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Economics and geography students put their research and data skills to work on behalf of Zanesville, presenting options for redevelopment and the economic impact of the Mosaic Tile Property—a brownfield site—to the City Council.
The economics students analyzed the economic impact, and the urban planning students developed possible redevelopment options.
Students in ECON 4150 Regional Analysis class “conducted two analyses to estimate the economic impact of the brownfield site and estimate the likely outcomes of redevelopment,” says Dr. Tia McDonald, Assistant Professor of Economics. Her class had 13 undergraduate Economics and Business majors as well as one graduate student.
To estimate the economic impact of the brownfield site, the students conducted a hedonic analysis—a regression analysis used in economics to determine how variables affect price—that estimated the negative impact of the site on housing prices.
“They found that the closer you live to the site, the lower your housing value (not surprising) and that the total impact of the site was around $1.2 million,” McDonald said. “This provides a baseline for the City of Zanesville in terms of predicting the effect of redevelopment on housing prices and property tax revenues.”