Abstract
Economic value of the living environment is estimated in Fukuoka city, taking up four environmental elements, i.e., clean air, calmness, access to the water and daily contact to the nature. The total value of these elements is between 2.8 to 3.6 billion yen according to an estimation based on WTP (willingness to pay) method, while it is 7 to 10.6 billion yen if WTAC (willingness to accept compensation) method is applied. Among the four elements, the value of calmness is the highest, followed by clean air, contact to the nature and access to the water. It is found that what man has experienced in his childhood determines his environmental values and attitudes to the nature. This tendency is most clearly demonstrated in the case of the conceived economic value of the sea. The paper also presents the value of some environmental resources of the City. The use value of the Hakata bay is estimated to be150 billion yen. That of the three largest city parks is 63 to 145 million yen accoding to the travel cost approach, and 215 to 405 million yen by the contingent valuation method.
