Variations in Mine Subsidence–Disturbed Residential Land Price: Case Study of Critical Determinants and Spatial Relationships in the Nanhu Ecoregion of Tangshan, China

Abstract

How to know the price of residential land located at a mine subsidence site is still a critical consideration for land transaction and development. Typically, a mining area inevitably faces a series of environmental issues, but the quantitative measurement is inadequately reported all over the world, mostly focused on contaminated land. However, the effect of mining-induced surface deformation on residential land price is the concern in this paper, and the Nanhu Ecoregion, a typical mine subsidence site in China, was taken as a study case. Based on a careful comparison of potential geological risks, five critical determinants were selected to evaluate the suitability for bearing capacity of building foundations. By sampling plots, the average price of residential plots within suitability classes was estimated to couple with two characteristic factors—floor area ratio and building height. Finally, the negative and positive changes in residential land price were obtained. The results show that the potential geological risks caused by mining activities determine the formation and fluctuation of residential land price, closely related to the change of characteristic factors, and that mining activities induce an approximate 2% reduction of land price caused by the damage of site conditions. Also, the Nanhu Ecoregion benefits from a 15% increase in land price from ecological welfare created by a mine subsidence–induced wetland landscape. This study is aimed at assisting stakeholders’ decision making.