process

"Thinking About Environmental Themes" covered in this article:
When people decide to buy a house, they have a lot of things to consider. They have to think about how many bedrooms and bathrooms they need. They have to think about where the house is located. For example, is it close to any schools or shopping, or to the bus stop? They have to think about how much they can afford to pay. One of the things that may be important is the amount of the yard that is shaded by trees. Usually, when people think about the environment, they think about things like forests, lakes, or oceans. The environment also surrounds your home. It is important to think about the environment that surrounds your home, as well as the environment that might be far away.
Specific "Thinking About the Environment" Themes:
  • Benefit of natural resources to local economy
  • Ecosystems
  • Value of natural environments

NSE Standards covered in this article:
  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry (A)
  • Nature of science (G)
  • Personal health (F)
  • Science and technology in society (F)
  • Science as a human endeavor (G)

Science Benchmarks covered in this article:
  • Habits of Mind: Critical-Response Skills
  • Human Society: Political and Economic Systems
  • Human Society: Social Trade-Offs
  • The Nature of Mathematics: Mathematics, Science, and Technology
  • The Nature of Science: Scientific Inquiry
  • The Nature of Science: The Scientific Enterprise
  • The Nature of Technology: Technology and Science