Willingness to Pay for the Maintenance of Green Infrastructure in Six Chinese Pilot Sponge Cities

Abstract

Due to the increasingly devastating impact of pluvial flooding on human beings’ lives and properties in cities, the use of green infrastructure to manage stormwater onsite is becoming more popular worldwide. The maintenance of green infrastructure to ensure its function has become one of the most pressing tasks facing policy makers. However, there is limited research regarding the willingness to pay the stormwater fee as a form of maintenance funding. This study utilized contingent valuation data obtained from a survey of 1101 respondents living in six pilot sponge cities in China to estimate the willingness to pay for the green infrastructure maintenance. The findings indicated that two-thirds of all respondents were willing to pay, 17% would like to pay around 6–10 RMB/month (0.95–1.59 US dollars/month), and 17.8% would like to pay more than 20 RMB/month (3.2 US dollars/month). The educational level and age of the respondents were significant determinants of the probability of willingness to pay and the amount they would like to pay. Knowledge of the concept of sponge cities was another significant influencing factor for the willingness to pay, but it did not influence the amount of payment. The findings could help policy makers make better strategies regarding the maintenance of green infrastructure and its costs.