PLANNING FOR MORE LAND-EFFICIENT BURIAL SPACES: IMPLICATIONS ON RESIDENTIAL PRICES AND POTENTIAL MITIGATION STRATEGIES

Abstract

Cities have been facing threats of burial space shortage where existing cemeteries and columbaria are either near capacity or have already reached capacity. In Singapore’s context, an ageing population and land scarcity brings the possibility of a burial space shortage, where the challenge is to not only find empty land to build more burial sites but also identify a suitable location that causes minimal impact on surrounding residents and businesses. Hence, Singapore has to rethink burials and look towards new methods that are more land-efficient, namely sea scattering and green burials. In this study, the success of sea scattering facilities and green burial gardens is determined by: 1) the level of perceived externalities imposed on nearby residents using residential prices as a proxy and 2) the public’s willingness to adopt these new methods. Using regression analysis, columbaria were found to have a 7.2% price discount effect on nearby residential properties. On the other hand, through surveys and contingent valuation, proximity to sea scattering facilities and green burial gardens could possibly result in a 9.1% and 7.6% price discount respectively. Thus, the sea scattering and green burial sites could generate greater externalities in contrast to columbaria. However, this paper finds a relatively high willingness to adopt sea scattering and green burials amongst 204 survey respondents, indicating a possible increase in popularity for new burial methods should they be implemented in Singapore. Hence, necessary landuse strategies can be employed to reduce the externalities generated by new burial sites and educational activity can be undertaken to increase the adoption rate of new burial methods.