Yihan Wang
Research Mentor: Chang Wang
Mentor Department: Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, Business
Author(s): Yihan Wang, Chang Wang
Session: Session 6 (3:00 PM – 3:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 129
Abstract
New York State has implemented a tree replacement campaign in response to the spread of the invasive Asian Longhorn Beetle (ALB), which targets several common urban tree genera. As part of this initiative, host species such as Acer, Platanus, and Fraxinus are being removed and replaced with non-host species including Quercus, Prunus, Tilia, Pyrus, Gleditsia, and Zelkova. While this program aims to improve urban forest resilience, its potential impact on residential property values remains unclear. This study examines whether changes in tree species diversity influence home prices in New York State. Ten residential properties were randomly selected across the state, and baseline imagery was obtained from Google Street View. For each property, Google Gemini was used to generate ten images depicting identical houses with six trees of different composition and diversity, five featuring only removed (host) tree species and five with mixed removed (non-host) and planted tree species. These images were presented in a survey to 200 homebuyers residing in New York State, who were asked to estimate property values based on visual appearance. Linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess differences in perceived home values across tree diversity scenarios. The results indicate no statistically significant relationship between tree species diversity and home prices within the sample. Although limited by sample size, these findings suggest that the ALB-driven tree replacement campaign is unlikely to affect residential property values in New York State. This research provides evidence to inform urban forestry policy and highlights opportunities for future studies using larger samples and valuation models.
