The Impacts of Environmental Amenities on Rental Value of Houses and a Pathway Towards Sustainable Urban Development Align with SDG 11

Objective: The objective of the study is to assess the impacts of environmental amenities on rental value of houses and formulate the pathway for sustainable urban development align with Sustainable Development Goals 11. Theoretical Framework: The hedonic pricing model is an effective theoretical foundation for examining influence of environmental amenities and dis-amenities on house rental prices. It investigates how environmental factors influence house rental prices and promote sustainable urban development goals. Method: The study is based on 210 primary data which are collected by random sampling survey of tenants living in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh. The hedonic regression method is used for assessing house rent determinants and willingness to pay formula is used for hedonic valuation of environmental attributes. Results and Discussion: The study found four factors- income of tenant, house structure characteristics, neighborhood characteristics and environmental amenities including ventilation, open space proximity, drainage management, waterlogging and landfill by wastes which affect houses rent. In planned areas, proximity to open spaces and ventilation increases the rental value by 77.27% and 24.46% respectively than that of unplanned area. The willingness to pay for environmental amenities including open space, ventilation and proper drainage is BDT162.148 (US $1.35), BDT 164.055 (US $1.36, and BDT 64.271 (US $0.53) respectively from their average rent in planned area. In contrast, in unplanned areas, tenants are willing to pay more BDT 45.061 (US $0.37) for open space closer proximity, BDT 64.693 (US $0.53) for ventilation and BDT 78.536 (US $0.65) for proper drainage from their average rent. Research Implications: The study propose that urban planning should prioritize environmental improvements, real estate developers should increase the value of houses through improved amenities and emphasizes the tenant preferences in developing sustainable residential zones. Originality/Value: This study presents empirical evidence on the valuation of environmental amenities in Bangladeshi housing markets, adding new insights to the fields of urban economics and sustainability.