The Civic Tourism III conference opened in Fort Collins, Colorado tonight, with a keynote presentation, “What is it Worth? The True Value of Open Space.” As a division director for the Mecklinberg County Parks and Recreation Department in Charlotte, North Carolina, Michael Kirschman has set about the task of quantifying what most of us would call “priceless” — parks, preserves, natural areas that make our communities more liveable. But, he reminded us, in an era of shrinking public budgets and increased accountibility, can a monetary value be placed on such things as public parks?
He asserts that it can. Based on research conducted over the past several years, Michael presented some convincing statistics on the value of public land — using the kind of language and numbers that city planners, politicians and voters understand. For example, Mecklinburg County’s air quality ranks 12th in the nation for particulates and ozone, thus improving air quality is prioirty for policy makers. After calculating the number of trees in the county park system, the park staff consulted various studies that analyze how much air pollution is removed by a single tree, multiplied that figure by the number of trees under the park’s stewardship and thus calculated that those trees removed 458,326 pounds of air pollutants each year. Using conservative estimates, the value for the air-cleaning “service” provided to county residents by the park system amounts to over $2.2 million.

In all, he said, for an annual operating investment of $2.9 million, the parks returns $13.5 million in enviromental, economic, and health benefits to county residents. The social capitol created by parks — such as increased community interaction among residents — is a stronger predictor of quality of life in a community than income levels or property values.

Tomorrow we begin with Dan Shilling, author of “Civic Tourism: The Poety and Politics of Place,” talking about tourism in challenging times. How do debates about immigration and the Gulf oil spill influence the work of civic tourism? Although the Rockies beckon from every window, offering a spectacular distraction, it looks like Civic Tourism III will offer plenty of provocative alternatives to mountain climbing!