Assessment of regeneration projects in urban areas of environmental interest: a stated choice approach to estimate use and quasi-option values

This study adopts a discrete choice modelling methodology to evaluate individuals’ preferences over planning alternatives for an urban site of environmental interest. Since such projects involve some uncertainty and irreversibility, a special attention is devoted to the estimation of the quasi-option values which are associated to project development. Two distinct measures for the quasi-option value are estimated, and both coefficients indicate that the public places a significant value on reduction of the possibility of adverse irreversible effects. Furthermore, the study involved elicitation of intertemporal preferences over projects with different time spans, and estimation of implicit discount rates.