The social return on investment of an urban regeneration project using real-world data: the Connswater Community Greenway, Belfast, UK

Christopher Tate; Ciaran O’Neill; Ngan Tran; Leonie Heron; Frank Kee; Mark A. Tully; Mary Dallat; Ruth F. Hunter

doi:10.1080/23748834.2023.2211226

The social return on investment of an urban regeneration project using real-world data: the Connswater Community Greenway, Belfast, UK

Christopher Tate, Ciaran O’Neill, Ngan Tran, Leonie Heron, Frank Kee, Mark A. Tully, Mary Dallat, Ruth F. Hunter

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

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Abstract

Previous research has illustrated the role of urban green and blue spaces in improving the economic, social, environmental, and health-related outcomes of urban populations. The Connswater Community Greenway is presented as a case study to assess the social value of an urban regeneration project. Using real-world data from two time points (2012 and 2017), our analysis focussed on eight key elements: property values; flood alleviation; tourism; biodiversity; climate change; health and wellbeing; crime; and employment and productivity. Using social return on investment analysis, we estimated the value of the Connswater Community Greenway over a 40-year horizon. The total value was estimated to be between £56.8m and £67m. After subtracting the costs (£42.2m), the net present value of the Connswater Community Greenway was £14.6m - £24.8m. The benefit-cost ratio was 1.34–1.59, meaning that for every £1 invested in the Connswater Community Greenway, the local economy gains between £1.34 and £1.59. Overall, the Connswater Community Greenway will provide a positive return on investment which will be realised after 30 years. Social return on investment analysis provides a framework for the incorporation of many multifunctional benefits of urban green and blue spaces into economic evaluation, providing a more complete analysis of value.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	699-718
Number of pages	20
Journal	Cities & Health
Volume	7
Issue number	5
Early online date	23 May 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2023.2211226
Publication status	Published online - 23 May 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
GroundsWell ( https://www.groundswelluk.org/ ) is an interdisciplinary consortium involving researchers, policymakers, implementers and communities. It is led by Queen’s University Belfast, University of Edinburgh and University of Liverpool in partnership with Cranfield University, University of Exeter, University of Glasgow, University of Lancaster and Liverpool John Moores University. We would like to acknowledge our partners including: Belfast, Edinburgh and Liverpool City Councils, Public Health Agencies of Scotland and Northern Ireland, Greenspace Scotland, Scottish Forestry, Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation, Department for Infrastructure Northern Ireland, Belfast Healthy Cities, Climate Northern Ireland, Health Data Research UK, Administrative Data Research Centre, NatureScot, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Liverpool Health Partners, NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group, the Scottish Government, Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, HSC Research and Development Office Northern Ireland, EastSide Partnership, Ashton Centre, Regenerus, Sustrans, Cycling UK, CHANGES, The Mersey Forest, Translink, Anaeko, AECOM Ltd, The Paul Hogarth Company and Moai Digital Ltd. The PARC study was supported by a grant from the National Prevention Research Initiative (NPRI) (grant number: G0802045/1). The funding partners are (in alphabetical order): Alzheimer’s Research Trust; Alzheimer’s Society; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; British Heart Foundation; Cancer Research UK; Chief Scientist Office; Scottish Government Health Directorate; Department of Health; Diabetes UK; Economic and Social Research Council; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; Health and Social Care Research and Development Division of the Public Health Agency (HSC R&D Division); Medical Research Council; The Stroke Association; Welsh Assembly Government and World Cancer Research Fund. The authors declare that the funders had no role in any aspect of the study, including the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Urban Studies
natural experiment
urban green space
economic evaluation
Social return on investment

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1080/23748834.2023.2211226

The social return on investment of an urban regeneration project ...Final published version, 8.61 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "The social return on investment of an urban regeneration project using real-world data: the Connswater Community Greenway, Belfast, UK",

abstract = "Previous research has illustrated the role of urban green and blue spaces in improving the economic, social, environmental, and health-related outcomes of urban populations. The Connswater Community Greenway is presented as a case study to assess the social value of an urban regeneration project. Using real-world data from two time points (2012 and 2017), our analysis focussed on eight key elements: property values; flood alleviation; tourism; biodiversity; climate change; health and wellbeing; crime; and employment and productivity. Using social return on investment analysis, we estimated the value of the Connswater Community Greenway over a 40-year horizon. The total value was estimated to be between £56.8m and £67m. After subtracting the costs (£42.2m), the net present value of the Connswater Community Greenway was £14.6m - £24.8m. The benefit-cost ratio was 1.34–1.59, meaning that for every £1 invested in the Connswater Community Greenway, the local economy gains between £1.34 and £1.59. Overall, the Connswater Community Greenway will provide a positive return on investment which will be realised after 30 years. Social return on investment analysis provides a framework for the incorporation of many multifunctional benefits of urban green and blue spaces into economic evaluation, providing a more complete analysis of value.",

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The social return on investment of an urban regeneration project using real-world data: the Connswater Community Greenway, Belfast, UK

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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