ESSAYS ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The concerns of global warming and rapid urbanization have led to active environmental movements in promoting urban sustainability. This thesis uses unique and high-frequency datasets describing utility consumption and hotel room performance to rigorously test the risk-avoidance behavior of urban dwellers in response to environmental hazards, and the environmental sustainability of urban development in Singapore. The first part examines the risk-avoidance behaviors of households in response to the transboundary haze pollution and aims to raise public awareness of how air-pollution affects every aspect of the urban quality of life. By examining the energy consumption and housing value of residential buildings, the second part studies empirically whether the green building rating systems bring both incremental signaling benefits and energy savings to property owners, and points to the need to fine-tune the green building rating systems.